17 Jul 2017 14:55:35
Its well known Jose wants a DM to anchor the midfield and allow the likes of pogba more attacking freedom,
its now looking like matic may be going to juve (would suit Chelsea more than selling to rival) dier is probably the best option who could be available, although levy knows he's in a strong position and realistically it would probably take an offer of around 70m.
So my question is this, do you think he would be worth the investment? And if not do you think we would need someone who is more defensively inclined or more akin to a deep lying playmaker?
For me, I think he would be worth that, it may be a lot initially but the way prices are going that may look reasonable in just a few windows time (remember when we thought Ferdinand for 30m was a lot)
But if we were to just use our existing squad and with us lacking wide players, I believe we could adopt more of a diamond in midfield with pogba, herrara in the centre, miki as an attacking midfielder/ no 10 then depending on if we have 3or 4 at the back, lindeloff, tfm, carrick or blind in games where we require a more defensive set up,
but if we're wanting to use a deep lying playmaker how about playing mata there? I know he is not that strong defensively but then again nor was scholes, yet he was a master at controlling the tempo of games, and against the poorer sides his defensive short comings would be less of an issue, anyway just wondered what you thought of this option?
17 Jul 2017 15:35:46
Dier for £70m? Has the world gone totally mad. Say it out loud to yourself, "dier for £70m". Then you reslize what an absurd price that is. He's not worth half that price.
17 Jul 2017 16:01:08
Herrera is perfect for the role, he gets better and better, reads the game well and has great vision - he knows how to tackle as well. Jose was using him there towards the end of the season as well if I remember correctly.
Dier is nowhere near good enough on the ball. He isn't worth £35m let alone £70m in my book. Would be a waste and we have good youth prospects coming through that can play the holding role as well.
We should sign an energetic midfielder, one that can link midfield and attack and create space, we have no need for a sitter 95% of games we play, especially as Lindelof is good on the ball. We have one man in the box far too infrequently. Carrick can fill in when needed, even Blind or Fellaini if push really came to shove.
I have a feeling that we will see Mata/ Miki playing centrally with Pogba and Herrera, kind of like what ADM was doing well until LVG tinkered again.
I don;t see the point in spunking big money on a position that isn't vital. Winger and full back is the key areas to focus on.
17 Jul 2017 16:04:19
I've said this before and I'll say in again I think we've already got a very good CDM in our squad and he's called Daley Blind. In my opinion he's a very similar player to Carrick. He's intelligent, positionally astute, reads the game very well and has good distribution. He was initially bought by LVG as a central midfielder. I admit he struggled on occasions in his first season when employed as a CM but now he's used to the premier league and with better players around him I think he could be really good in that position. With Herrera providing the energy and work rate and Pogba the physicality and creativity Blind could just sit in front of the back four and keep the game ticking over. He can provide good cover to the full backs as he's decent in one and one situations from his time playing at full back, he's comfortable dropping into the back 4 as he's played at CB for the last couple of seasons and he's good on the ball. I think he deserve's his chance and a midfield trio of Blind, Pogba and Herrera isn't to shabby.
I'm not convinced Matic or Dier are that better and certainly not at the prices quoted in the press. Just my opinion but I think the solution could be right under his nose.
17 Jul 2017 16:19:30
Its may indeed sound absurd but would anyone have thought matic would be worth 40m even just last year? And yes dier at 70m would be steep, but do you think levy would let him go for less than that?
The way I look at it, if dier is able to get the rest of the team to play to their strengths and make us more competitive both domestically and in Europe would that not be worth it? Esp given he is a utd fan and could be with us for the next 7/ 8years.
17 Jul 2017 16:45:04
Don't get Dier as a player and certainly not for £10m less than we sold Ronnie for. Bakayoko for 40m made much more sense.
I'd rather Jose played Carrrick, Ander, Blind or TFM there; or buy Matic or loan Sanches.
Crazy.
17 Jul 2017 17:19:13
That's the thing Dags. Dier is not great. He's not even good. He's average. Can you see other top clubs forking out £70m for him?
He will not improve us. He brings nothing to the table.
17 Jul 2017 17:23:13
Mata can't play as a deep lying playmaker. He's not good at setting the tempo of play. He's fantastic at going for the kill, whether that's through and assist/ pass or through going for goal himself. But he can't control play like Verratti can for example.
It's kinda like Fabregas in my opinion. They're fantastic at playing that final killer ball. But they don't control the play.
17 Jul 2017 19:56:59
shame thiago maia went to Lille, I reckon he'll stay there a little while before moving to psg, great cdm.
17 Jul 2017 20:55:34
Beast, couldn't agree more. Hererra impressed every time he played that position. And as you say in the vast majority of games we shouldn't need a DM.