Manchester United Banter

31 Jul 2026 11:38:45
I do wonder what the departure of the Manager Eddie Howe will do to any hopes of us signing their left back Hall.
Reports suggest Hall and Howe had the same agent, and that presented a conflict whilst both were there, but that now is not the case. Does that make it easier? Newcastle fly off to Spain for pre-season training later today, apparently. The new manager due in tomorrow does look a strange decision, but I can’t see him wanting to let too many key players go.

They have let several players go already, and Guamares looks likely as well.

If we are interested in Hall, is it now easier to get him or harder? If we wait for them to sell Guamares, it feels like they may be more determined to keep Hall.

Looks ideal for me and we cannot go into a season relying on Shaw. Dorgu isn’t a good enough left back.

Why are we waiting?

31 Jul 2026 13:28:53
It's hard to know if it makes it easier or harder.
They have lost 2 already in Gordon and Tonali.
Bruno looks set to go, so do they need to sell Hall. Will he push himself out like it appears Bruno will or Isak did?

You seem to have no idea how transfers work, Redman. It's not like the days of old where you're sent an offer to the club chairman.
Nowadays
You need to get agreement with an agent.
Then the players.

The agent needs to see if the selling club are open to offers and get an indication of what offer will be accepted.
Only then will clubs enter club-to-club talks.
If the player's club won't engage or get a heads of agreement with the agent for the player's departure, no offer will be made.
Discussions happen between clubs and agents before anything else can happen.
You say why are we waiting?
How do you know we are?

You've no idea what conversations are happening and the order things need to be done in.
The selling club will often not agree to a sale and meanwhile look for a replacement so as not to disadvantage themselves, and then when that's done agree to a sale when they have sorted their cover.


I spoke with a current EPL manager about this only a few weeks ago.
The managers/coaches rarely get involved until late in the day, with some exceptions.

The costs are very, very complex, with many hands in the pie, so, and to quote him, "nothing is as it seems from the outside."
He said complex contracts, agents, and outsiders make things very difficult.
When he was a player, he had teammates who had signed over all their rights and responsibility to agents/companies that controlled their every move, and they had little or no say.

I think Hall is a super player and would be a good signing, but Newcastle don't have to sell, and unless they give an indication they will accept an offer then what can you do.
They may have, after speaking to Hall, agreed to sell him but when they are ready.
So we either wait for him or move on.

31 Jul 2026 13:33:00
I'd like Hall. But not sure we'll go for a marquee left back. I know Shaw is injury prone and getting on a bit, but he's had arguably his best season for many years in terms of performance and injuries, and Hall will expect to be first choice. I just don't feel that the club considers Shaw quite done just yet. Maybe just me.

31 Jul 2026 13:38:58
Sell Shaw whilst he has some stock, after his amazing season, everyone keeps raving about.

31 Jul 2026 14:12:05
You'd find fewer buyers for Shaw than Rashford.

31 Jul 2026 14:28:17
But Shaw probably wouldn't be as fussy as Rashford.

31 Jul 2026 14:46:58
TW,

Amazed any players get sold based on your post, but they do, and when a club don't want to sell.
Somehow, Liverpool managed to buy Isak, Spurs Tonali. Amazing how it keeps happening, and to think it's not done on the back of a cigarette packet. There again, Woodward would have bought Benson & Hedges for our defence.

31 Jul 2026 15:11:43
Why are you amazed? It's how all transfers get done for the overwhelming majority.
It's very different from how it was in our day.
When all parties want the same thing, it works efficiently.

The difficulty happens when a player needs to force an exit. Most don't.
Tonali is nothing like Isak, he was allowed to leave easily when the price was met. The fact you compare/liken the 2 shows how little you understand.


Isak forced his way out, not training and refusing to play, going on strike effectively.
It's becoming a bit more common but still unusual for a player to do that, as it destroys his and his agent's reputation and breaks trust. It's not something the buying club likes to see happening either.

Woodward is gone thankfully but the negative impacts of his decision making and transfer ignorance will live with us for a while yet.

31 Jul 2026 15:27:31
TW,

You missed the sarcasm in my "amazed".

Oh, things have changed since we bought Big Jim Holton, but didn't Ronaldo say something about being a slave before we sold him.

Look, I understand the principles and the nuances, yet we need to get deals done. Another season of only Shaw at LB is high risk. Plus a CM, plus a ST.

31 Jul 2026 16:06:34
I'm sure they will get done what they can. We need all sorts, so won't get things done this summer. Selling clubs won't make it easy, Red Man. If Newcastle can spoil things for us until the last day of the window, they will. They are not there to help us, they are the opposition.

31 Jul 2026 21:40:09
We need to be ruthless, just get rid of players and pave the way for the newer direction.
I think you'd find ubs come in for Shaw, but he is probably just riding the last wave. I hope, beyond hope, we aren't dumb to renew his deal like we did with Maguire.

The door was wide open, just say goodbye to Maguire, and we buckled at the last minute and kept him. One more year for the boys, hey.

30 Jul 2026 23:38:34
Style of play?
Understandably, a lot of the posts have been focused on the recruitment of players. Hopefully there will be a few more astute signings but my purely personal view is that we won't get good value on players Madrid or PSG don't want.
I'm more interested in the style of play that we develop this year and it will be interesting to see if Carrick can stamp his identity on that.

The second half of last season was fairly pragmatic and really just showed how chaotic Amorim was.
It would be great to see the side develop a really strong identity again and that will be how I judge Carrick more than anything else.

31 Jul 2026 06:48:57
RedD

Chaotic? No. Amorim had a fixed idea and had a style of play he wanted to implement. It wasn't going well, but it needed time and the right players. Carrick implemented more of a counter-attack game.

We don't really know yet what style Carrick wants. We only know Middlesbrough.

I am equally of the opinion that Madrid players are not necessarily the answer; they are being let go, if they are, for a reason.

31 Jul 2026 10:16:27
NRD, I agree that you rarely get good value signing players from other top sides. Not only is there normally a good reason for why they are prepared to sell them, they are also normally on high wages already, meaning you are forced to paying large fees and wages for a player that for some reason a top side is prepared to let leave.

There are also occasional exceptions to the rule. Sometimes a player just wants a new challenge, or a top club is facing financial challenges and needs to sell a player, or they have a new manager who wants to take the team in a different direction that does not suit a specific player. However, these are rare and you will want to be 100% sure that this is the reason for the sale as it will be an expensive purchase, which comes with higher risks.

For example, I rate Tchouameni as a top player, but personally I think he is someone to probably avoid this summer. He'd be very expensive (70m+, and wages of around 350-400k per week), and you have to wonder why Real Madrid would be happy to let him go to fund the signing of a 30 year old who needs an operation and has a recent history of injury issues. The final issue is that I'm not sure Tchouameni fits the current football meta. When looking around for alternative players with a similar style of play/skill set it becomes obvious that there are very few options. Personally I think that is because the current football landscape doesn't really have a place for that old school defensive midfielder.

Midfielders now typically fall into one of two categories, technically gifted passers, and physically dominant pressers. Both are expected to do a large amount of defensive work, but they are also both expected to contribute to ball progression either through passing or carrying.

For me Tchouameni is more like the Makelele, he'll stay deep, shield your back four, win the ball when it comes near him, and make mostly safe, short passes to more technically secure teammates. He's not a presser who'll jump out to win the ball, and he's not an expansive passer who will switch play with 50 yard passes, or thread dangerous through balls through the middle. He's also not a player who'll typically get on the ball and carry it 30-40 yards up the pitch, or dribble through lines of pressure.

Really he specialises in winning the ball in front of the back four, and being able to drop deep between the CB's to allow them to get on the ball and pass forward. Undoubtedly he's the best in the world at doing that. Unfortunately in the modern game that isn't a skill set that has proven to be particularly successful given how other teams are playing. At Real Madrid for example they don't get pressed high all that often, and they tend to have the majority of the ball. Meaning for most of the game their is little need for a player like Tchouameni to be on the pitch and he doesn't really offer enough on the ball to justify him being there. That is why they want to replace him with Rodri, a player who is good defensively (not as good as Tchouameni though) but also great on the ball.

Like you I am also really interested to see how our style of play develops under Carrick. He seems like a good blend of idealism and pragmatism. He's clearly intelligent and can coach a ball dominant style of play similar to how he played as a player, and we saw that at Middlesbrough. Yet he isn't rigid with it, he's prepared to be flexible, and to adjust the team style to suit the players he has available. Which is what we need as we rebuild this squad.

Someone who has a preferred way of playing, a vision to aim for, but is prepared to adapt to get the best out of what he has until he has the right tools to play the way he wants.

It'll be interesting to see how we play this season, there are some interesting things we are seeing in pre-season, which is where Carrick can actually start to implement some of his principles of play.

We seem to be setting up more in a mid-block, rather than a low block or a high press. That gives good balance as it creates some space in behind but without bringing the wolf to your door like a low block. We seem to be looking to play in packs, with quick passes, one or two touch, drawing teams over to one side of the pitch, then quickly switching play into the space on the other side.

It's effective, and when it clicks you can get some lovely quick interplays and score some well worked goals. While it also allows good defensive coverage, which is creating more stability in defence and less pressure on individuals to save us. It's a very team focused approach, rather than playing to individuals. I think that is something that the media are missing out on as Bruno has thrived as it does get the best out of him, but it's not set up to play for him. If you take him out then it will still work the same, just maybe a slight drop in efficiency due to Bruno being replaced with a player not as good as him (although long term I can see Amad being his replacement and being excellent in there).

30 Jul 2026 22:13:53
Michael Carrick 10th longest serving Head Coach or Manager in the EPL 🤯.

30 Jul 2026 14:01:57
Sky reporting that Madrid are expected to make a bid for Rodri very soon. I wonder if United have been waiting for this to happen to then bid for Tchouameni. Would be a shame if he became available but United had gone elsewhere. I also read that although the boy has signed a contract, this was done prior to them expecting to go in for Rodri so he could still be available.

Think Rodri moving certainly starts a merry-go-round of CM's.

30 Jul 2026 16:14:17
I think that's exactly what's happening. The club will likely have a pipeline of deals teed up, which are contingent on certain outcomes.

If Rral buy Rodri, Camevibga for sure if surplus to requirements, and maybe Tchouameni. All being said, let's not waste all summer on this. Just bring in Baleba.

30 Jul 2026 16:34:26
If Rodri comes in along with Diomande (not sure they will stop there), then they will definitely be needing to sell. Whether that is Tchouameni or another is anyone's guess.

It would be no surprise if we are having conversations with everything dependent on the Rodri deal, and I think he would be a brilliant move at anywhere around the £65/70m mark.

Should it happen, it would also mean the logic at the start of the window of 3 midfielders with one in each of the £30/50/80m bracket!!

Onto Lewis Hall after that, especially with Eddie Howe leaving and looking like a real reboot in Newcastle.

30 Jul 2026 17:06:51
Rashford is causing a bottleneck also. If we could move him on, it would help considerably.

30 Jul 2026 20:51:40
I can't see any destination for Rashford... maybe big spending Spurs, but would we sell to them? Other than that, there's nowhere... unless Barca do what I said they would and offer a loan in the last week of the window!! Wouldn't surprise me.

30 Jul 2026 21:41:26
I don't expect Tchouameni to be going anywhere.

Also, hasn't he openly said he doesn't want to leave Madrid? Rarely works out buying a player that doesn't really want the move. United have tried that before to no success.

30 Jul 2026 22:18:34
It seems Utd have options Kone, Nemencha, Warton, others, and I hope Sadiki in addition to Tchoumeni or Camavinga. They'll have an idea on costs for any targets.

I'd think Tchoumeni is first choice and they want to rule that out before moving on with others.

30 Jul 2026 22:55:45
Maybe we could convince Newcastle to take Rashford, but he wouldn't want to go to that sinking ship. He says he will only go to a UCL team, or stay at Utd. Nice of us to let him do whatever he likes. He arranged a cut price deal for himself to Barca, and they still preferred to spend double on Gordon.



If Rash causes issues this season, I would payout his contract and release him. Only takes one bad apple to spoil the barrel. If he comes back and is hungry and plays like a man possessed when he gets his chance, then we don't need a backup striker or left winger.

Big decision for Carrick. Does he trust him.

31 Jul 2026 06:41:09
I'm pretty convinced he will leave. Whatever is being said, I don't see a way back for him. I think plenty of teams will move for him, and I would be making it clear to him that he isn't first choice at United.

31 Jul 2026 11:42:56
Fallguy, I get that sentiment, and I think it's great that United want players who want to sign for United. With this situation, he may prefer to stay at Real, but if they are saying their plans lie elsewhere, as long as he wants to sign for us when it's clear his future isn't at Real Madrid, that's ok imo.

If he's told his future isn't at Madrid and he says he wants to sign for City, PSG or whoever, then I agree we shouldn't pursue him. We just need to see what Madrid say when/if they sign Rodri.

31 Jul 2026 12:22:59
Think we've got more chance of signing Charlton than Tchouameni. He is an elite midfielder, one of the best in the world in his position. I'd say we only have one player even close to being one of those (Bruno).

He would be brilliant, but why would he, and why would we be his automatic destination if Real wanted to sell him? I don't see it, but I'd absolutely love to be wrong.

30 Jul 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Letstalkabout6baby has posted a new article entitled, Why Kounde Feels Like a Liverpool Fit