Vidal

He wouldn't leave Juve IMO, and he wouldn't be a Carrick replacement anyway, you couldn't get a more different type of midfielder to Carrick than Vidal

I would like us to be in for him but he plays a different role to Carrick

comment by ManUtdDaredevil (U9612)
posted 3 minutes ago
I would like us to be in for him but he plays a different role to Carrick
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one issue i have with all this is who do people think are exact carrick replacements? most CMs seem to be either more box to box or, for those that sit, more destroyers than passers...so who are the actual carrick replacements?

and secondly, if there are so few direct replacements, then logically most teams do not actually play with a carrick-type player. chelsea don't, they have fabregas + matic; arsenal don't, they have coquelin and ramsay/cazorla; city don't; liverpool don't; madrid don't, nor bayern (barca are maybe closese with busquets).

so the question is, do united actually need a specific replacement for carrick? or simply a top-class midfielder?

When talking about Carrick replacements, what I think most people mean is a player who will sit a bit deeper, protecting the defence + starting moves off from their position at the base of midfield.

The difficulty is, Carrick is an excellent passer of the ball. There aren't too many players who play that role quite the same as him. That said, if we play with three central midfielders, providing the box to box and/or attacking players both offer good technical ability and passing, I think having more of a destroyer in there wouldn't be such an issue. Possible candidates for the deeper role:

Wanyama
Carvalho
Schneiderlin

comment by BerbaKing11 (U6256)
posted 6 minutes ago
When talking about Carrick replacements, what I think most people mean is a player who will sit a bit deeper, protecting the defence + starting moves off from their position at the base of midfield.

The difficulty is, Carrick is an excellent passer of the ball. There aren't too many players who play that role quite the same as him. That said, if we play with three central midfielders, providing the box to box and/or attacking players both offer good technical ability and passing, I think having more of a destroyer in there wouldn't be such an issue. Possible candidates for the deeper role:

Wanyama
Carvalho
Schneiderlin

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i think that's right...problem is you really then need two players to replace carrick, one to break play up, and the other to pass it around. if united want 3 in midfield a new destroyer is one, herrera is another, who is the third? never that keen on mata dropping deep, and haven't seen enough of ADM to be convinced he can do it in the PL. not to mention for 3 CM slots you need 6 players, so even with blind it is looking a bit thin.

how about one of the Bender brothers ? strong defensive minded , not the passers carrick are but would provide stability and could allow the other two midfields to be more creative and attack minded.

All out for Busquets as a like for like Carrick replacement. He's a complete C though and Barca wouldn't sell him, ah well.