Transfer Rumours | Tactics | Who to buy/sell etc

So if you want van de Beek in the midfield role the question is then: would you sign van de Beek over Eriksen (who we have supposedly agreed verbal terms) or Pogba, or Ndombele?

No.

I like van de Beek, but he doesn't fit the profile of player we need. He is great on Fifa I am sure after a couple seasons but in reality he's just not near enough to the top of our list of needs.

I'd take Van de Beek over Eriksen and Pogba.

What's the player profile the team needs?

Lost all credibility there bud

vanDEEZ wrote:Lost all credibility there bud

Yea ok.

What is the profile of player the club needs though?

I definitely won't sign Paul in his current state. Between Eriksen and de Beek, yeah, I would obviously go for Eriksen. Ndombele is a must sign for me regardless of everything else tbh.

As for the LB spot and Regi. Zizou doesn't rate him, neither does he particularly rate Ceballos or Llorente. So he's gonna get players he rates and Mendy seems to be one of them. I get why Spanish Madrid fans would be upset and I don't blame them but it is what it is.

@Cyborg

We need a phyical B2B and a creative CM, not a wishy washy little bit of both type player like van de Beek. He works great in an Ajax side where they play more of a total football type way- where they would need players to fill multiple roles. ZZ doesn’t play like that, he likes specific players that fit specific roles.

This is all beside the fact that we’re talking about 2 completely different levels. Eriksen and Pogba are World Class midfielders who have been standouts and leaders in their respective teams. Van de Beek is a prospect whose had less than a year in the spotlight. He’s shown the same glimpses of brilliance that Ceballos has and Ceballos isn’t going to start anytime soon. Pogba and Eriksen would walk into this team.

Fair.

I think Van de Beek will be a perfect fit, replacing an aging Modric.

No to Pobga.

Eriksen is good, but Van de Beek to me fits Madrid's style of play a little better. Either one is good though.

Ndombele I don't know much about, but sportz and doc say he is good.

Well Pogba is coming unless Man U is completely against it...  so you people better get used to it lol.

And if enough of our outgoing players that Man U are interested in decide to go there, then Man U is satisfied. Key being Modric or Kroos.

Unless Utd are against it, lol. Of course they are gonna be against it, what sort of statement is that?

We're looking to sell them Kroos or Modric and +++.  But the players have to agree to go there... which if they don't make CL, they may not.  That's the variable.

Kroos ain't been sold.

There aren't much better midfielders out there, if any at all.

This season, Kroos has played like one of the worst midfielders in the world though. Many have, but Kroos isn't even trying. Kroos imo has been our worst player this season. I mean the guy has done close to nothing- literally walking around. Doesn't play like a guy who wants to keep his job this summer.

futbol_bill wrote:Just a general observation about players purported as new targets aka Pogba, Mendy, Ndombele, Eriksen, etc.

I don’t believe any of them will come to be a backup or rotational player! And to come as starter, we have to believe Zidane will dump Kroos, Modric, Marcelo!

So far the only indication we have is he is willing to dump Bale and several of the current bench including Isco are on the bubble. There has not been a single indication about the incumbents that these targets are likely to replace!

if Zidane the one driving the signings then he is going to play the guys he signed, that's certain. So no way that we sign Pogba for 150 mil and he doesn't start

Modric or Kroos leaving is a bad thing?

Look they are still quality players, but a change of scenery is needed for a lot of guys

You guys need to get Pogba. The change in scenery will make him step up his game imo

The only possible way I would take this overrated pile of crap is if he came here for free and took on a bench role. And even if all those conditions were met, I would still demand that he loses that toxic agent of his.

So bottom line is, I hope the club is not stupid enough to get this jabroni.

I get that people want a box to box midfielder with his qualities, but his attitude just isn't right. I don't understand why people aren't more sceptical towards his general big game performance level for Man United. I'm fed up about reading that he's got inferior players surrounding him. He didn't become the #1 walker in the Premier League because of his team mates. I don't think he has a tendency to play well when his team mates do, either. He plays well when he feels like playing. There have been so many games over the past few years where there were small margins between his team winning and not winning, and he didn't seem to mind walking through it all like an indifferent spectator. I think a major reason why we've been successful in the Champions League is exactly because we didn't have key players with his absolutely weak mentality when the going gets tough. I'd honestly favor Gareth Bale over him, in terms of expecting someone to deliver when we don't have the upper hand, already.

I don't know why we'd want a player like that, when we've just gone through an entire season watching a jaded group of players. We might as well sign Alexis Sanches, if we're in the market for collecting other club's problems. Preferably, I want players who play with pride. Barcelona lucked out with getting Luis Suarez. He may have received a fair share of criticism for his oddly aggressive behaviour in the past, but there's no questioning his devotion. Even when Barca suck, he plays his heart out. Pogba is going to frustrate me so much, if we get him.

Its not like we control the signings, Zidane seems to like the guy. The concerns about why we shouldn't sign him are valid, hard to disagree he has had attitudes problems, but Zidane seems convinced he can get the best out of him. So if a deal can be agreed with United he will be signed

Well, I certainly hope Zidane knows what he's doing, if we actually do get him. Getting hyped up stars is all well and good, but they have to perform consistently, or at the very least, when it matters. It's well documented that Pogba doesn't perform in just any environment either, so that leaves a lot of expectations towards the rest of the team. As mentioned before, Pogba will likely chew out half of our transfer budget, if not more, and that leaves relatively little to bolster our other, weak areas. He'll have to settle for a drop in weekly wages, as well. If we break our wage structure for him... I won't even know what to say

He's won lol.  Despite what you guys think and the inane punditry... he's recognized by his french teammates as the best player on the pitch (not Mbappe or Griezmann) and fellow players in EPL voted him on the team of the EPL and best midfielder in that league.

I know you'd like him to be Messi or CR.  But he's not a striker, first off.  And he has an attack of Lingard, Martial, Mata, Rashford and Lukaku to support him.  I won't even get to the form of the other CMs.  The fact that he has 16 goals and 11 assists this season is miraculous.  

He was a holding mid under Mourinho... and after getting a brief period of freedom where he scored and assisted at will...  he's had to become a decoy as he's getting surrounded with or without the ball.

Watch the games and not just one player.  See the defensive structure.  Watch how spaces are covered and what the defenses are doing.  Look at the runs. This is not a 1v1 sport.

Yeah, you really can't disregard the players he has around him. Manchester United are a dumpster fire, especially at the moment.

I was listening to a podcast where Carl Anka was featured (he covers Man U for the Athletic) and one thing he mentioned made a lot of sense. So under Mourinho, United sat back and didn't press obviously. Ole comes in and makes them press (boom results). However it's impossible to turn a non pressing team into a pressing team over night without consequences, it can take years, and you need players with the right fitness. This United team is just completely knackered, including Pogba. It can at least partially explain the walking and the down performances lately.

Now, I still don't think we should, nor do I think we will get Pogba due to his agent and the massive fees United would ask for.

Eriksen imo is the better overall option taking in all the factors (last year of his contract, not a Raiola client, etc.). Especially the case if we also get Ndom.

sportsczy wrote:The fact that he has 16 goals and 11 assists this season is miraculous.  

Once again, literally half of those goals come from penalties.

The only thing miraculous about that is how many penalties Manchester United are being gifted by PL referees.

And your point is what? CR used to score half his goals on PK when he was at Madrid. So do a lot of top scorers on teams. PKs are a part of the game last I checked and nobody calls out strikers for scoring them.

Pogba is shit at PKs too... so really, he should be at 20+ goals.