Gnonto and Mitoma I like. Especially Mitoma. But its probably the position on the pitch we need to strengthen the least.
Watkins - meh. Decent player, yeah he's better than what we have, but that's because what we have is probably the worst CF in the league. Literally.
At a push, id take Watkins as a back up striker.
We need a CB, CM and CF.
I'd go for Dunk, MacAllister and Sesko
Mitoma is a great player. I would push Rashford forward and play Mitoma on the left. We also need a better player than Antony on the right but we all know that is not going to happen after wasting that much money on him.
Basically agree with Bloodred here: two good shouts in areas we can't afford to prioritise when we have a limited budget and big gaps in our squad, and I just don't think Watkins is a player who raises the ceiling of this team.
I have no idea how much we have to spend this summer with regard to money in the bank (depends on ownership), FFP and revenue from sales. What we do have I'd prioritise reinvesting in a striker, a midfielder who is much better than all of our others in the first phase of build-up, and a goalkeeper. If we can swap AWB for an attacking right back, that would also be great.
I think you're on the right lines, Robb, in looking for players who aren't yet superstars but we can legitimately expect to become elite footballers. I suspect striker is an area where we can't afford to economise, or rather where it's very hard to acquire a player of the quality we want to elevate the whole side without paying a very large sum. In midfield we've missed out on a few players who came cheaply to the PL and quickly established themselves - Caicedo, Guimares - so I'd hope we could finally profile the right fit and move decisively for him. (There's a guy called André at Fluminense in Brazil that some people are raving about.) As for goalkeeper, I've long been of the view that even an average quality player with the right profile (comfortable in distribution, claiming crosses and sweeping) would be a big net improvement on DDG. I don't really care who we sign, as long as we bring in a replacement.
comment by Zacab (U18502)
posted 3 minutes ago
Mitoma is a great player. I would push Rashford forward and play Mitoma on the left. We also need a better player than Antony on the right but we all know that is not going to happen after wasting that much money on him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm optimistic that, with experience of the league and a dynamic, overlapping right back outside him, Antony will have the platform to have a much more impactful second season.
Alisson could be an option from Liverpool.
Pros:
- He'll probably want CL football next season.
- He's settled in the area
- He'll have Brazilian teammates already at the club
- Good with his feet
- Excellent one on one
The ideal signing. Perhaps worth an article in itself.
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 15 seconds ago
Alisson could be an option from Liverpool.
Pros:
- He'll probably want CL football next season.
- He's settled in the area
- He'll have Brazilian teammates already at the club
- Good with his feet
- Excellent one on one
The ideal signing. Perhaps worth an article in itself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Plus he and Henderson fell out and what better revenge than to join us?
Mitoma has 11 g/a in his last 15 PL games apparently. Antony has just 3 all season in the league which were all goals. He doesn't have a single PL assist yet.
Absolutely ridiculous.
comment by Robb #gotheSwans (U22716)
posted 15 minutes ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 15 seconds ago
Alisson could be an option from Liverpool.
Pros:
- He'll probably want CL football next season.
- He's settled in the area
- He'll have Brazilian teammates already at the club
- Good with his feet
- Excellent one on one
The ideal signing. Perhaps worth an article in itself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Plus he and Henderson fell out and what better revenge than to join us?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Definitely something in this.
If Leicester go down (or even if they don't) would Ndidi be an option for DM?
He'd be in the last year of his contract this Summer and I seem to recall he was quite highly rated a few years ago.
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 3 minutes ago
If Leicester go down (or even if they don't) would Ndidi be an option for DM?
He'd be in the last year of his contract this Summer and I seem to recall he was quite highly rated a few years ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If we didn't have Casemiro I'd be open to the idea. But I don't see Ndidi as the player who receives the ball on the turn, beats the press and distributes, which is what we are really lacking.
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 3 minutes ago
If Leicester go down (or even if they don't) would Ndidi be an option for DM?
He'd be in the last year of his contract this Summer and I seem to recall he was quite highly rated a few years ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If we didn't have Casemiro I'd be open to the idea. But I don't see Ndidi as the player who receives the ball on the turn, beats the press and distributes, which is what we are really lacking.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was thinking more for cover, rotation etc. I believe he's also played CB at times as well. It depends on what we have to spend of course and the profile of player we need is what you've described. I do think we could do with two in CM really. Casemiro, Eriksen, Fred, Ndidi and new (dare I say) FDJ type player and I think we'd be well covered.
I don't know any of the players mentioned, so cannot comment on their suitability, but I like the idea in principle.
Upgrades wherever we need them, plus a good striker.
When ETH came we all said he would need five or six windows to get where we want to be. We were right, but he's made a far better start than I envisaged.
comment by manusince52 (U9692)
posted 0 seconds ago
I don't know any of the players mentioned, so cannot comment on their suitability, but I like the idea in principle.
Upgrades wherever we need them, plus a good striker.
When ETH came we all said he would need five or six windows to get where we want to be. We were right, but he's made a far better start than I envisaged.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I know of them of course, and have seen an odd game
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 33 minutes ago
Mitoma has 11 g/a in his last 15 PL games apparently. Antony has just 3 all season in the league which were all goals. He doesn't have a single PL assist yet.
Absolutely ridiculous.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitoma is excellent. I'm also fairly sure he would be posting worse figures if he were in Antony's situation: playing for a side where the expectations and stakes are higher, where the team is gradually adapting to a new system (but where several of the starting players aren't a great fit for that system) and with Dalot/AWB providing the overlaps. Put Antony in a Brighton team that's enjoying itself and not going to feel like a failure if it doesn't qualify for Europe, has a well embedded tactical system and has recruited players who are both good and suit the system, and I imagine he'd look like a better player right now too. And Brighton would probably have bought him directly from Brazil three years ago for £6 million.
If we sold/released Henderson, Maguire, Telles, Bailly, Williams, Jones, VDB, McT (I'm sure there's more) I think we could very much improve the first XI with what we get for them. Hopefully we'd have more to spend of course but I'm sure we could get the likes of a GK, CM and CF for the money they'd bring in.*
*Yes I know I'm basically saying our options in those positions are poor!
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 3 minutes ago
If Leicester go down (or even if they don't) would Ndidi be an option for DM?
He'd be in the last year of his contract this Summer and I seem to recall he was quite highly rated a few years ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If we didn't have Casemiro I'd be open to the idea. But I don't see Ndidi as the player who receives the ball on the turn, beats the press and distributes, which is what we are really lacking.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was thinking more for cover, rotation etc. I believe he's also played CB at times as well. It depends on what we have to spend of course and the profile of player we need is what you've described. I do think we could do with two in CM really. Casemiro, Eriksen, Fred, Ndidi and new (dare I say) FDJ type player and I think we'd be well covered.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In an ideal scenario cover for Casemiro would be great. I think that has to be about sixth priority though (with striker, deep playmaker, keeper, right back and arguably cover for/successor to Varane as more important). Maybe it can be achieved if we identify a player who is out of contract, or if other positions can be filled more cost efficiently than envisaged. Maybe we can find players who tick two boxes, e.g. Timber can play right back + centre back; maybe there's a build-up specialist midfielder who is also defensively very good.
Another thought: do we need more than one striker? Do we rely on Martial as the back-up?
How many of you are big fans of Dong?
Gnonto is a great watch, a complete ankle biting menace.
If United signed him he could also play CB to bring the average height up back there.
Never watched him play, but there's a lot of buzz about Kephren Thuram. So I say: bring him in for our midfield, get Marcus Thuram on a free as back-up striker, and we'll have the novelty of brothers playing us once again. I'm mainly in favour of this because I never got over the fact that we failed to sign their dad, one of my favourite players of all time.
Do we rely on Martial as the back-up?
———
Putting ‘rely’ and ‘Martial’ in the same sentence is like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters
comment by Robb #gotheSwans (U22716)
posted 16 seconds ago
Do we rely on Martial as the back-up?
———
Putting ‘rely’ and ‘Martial’ in the same sentence is like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fair point.
But if we finally offload him and at his new club the team doctor discovers that a small tweak to the amount of gluten in his diet fixes his fitness problems, I reserve the right to have a proper tantrum about it.
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 4 minutes ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 3 minutes ago
If Leicester go down (or even if they don't) would Ndidi be an option for DM?
He'd be in the last year of his contract this Summer and I seem to recall he was quite highly rated a few years ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If we didn't have Casemiro I'd be open to the idea. But I don't see Ndidi as the player who receives the ball on the turn, beats the press and distributes, which is what we are really lacking.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was thinking more for cover, rotation etc. I believe he's also played CB at times as well. It depends on what we have to spend of course and the profile of player we need is what you've described. I do think we could do with two in CM really. Casemiro, Eriksen, Fred, Ndidi and new (dare I say) FDJ type player and I think we'd be well covered.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In an ideal scenario cover for Casemiro would be great. I think that has to be about sixth priority though (with striker, deep playmaker, keeper, right back and arguably cover for/successor to Varane as more important). Maybe it can be achieved if we identify a player who is out of contract, or if other positions can be filled more cost efficiently than envisaged. Maybe we can find players who tick two boxes, e.g. Timber can play right back + centre back; maybe there's a build-up specialist midfielder who is also defensively very good.
Another thought: do we need more than one striker? Do we rely on Martial as the back-up?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't disagree. I'm thinking ideal world here really.
With Martial it may come to pass that we may as well keep him for one more season as we probably wouldn't get a massive fee for him on the wages he's on in the last year of his contract.
Is it wishful thinking on my part that I still hope he could get over his injury woes and be a valuable asset. Think Robb has covered that above though!
Mitoma looks like a great player, not sure the other two add the jump in quality we need.
Sign in if you want to comment
3 alternative signing ideas
Page 1 of 2
posted on 5/4/23
Gnonto and Mitoma I like. Especially Mitoma. But its probably the position on the pitch we need to strengthen the least.
Watkins - meh. Decent player, yeah he's better than what we have, but that's because what we have is probably the worst CF in the league. Literally.
posted on 5/4/23
At a push, id take Watkins as a back up striker.
posted on 5/4/23
We need a CB, CM and CF.
I'd go for Dunk, MacAllister and Sesko
posted on 5/4/23
Mitoma is a great player. I would push Rashford forward and play Mitoma on the left. We also need a better player than Antony on the right but we all know that is not going to happen after wasting that much money on him.
posted on 5/4/23
Basically agree with Bloodred here: two good shouts in areas we can't afford to prioritise when we have a limited budget and big gaps in our squad, and I just don't think Watkins is a player who raises the ceiling of this team.
I have no idea how much we have to spend this summer with regard to money in the bank (depends on ownership), FFP and revenue from sales. What we do have I'd prioritise reinvesting in a striker, a midfielder who is much better than all of our others in the first phase of build-up, and a goalkeeper. If we can swap AWB for an attacking right back, that would also be great.
I think you're on the right lines, Robb, in looking for players who aren't yet superstars but we can legitimately expect to become elite footballers. I suspect striker is an area where we can't afford to economise, or rather where it's very hard to acquire a player of the quality we want to elevate the whole side without paying a very large sum. In midfield we've missed out on a few players who came cheaply to the PL and quickly established themselves - Caicedo, Guimares - so I'd hope we could finally profile the right fit and move decisively for him. (There's a guy called André at Fluminense in Brazil that some people are raving about.) As for goalkeeper, I've long been of the view that even an average quality player with the right profile (comfortable in distribution, claiming crosses and sweeping) would be a big net improvement on DDG. I don't really care who we sign, as long as we bring in a replacement.
posted on 5/4/23
comment by Zacab (U18502)
posted 3 minutes ago
Mitoma is a great player. I would push Rashford forward and play Mitoma on the left. We also need a better player than Antony on the right but we all know that is not going to happen after wasting that much money on him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm optimistic that, with experience of the league and a dynamic, overlapping right back outside him, Antony will have the platform to have a much more impactful second season.
posted on 5/4/23
Alisson could be an option from Liverpool.
Pros:
- He'll probably want CL football next season.
- He's settled in the area
- He'll have Brazilian teammates already at the club
- Good with his feet
- Excellent one on one
The ideal signing. Perhaps worth an article in itself.
posted on 5/4/23
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 15 seconds ago
Alisson could be an option from Liverpool.
Pros:
- He'll probably want CL football next season.
- He's settled in the area
- He'll have Brazilian teammates already at the club
- Good with his feet
- Excellent one on one
The ideal signing. Perhaps worth an article in itself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Plus he and Henderson fell out and what better revenge than to join us?
posted on 5/4/23
Mitoma has 11 g/a in his last 15 PL games apparently. Antony has just 3 all season in the league which were all goals. He doesn't have a single PL assist yet.
Absolutely ridiculous.
posted on 5/4/23
comment by Robb #gotheSwans (U22716)
posted 15 minutes ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 15 seconds ago
Alisson could be an option from Liverpool.
Pros:
- He'll probably want CL football next season.
- He's settled in the area
- He'll have Brazilian teammates already at the club
- Good with his feet
- Excellent one on one
The ideal signing. Perhaps worth an article in itself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Plus he and Henderson fell out and what better revenge than to join us?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Definitely something in this.
posted on 5/4/23
If Leicester go down (or even if they don't) would Ndidi be an option for DM?
He'd be in the last year of his contract this Summer and I seem to recall he was quite highly rated a few years ago.
posted on 5/4/23
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 3 minutes ago
If Leicester go down (or even if they don't) would Ndidi be an option for DM?
He'd be in the last year of his contract this Summer and I seem to recall he was quite highly rated a few years ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If we didn't have Casemiro I'd be open to the idea. But I don't see Ndidi as the player who receives the ball on the turn, beats the press and distributes, which is what we are really lacking.
posted on 5/4/23
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 3 minutes ago
If Leicester go down (or even if they don't) would Ndidi be an option for DM?
He'd be in the last year of his contract this Summer and I seem to recall he was quite highly rated a few years ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If we didn't have Casemiro I'd be open to the idea. But I don't see Ndidi as the player who receives the ball on the turn, beats the press and distributes, which is what we are really lacking.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was thinking more for cover, rotation etc. I believe he's also played CB at times as well. It depends on what we have to spend of course and the profile of player we need is what you've described. I do think we could do with two in CM really. Casemiro, Eriksen, Fred, Ndidi and new (dare I say) FDJ type player and I think we'd be well covered.
posted on 5/4/23
I don't know any of the players mentioned, so cannot comment on their suitability, but I like the idea in principle.
Upgrades wherever we need them, plus a good striker.
When ETH came we all said he would need five or six windows to get where we want to be. We were right, but he's made a far better start than I envisaged.
posted on 5/4/23
comment by manusince52 (U9692)
posted 0 seconds ago
I don't know any of the players mentioned, so cannot comment on their suitability, but I like the idea in principle.
Upgrades wherever we need them, plus a good striker.
When ETH came we all said he would need five or six windows to get where we want to be. We were right, but he's made a far better start than I envisaged.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I know of them of course, and have seen an odd game
posted on 5/4/23
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 33 minutes ago
Mitoma has 11 g/a in his last 15 PL games apparently. Antony has just 3 all season in the league which were all goals. He doesn't have a single PL assist yet.
Absolutely ridiculous.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mitoma is excellent. I'm also fairly sure he would be posting worse figures if he were in Antony's situation: playing for a side where the expectations and stakes are higher, where the team is gradually adapting to a new system (but where several of the starting players aren't a great fit for that system) and with Dalot/AWB providing the overlaps. Put Antony in a Brighton team that's enjoying itself and not going to feel like a failure if it doesn't qualify for Europe, has a well embedded tactical system and has recruited players who are both good and suit the system, and I imagine he'd look like a better player right now too. And Brighton would probably have bought him directly from Brazil three years ago for £6 million.
posted on 5/4/23
If we sold/released Henderson, Maguire, Telles, Bailly, Williams, Jones, VDB, McT (I'm sure there's more) I think we could very much improve the first XI with what we get for them. Hopefully we'd have more to spend of course but I'm sure we could get the likes of a GK, CM and CF for the money they'd bring in.*
*Yes I know I'm basically saying our options in those positions are poor!
posted on 5/4/23
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 3 minutes ago
If Leicester go down (or even if they don't) would Ndidi be an option for DM?
He'd be in the last year of his contract this Summer and I seem to recall he was quite highly rated a few years ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If we didn't have Casemiro I'd be open to the idea. But I don't see Ndidi as the player who receives the ball on the turn, beats the press and distributes, which is what we are really lacking.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was thinking more for cover, rotation etc. I believe he's also played CB at times as well. It depends on what we have to spend of course and the profile of player we need is what you've described. I do think we could do with two in CM really. Casemiro, Eriksen, Fred, Ndidi and new (dare I say) FDJ type player and I think we'd be well covered.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In an ideal scenario cover for Casemiro would be great. I think that has to be about sixth priority though (with striker, deep playmaker, keeper, right back and arguably cover for/successor to Varane as more important). Maybe it can be achieved if we identify a player who is out of contract, or if other positions can be filled more cost efficiently than envisaged. Maybe we can find players who tick two boxes, e.g. Timber can play right back + centre back; maybe there's a build-up specialist midfielder who is also defensively very good.
Another thought: do we need more than one striker? Do we rely on Martial as the back-up?
posted on 5/4/23
How many of you are big fans of Dong?
posted on 5/4/23
Gnonto is a great watch, a complete ankle biting menace.
If United signed him he could also play CB to bring the average height up back there.
posted on 5/4/23
Never watched him play, but there's a lot of buzz about Kephren Thuram. So I say: bring him in for our midfield, get Marcus Thuram on a free as back-up striker, and we'll have the novelty of brothers playing us once again. I'm mainly in favour of this because I never got over the fact that we failed to sign their dad, one of my favourite players of all time.
posted on 5/4/23
Do we rely on Martial as the back-up?
———
Putting ‘rely’ and ‘Martial’ in the same sentence is like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters
posted on 5/4/23
comment by Robb #gotheSwans (U22716)
posted 16 seconds ago
Do we rely on Martial as the back-up?
———
Putting ‘rely’ and ‘Martial’ in the same sentence is like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fair point.
But if we finally offload him and at his new club the team doctor discovers that a small tweak to the amount of gluten in his diet fixes his fitness problems, I reserve the right to have a proper tantrum about it.
posted on 5/4/23
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 4 minutes ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 3 minutes ago
If Leicester go down (or even if they don't) would Ndidi be an option for DM?
He'd be in the last year of his contract this Summer and I seem to recall he was quite highly rated a few years ago.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If we didn't have Casemiro I'd be open to the idea. But I don't see Ndidi as the player who receives the ball on the turn, beats the press and distributes, which is what we are really lacking.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was thinking more for cover, rotation etc. I believe he's also played CB at times as well. It depends on what we have to spend of course and the profile of player we need is what you've described. I do think we could do with two in CM really. Casemiro, Eriksen, Fred, Ndidi and new (dare I say) FDJ type player and I think we'd be well covered.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In an ideal scenario cover for Casemiro would be great. I think that has to be about sixth priority though (with striker, deep playmaker, keeper, right back and arguably cover for/successor to Varane as more important). Maybe it can be achieved if we identify a player who is out of contract, or if other positions can be filled more cost efficiently than envisaged. Maybe we can find players who tick two boxes, e.g. Timber can play right back + centre back; maybe there's a build-up specialist midfielder who is also defensively very good.
Another thought: do we need more than one striker? Do we rely on Martial as the back-up?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't disagree. I'm thinking ideal world here really.
With Martial it may come to pass that we may as well keep him for one more season as we probably wouldn't get a massive fee for him on the wages he's on in the last year of his contract.
Is it wishful thinking on my part that I still hope he could get over his injury woes and be a valuable asset. Think Robb has covered that above though!
posted on 5/4/23
Mitoma looks like a great player, not sure the other two add the jump in quality we need.
Page 1 of 2