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29 Oct 2019 10:28:50
So today's rumour is that Napoli have pulled out of the race for Erling Haaland as they feel he will sign for United due to the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer connection.

With Ole having managed him at Molde and having played a role in helping him develop and trusting in him as a young player.

He looks a very good player in the games I've seen, albeit only a couple, he looks a natural and plays beyond his young years.

But do we need a more experienced striker. The big issue many people have is that we have a lack of experience up front a d we can't rely on inexperienced strikers to score 25-30 goals a season for us.

Haaland is only a year older than Greenwood, while he is two years younger than Rashford and four years younger than Martial.

There is an argument that he has scored a lot of goals in a weaker league, yet he has 6 goals in the UCL while playing for a team that wouldn't be expected to get many results in the competition.

So is he a flash in the pan or the real deal, and could the club afford to wait a year or two and see how he develops or do we need to get him now if we can?

Agree4 Disagree0

29 Oct 2019 10:45:02
Interesting one this Shappy. If you are going with a young first team, bringing in a load of seasoned older pros may also imbalance the squad. Would Lukaku have been a good squad member this year when younger players were getting minutes ahead of him? I'm not so sure.

I've not seen enough of Harland to comment on him, but Ole seems very keen and I think he offers a bit more heading ability than we currently have in the team?

Problem with promoting all your youth players is that you might not have too much more behind them in the club. I would expect some new young recruits to be added over next two windows as well as a couple for the first team squad.

29 Oct 2019 11:24:16
I think there's enough interest from leading clubs to say the kid is going to be decent. And we need support now.

My question is, is another potential star what we need or a 30+ experienced player.

29 Oct 2019 11:37:52
It's always difficult knowing how a player will fit in if will actually fit in and e suite to the EPL aswell.

Ideally we would sign someone who is 24/ 25/ 26 who has the experience to lead the front line.

Having said that, other than Dembele ( I wouldn't sign mandzukic) I don't know who the club should sign.

January signings will come at a premium. Also our league position and Europa league qualification will play a factor into who would be I interested in joining.

29 Oct 2019 11:39:35
Can never have enough 'potential'. But it has to be balanced. G Neville has often said 'The Class' would have gone under had the likes of Keane and Cantona not been there for them.

29 Oct 2019 12:12:04
It's tricky with young players, the club have been burned both when signing young players and when not signing them.

We bought Anderson who was a future star at 19, and he struggled, as did Depay while he was at the club.
Yet the club also choose not to sign Ousemane Dembele while he was at Rennes and Mbappe while he was at Monaco.

The problem with signing young players is they not only have to adapt to a new club, league and country. But they also need to develop and grow and reach their potential, which might not be expected of a player who is 26-28 who is being signed as a player who has already achieved their potential. Mentally how do they cope, do they feel like they've "made it" and start to coast? Or do they knuckle down and work on becoming the best they can be like Ronaldo?

Generally I think we need to target younger players, ideally those between 20-24 so they have some experience, but still have enough growing room to adapt and grow into the role we need them for in the team.

However, you do need a certain amount of experience through the spine of the side. With DDG, Maguire and Young we have three more experienced players who can play in defence. In Matic, Fred and Pogba we have some experience in midfield, with Mata and Lingard being more experienced at the top of midfield. Yet, we seriously lack that experience in the final third.

We are desperately lacking that experience in the final third. So Ideally it would be good if we can sign a player between the ages of 26-29 as a striker, someone who has a proven record and someone who can add a little experience to our youthful forward line.

29 Oct 2019 12:18:35
The problem shappy with those experienced players is less than half of them are any good at football anymore.

29 Oct 2019 12:28:00
DSG, its tricky, and there may need to be a compromise. There used to be loads of decent back up strikers who could do a job without kicking up a fuss when not playing every week.

Maybe we could sign someone in their peak with a slightly different playing style to Martial and rotate them?

Andrea Belotti perhaps, or maybe even Callum Wilson wouldn't be such a bad shout.

29 Oct 2019 12:37:20
I'd be tempted with Krzysztof Piatek.

29 Oct 2019 13:06:10
Sign Lewandowski and we will be sorted for a few years until. Martial. and Rashford are fully ready.

29 Oct 2019 14:14:04
I still think a right sided forward is more important than a striker.

Martial deserves his chance to lead the line and Rashford is more than capable of playing upfront if needed. They are undoubtedly the future of our Club and they just need to find more consistency and stay clear of injury in the coming months and years.

It looks like James will now play from the right when everyone is fit and he has provided two brilliant assists for Rashford to score against Liverpool and Norwich which is promising but I think the general consensus is he's more comfortable and perhaps more effective from the left. We have real quality and depth on the left but a worrying lack of options at No10 and on the right. When one of either Martial, Rashford or James is injured Ole is forced into playing two from either Pereria, Mata and Lingard. They all want to play centrally, congesting the centre of the pitch and making us very easy to play against. None are particularly effective from the right and when two of the three play together in the same team we lack balance and penetration.

A quality right sided forward would give us more options and bring more balance to the team. I just wonder if Gareth Bale might be an option in January under the right circumstances on a pay as you play type contract.

I think upfront Ole is probably looking for different type of striker. Somebody that comes alive in the penalty area, somebody with excellent movement and instinct. Somebody that scores the tap ins and gets on the end of crosses and balls into the box and can make an make a impact from the bench. Maybe somebody like Edinson Cavani although I'm not convinced he'd be happy playing second fiddle to Martial but that type of player.

I know we've been burnt from buying ageing players in the past and the new transfer policy is to target younger players with the potential to grow and develop but our squad lacks experience and winners. I'm totally against signing older players for big fees and rewarding them with obscene long term contracts; those days are over but under the right circumstances I wouldn't rule them out completely or underestimate their value.

29 Oct 2019 14:16:06
Lewandowski turns 32 soon, and has never played at the intensity of the EPL. He would be good for a season or two. Yet we have had our fingers burned signing older players from top sides before.

Would he want Sanchez level money and how long a contract would he want?

Also wasn't that supposed to be what Zlatan was going to do? The problem is Rashford and Martial will only develop so much with limited minutes. They need to be playing week in week out to develop to their full potential.

29 Oct 2019 14:38:46
DLIB, I wouldn't touch Bale with a barge poll. The guy is a crock and uninterested in playing football.

RW is an interesting one, we clearly lack quality from that side of the pitch and although AWB has made the right hand side defensively solid he does lack something in the final third.

However, I feel there is a real lack of quality players who play on the RW in modern football. The idea of playing inverted wingers and inside forwards have led most right footed players to play on the left. While there is significantly less left footed players to play on the right.

For me the solution is under our noses. Either play Dalot as a RW, he is rapid, with a dangerous cross and is happy to play with chalk on his boots. Or have Greenwood play on the right cutting in on his stronger left foot.

The best option outside of the club might be someone like Bernardeschi who is very good from the right hand side.

29 Oct 2019 15:13:38
Shappy - Your probably right about Bale I was merely hypothesising more than anything. I doubt he'd come without the insurance of a long term contract anyway.

I agree about Dalot I'd love to see him given a chance playing higher up the pitch. Whilst he was very highly regarded as a right back at youth level I'm just not convinced by his positioning or defending. Of course he could improve, he's still very young but now finds himself well behind AWB and I believe Ethan Laird is very highly rated at the Club as well. Maybe he needs to reinvent himself slightly and there are clearly opportunities for him on that right hand side.

I've read Federico Chiesa at Fiorentina is very highly regarded. Could he be an option from the right?

I've not seen enough of Greenwood to judge if he'd be a viable option from the right. I'm not sure he has that pace or directness in his running and I wouldn't really want him covering in defensive areas or running back towards his own goal. From the games I've seen he appears to be more of a box type player. He's very dangerous in around the box where he possesses quick feet and can shoot quickly and accurately from either foot. His movement, ability to lose defenders and instinct for goal looks very promising and I just think if you get the ball to this kid in the box he'll score goals. I think coming off the bench or playing in the Cup competitions as a CF will do his development the world of good. I'd continue to play him upfront where he's scored all his goals at youth level. I accept It's very hard physically to lead the line at such a young age and maybe he'd benefit from a strike partner in maybe the 3-4-1-2 formation Ole has used on a couple of occasions recently.

29 Oct 2019 15:49:42
DLIB, I think Dalot could become a throw back type winger, all things come around again. So it is only a matter of time until clubs want wingers who can beat a man on the outside and cross accurately.

From what I've seen of Chiesa he likes to cut in a lot, which isn't a problem, yet if AWB isn't going to overlap with intent then we still end up narrow on the right.

I agree that Greenwood probably would be better with a strike partner in a two man system. I really like the 3412 system, my concern with that system is where you play AWB. If he is wide right then he will need to attack more than he defends which isn't playing to his strengths. The other option is to play him at RCB, its a role I think he can play. But why would you choose him ahead of Lindelof or Tuanzebe for a more central position?

29 Oct 2019 16:07:30
Jadon Sancho as RW would lift us to the next level.
He has pace, 2 footed, big goal threat and an excellent dribbler in tight spaces.

29 Oct 2019 16:28:10
Gotta be sancho or chiesa for me. Or out of the blue. what about Leon Bailey?

29 Oct 2019 16:41:00
TrueRedDevil, he would be the dream signing. Yet he is likely to cost close to 150m, especially when you consider what Dortmund sold Ousmane Dembele for. Sancho looks a better player. Plus he will cost more because of the "English tax".

However, I can't see him joining a side not in the UCL. Not while he is almost guaranteed to be playing every week competing for league titles and playing in the UCL every year with Dortmund.

So unless we have a massive turn around I don't think we will be able to offer him UCL football next season. Which means he might be off the cards.

We could look towards a player like Dani Olmo, more of a No.10 come winger who likes to drift. But has pace is direct can score and create goals. Plus might be able to sign him in January. He would be a good option wide right in a front three or in the No.10 role.

I think he would excel in the free role behind the split strikers in the 3412 formation we have played a few times.

29 Oct 2019 17:01:36
TrueRed/ RedWhiskey - Sancho would be perfect but cost may be prohibitive and I would imagine we'd have to finish in the top 4 to stand any chance.

A summer of Sancho, Maddison and Saul Niguez would be fantastic but I suspect I'm living in dream land to be honest. If you could add Chilwell to the list then we really would be in dream land.

Shappy - I think AWB can play wing back; Ok he perhaps lacks a bit of quality in the final third but this is an aspect of his game that he can work on. To be honest he has to improve offensively even if he remains at right back. The key for me is that the wing backs provide the width stretching the opposition and creating space. In my opinion our attacking has been so toothless because whilst Martial has been injured Ole has been forced to play Mata and Pereria at No10 and RW heavily congesting the middle of the pitch and taking the pace and forward runners from the attack. Maybe if one of James, Rashford or Martial is injured Ole could revert to 3-4-1-2. This would allow us to play 2 upfront, whilst keeping the width in the team without leaving us short in midfield.

29 Oct 2019 17:01:46
Good read, lads. Refreshing change from the usual.

29 Oct 2019 17:40:37
DLIB. Sancho, Maddison and Saul will be like best transfers in the history.
Midfield and attack will be sorted out instantly.

29 Oct 2019 21:11:37
Sancho or Dembele will be a top top signing but if we want to go for quick fix and get back up the table then i would go for Lewandowski.





 

 

 
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