25 Jul 2023 12:27:21
Sounds like ETH is eager to get the Amrabat deal done before the Hojlund deal.
I think the Hojlund deal will depend on how much money we raise from outgoing players (is it get's done) .

1.) 25 Jul 2023
25 Jul 2023 13:12:40
I assume this is more a case of one being naturally more advanced than the other. Sales will be needed by the end of the window to balance the books but so long as we are confident of bringing money in I doubt Hojlund/ Amrabat will be held up by sales needed in advance.
If we can get both in over the course of the next week we will be in a great place to review the squad over the remainder of the tour and what final ins/ outs required.

2.) 25 Jul 2023
25 Jul 2023 13:31:31
Brad76 - i hope you are right.
I would be more than happy with Mount, Onana, Abrabat and Hojlund.
I think that would be a great window for us.

3.) 25 Jul 2023
25 Jul 2023 14:45:07
Bringing in Onana, Mount, Houjland and Arambat would be an amazing window, upgrading in several positions and giving us multiple tactical options against a range of formations and pressing models.

Also promising youngsters Mainoo, Hannibal, Fernandez and Amad to add to first team squad depth.

Also, apparently Sancho being conditioned for second striker, so again more options in attack.

Would be brilliant window if can sell players not part of longer term thinking, such as Fred, Maguire, McTominay, Donny, Williams and Maguire, as well as getting decent money for youngsters such as Pellistri and Bishop (Elanga, Savage and Iqbal already gone) .

Going to be a really tight battle this year for too 4 (and even for the title) between City, Arsenal, Liverpool, United, Chelsea, Newcastle - and maybe even Villa.

4.) 25 Jul 2023
25 Jul 2023 15:24:09
I must admit i love the look of Mainoo.
He looks more than capable of looking after himself on the pitch.
Very calm with the ball at this feet, good passer, quick thinker and bags of strength.
I hope he can break in to that first team squad this season and bag a few first team games.

5.) 25 Jul 2023
25 Jul 2023 16:11:24
I'd like a pint of what Wallace is drinking.

6.) 25 Jul 2023
25 Jul 2023 18:15:49
Yeah, but we’ll be sorted for a range of formations and pressing models………….

7.) 25 Jul 2023
25 Jul 2023 19:21:35
I for 1 liked Wallace’s optimism. These pages would be a much more enjoyable read with more posts like his whether you agree or not. We’re all optimistic fans really and under ten hag even more so.

8.) 25 Jul 2023
25 Jul 2023 20:57:01
Love it Wallace, selling my Maguire twice is genius.

9.) 25 Jul 2023
25 Jul 2023 23:12:28
Wallace - Don't forget Spurs and Brighton. West Ham may be a surprise package this season if they get their targets in the door.

10.) 25 Jul 2023
25 Jul 2023 23:15:24
What makes you think any of that? Twitter rumours?

11.) 26 Jul 2023
26 Jul 2023 07:46:56
Not convinced about Spurs Syd, depends on what happens with Kane.

Brighton will have list two best players but their recruitment fantastic and will have older Ferguson scoring goals.

Not sure about West Ham though.

12.) 26 Jul 2023
26 Jul 2023 08:54:27
By all accounts according to people that watch a lot of Serie A Amrabat had a pretty club average season, yet was brilliant for Morocco. Wonder how much was down to his role and suitability in either team. Hopefully Utd play more like Morocco than Fiorentina!

13.) 26 Jul 2023
26 Jul 2023 10:54:05
I'm on the fence with Amrabat, he's clearly a good player, but I'm not sure he's definitely good enough for where we want to be.

He has been a mixed bag for Fiorentina putting in both memorable and forgettable performances.

Maybe EtH has a plan for him, maybe he thinks he can take him up a level. I don't know.

What I do know is I'm very skeptical of judging players for their international performances. Personally I feel the quality of international football has declined or at least club football has surpassed it in terms of quality. Either way it seems foolish to judge a player based on their performances at a lower standard of football than you'll want them to play at.

Also things like the world cup are such a small sample size. 6 good performances in 4 weeks is nowhere near enough to judge a player.

I also feel strongly about giving Mainoo a real chance this season. Give him some proper minutes and see what he can do and how he can develop. I certainly wouldn't want to block his pathway to getting that playing time with an average or slightly above average player.

I've always said we should only sign players who are either better than our current starting player in that position, or who have the potential to be better.

I don't see Amrabat as better than Casemiro or even potentially better.

14.) 26 Jul 2023
26 Jul 2023 13:06:19
Maybe Amrabat compliments Casemiro if we go with a box formation like a 3223 when we've got the ball. Amrabat and Casemiro with Mount/ Sancho and Bruno further forward. Martinez could also play there hence why we are looking at CB's and maybe not so much fullbacks now. Not saying we will play like that but getting another CDM gives plenty of options if ETH wants to change style.

15.) 26 Jul 2023
26 Jul 2023 15:57:01
We need to consider how poor we were away from home against strong opposition. Our home form was excellent all season. In big games we were poor against any decent team, and the reason was that we were over run in midfield.

Now mount may add some legs and a bit more bite to the press than Eriksen and sancho for example. But I think we still need to be able to play more solid in the middle against teams like city, liverpool and in UCL away from home.

Fred and mctominay may be more robust, but they both struggle to play EtHs passing style. Fred with loose passes to often and mctominay is not good at finding passing angles and space.

Mainoo looks a good player. But we have to consider what happens if cassemiro is out injured or suspended for a period of time. It is too much to expect Mainoo to play from the start against city/ liverpool away. Especially without an experienced player like cassemiro next to hin to guide him through.

Seems like fred leaves. Possibly McTom leaves. Amrabat or another comes in and Mainoo is 3rd choice CDM/ B2B. Plenty of chance to feed him into the squad and see if he can make it. Similar to garnacho last year, who was handled pretty well.