31 Mar 2015 01:31:04
Not a big lover of hummels and especially at the proposed fee. I think he is slow and would struggle in pl. No doubt good on the ball. If he signed for us I would love to be proven wrong. Alves again looks a bad deal even on a free due to his age and the fact he's past his best. I like Rafael but if we must sign a right back danilo or clyne. Centre back I'd take garay. Even though depay wasn't great Saturday still like to see him join in summer.
31 Mar 2015 06:12:18
Alves on a free is a great acquisition and still has a few years in him. Much better than rafael and the finished product. People get this idea that 30 is death in football but not true proven by loads of players. There is a good reason he is an automatic pick for Brazil, whilst Rafael does not even make their squad. I still expect us to sign Clyne as well and rafael is being moved on.
31 Mar 2015 08:06:26
I agree with you GCU Alves would certainly do a job and Clyne will be on our wish list but I'd still rather have Coleman over both.
31 Mar 2015 08:20:16
Yes Hummels is not the fastest I grant u but hasn't Blind taught us anything over the last few weeks? The first few yards are in your head.
I'm pretty sure Dortmund know he's not the quickest but have no problem playing a high line with him.
31 Mar 2015 08:25:45
A lot of people on here (and rightly so) about the diving / cheating antics of Januzaj and DiMaria, and prior to that Ashley Young.
Well you better get used to it lads because few were to sign Alves, you will witness a whole new level of "simulation", to put it nicely. Good player, but really is one of the very worst when it comes to feigning injury.
Personally hope we don't see him at OT.
31 Mar 2015 08:49:54
John Terry and Vidic were slow, but they are arguably the two best Cb the premier league has seen.
I don't understand why fans still think that you have to be some sort of brute to play in the prem. Silva has proved you don't have to be massive and Terry and vidic have proved pace isn't everything at Cb, if you can read the game well and have a good CB partner.
31 Mar 2015 10:03:33
Dani Alves is past his best, he is great going forward but very lax defensively. My picks would be Coleman or Clyne. Coleman is better going forward and Clyne is the better defender - depends on price I would imagine. Valencia I suspect will back up one of those two with Rafael moving on.
31 Mar 2015 10:50:03
We saw how a lack of pace exposed Vidic in his last few seasons.
My issue with Hummels isn't just about his lack of pace, he also has a tendency to switch off in games like Rio used to early in his United career, the difference was that Rio had the pace to recover such mistakes more often than not and Hummels doesn't. Also the pace of the Premier league is much much faster than the Bundesliga. If Hummels could be bought for 20-25m max then it might be worth the gamble. But we are likely to have to pay 35-40m which is around 20m too much, you can afford to over spend on a player by that much if he is going to be a guaranteed success. But there are a couple of question marks over Hummels which makes taking such a gamble silly.
I'd rather go all out for Varane with Otamendi as the back up option.
As for Alves, he was a world class player, and he may have another season or two left in him. But could he adapt to the Premier league? He is very similar to Evra in style but not as combative. If he was 24 then it would be a no brainer as he would have time to learn how to cope with the Premier league. But as his age I'd pass on him.
Clyne I would be cautious about, for around 15m yes but not for any more than that. Yes he has had a very good season, but loads of Saints players had very good seasons last year. Then they moved on and none have been as good as their form was last season people such as Lambert, Lallana, Lovren, Chambers and Shaw. We can make up excuses for them but The recent managers at Saints have been very good at getting a team to perform better than the sum of its parts.
Remember last season Clyne struggled to be first choice ahead of Chambers who hasn't really pulled up trees at Arsenal. Lovren had a good 6 months at Lyon then spent two years playing poorly, moved to Saints and had a good year moved to Liverpool and has struggled since.
I'm not saying Clyne is a bad player, he's a good player. But he might not be as good as the form he is currently showing. As such we would need to be careful making a move for him.
Personally I'd prefer making a big push for Danilo who will be the best RB in the world in a year or two. Beyond him I'd seriously consider making a move for Santiago Arias who has been solid for PSV. He would be relatively cheap and is a very good RB who ticks all the boxes. It would allow us to focus our spending on other positions more in need of a world class player.
At the end of the day a world class full back rarely makes a difference in the out come of a match, yet world class CB's, CM's and forwards win you points on a weekly basis.
{Ed004's Note - I agree with Clyne being a risk. Personally I would go for Coleman. I think Danilo is highly likely to move to Madrid. Hummels is slow but if paired with a quick and athletic centre back I think it would work. Also Smalling would be even better if paired from a proper defensive leader who is excellent on the ball}
31 Mar 2015 11:16:44
If we can get Alves on a free then it's a no brainer in my opinion. Massive upgrade on Valencia and Rafael. Brings experience into the defence and is free! Would also have a resale value if he signed a larger contract.
It also opens up more spending for other positions in the team.
{Ed004's Note - I think it would be a terrible signing. I would avoid at all costs}
31 Mar 2015 11:25:11
Shappy you said 'you can afford to overspend by £20million when you are guaranteed success' so what's your verdict on Di Maria?
31 Mar 2015 11:34:50
I wouldn't mind going all out for Coleman Bale and Hummels and maybe a pacey but cheapish striker
{Ed004's Note - Replace Bale with Pogba for me and I'd agree with that. I think Depay is a very likely signing and would like to see Mata continue out right after his superb displays vs Lpool and Spurs}
31 Mar 2015 13:05:32
Not impressed with danilo and has Madrid written all over him.
Think hummels is a bit risky.
But terry as one of the beat two cbs in the prem era has been the funniest thing I've read today, cracking laugh that.
31 Mar 2015 13:46:24
well have to Disagree, PSG scouts and the rest that are looking at him are not stupid. I mean with the low quality of talent in Spain and a team like Barca, they must be also stupid to start this guy every game.
Some of the comments are amusing to say the least. Its being served Fillet Mignion instead of rump steal and saying i prefer rump steak.
Offensively he is at a another level we have not had down the right wing since the Beckham days. Same silly arguments about Marcelo at real Madrid, top top left back around and yes they are both told to go forward and defensively the team is sometimes exposed. Superb on the ball, can pass and cross and still has tons of pace.
Unfortunately I don't think we will get him anyways.
31 Mar 2015 12:39:15
Ed004, Hummels would get exposed by the best players in the league. At Dortmund the only time he comes up against players of a better or similar quality to him and his team mates is when he plays Bayern Munich. But how would he cope in the Premier league when there are several teams with players of a similar or better quality than himself? Vidic had a world class Rio Ferdinand along side him every time he played against Torres but he still got tore a new one every time. I don't think it makes sense to invest so much in a player with such an obvious and easily exposed weakness in his game.
I agree that Danilo is probably Madrid bound, but if we are going to heavily invest in a RB then we might as well fight it out for the best. As for Coleman I rate him but he isn't world class, and for the 25m it would cost at least to sign him I think it would be silly investing so much in a player who isn't world class and at the age of 27 is only a medium term option. Arias is not far off of Coleman and has just as much potential. He would cost 15-20m less in transfer fee and probably a similar amount in wages over the term of his contract and being younger is a better long term option. Going for a player like Arias over Coleman could be the difference in being able to target Pogba over Strootman. Who would you rather have Arias and Pogba or Coleman and Strootman?
Juan, If I'm honest I let my heart rule my head when we signed Di Maria. I always had reservations on his suitability to the Premier league. But at the time we were trying to sign one of the best players in the world at a time when we were at a real low. So I was just happy for us to sign a big name player. But that has so far shown to be a mistake. We signed Veron who was one of the best players in the world at the time and he could never get to grips with the Premier league.
That for me is the main reason I am against signing Hummels. We have twice signed one of the best players in the world for big fees. Both times there was a question mark over whether they would suit the league and both times they struggled. Hummels in my opinion would make that a hat trick.
Lets not sign players based on their name and their appeal but instead sign players who suit us and the league we are playing 80% of our games in.
{Ed004's Note - But people forget Hummels has played in a really high line defence all his career and usually been the best player in the defence for the past 4/5 years. He has had a dip in form this season but has said a fresh start will help with that. He just needs someone who can cover for him when he goes forward with the ball. There are no other world class centre backs available out there. Godin I don't think is possible, same with Varane and Laporte. He is also the leader we need badly in our defence. English teams have struggled badly recently and this is due to them lacking technically. I think with Van Gaal we will improve on that front and is a big reason why we looked so good against Lpool and Spurs.
You have a point on Coleman but Everton have had a disastrous season and will need to raise funds to sign more players. I wouldn't go above 20 million for Coleman. Also think a right side of Mata and Herrera and a right back that is direct and excellent going forward would make it a whole lot more threatening. I haven't seen Arias so can't comment on his suitability.
Di Maria started off very well in the premiership. I think he just needa to regain confidence and reckon he could go back to being one of the best in the league again.}
31 Mar 2015 16:19:10
GCU i certain someone named Ronaldo playing on the right wing for us after Beckham. didn't do too bad did he?
31 Mar 2015 16:23:27
I think if we get a player like Nainggolan or Vidal, then Di Maria on the left of a midfield 3 or diamond would be perfect. As good as Carrick and Blind are at passing/being a basis for attacks, they struggle when the opposition are running at/past them as they have little to no defensive work ethic to run 30 yards after a player IMO, whereas those two would, and could easily cover for Di Maria, who in my opinion needs to be less relied upon for tracking back, as that isn't something he does too well. At this stage, and with the age Vidal is at, I would probably take Nainggolan ahead of him.
31 Mar 2015 21:28:25
Isn't Vidal only 28?
01 Apr 2015 09:06:25
First purchase has to be pogba. Cb otimendi or geray. Rb clyne. And we should only get bale if the price was right.
I would not consider hummels but i think alves will do a very good job for a couple of years.
Depay has looked poor the last ten matches for psv. He'll be a risk and could end up being another nani.
01 Apr 2015 11:01:42
Yeah JMB, and Nainggolan is 26, so just completely disregard that post hahaha, no idea what i'm talking about with that one tbh!
01 Apr 2015 00:00:01
Why do you think varanes not possible if you don't mind me asking ed?
{Ed004's Note - I don't mind at all. He recently signed a new long term contract, is getting game time and will eventually replace an ageing Pepe}
01 Apr 2015 15:08:24
Do you actually think he will wait another season though ed? There's Rumours Carlo will leave as manager and I'm guessing jose will want him as his no.1 Target. And him and Mourinho do love one another.
{Ed004's Note - I think he will. He's still very young for a centre back and will replace Pepe over the next season I think}