17 May 2024 21:52:18
Neves of Benfica
103M barnacles
19yo
Provides a 10+yr solution to a position
Personally, this is the type we move heaven and earth for.
I wanted Bellingham, but seemingly he didn't want us, maybe Neves will have a different stance.
17 May 2024 23:06:14
Why buy one Rolls Royce when we need five Nissans?
No marquee signings for me, I don’t care if I’ve never even heard of them.
18 May 2024 02:51:12
We haven't done well with marquee signings recently, Pogba, Anthony, Martial, Maguire, Sancho, Lukaku, Di Maria.
However we are a club that thrives when we bring in hungry, young talent and let's them grow, Neves maybe in that bracket, but financial I don't see him as an option.
Remember we have a talented bunch of academy players like Wheatley, Biancheri, Amass, Jackson and Ogunneye. Add in Garnacho, Mainoo, Kambwala, Hojlund and it might be a good core to build around.
18 May 2024 03:29:26
It's called a plan Spenno.
Like. if we can make it work, and Neves is interested in the project, you buy him, end of story, he's class. Same applied to Bellingham, Haaland, etc etc there are players that Manchester United just used to get. We might not have the pull we once had in all its might, but we are still Manchester United and that is a big enough pull for aspiring young players.
So again, if it can work for all parties, it is a yes.
As an example, we are culling a lot, apparently. Assuming that's the case with midfield, I'd suggest even keeping McTom and buying Neves, as opposed to ditching McTom and buying 2 Nissan's. One more season of a fighter like McTom is better than a further 4 years with 2 Nissan's.
18 May 2024 09:49:23
Spenno
What usually happens when we start sniffing around the Nissans?
Yep, that's right, the salesmen see us coming and haggle us up.
It's going to take a few years, maybe a whole decade, before other clubs begin to accept that we're not going to allow clubs to pull our pants down, dragging us through seemingly endless negotiations to reach a point where we've agreed to pay 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% more for a player than he's actually worth.
The Nissans we need to be focusing on are players on frees like Adarabioyo, Ndidi, Iheanacho and Kamada, or players available at something of a discount because their contracts are expiring in 2025 like Jonathon David, Toney, Gallagher, Yoro, Chiesa, Khephren Thuram.
I mean, to start, at LB, Juan Miranda is available on a free. Terms have been agreed with Milan, but there's nothing concrete there so United could stick their foot in the door.
Sergi Cardona, another available on a free.
Then there are the more left field options like Caleb Wiley of US club Atlanta who is more of a LWB.
When you say Nissans, we still need to be picky, but we need to avoid time-consuming negotiations and be ruthless.
If there's a player with one year left on their contract, make an offer (one that's not a derisory fart from the Ed Woodward playbook) and stick with it. If the selling club wants to blag us, we simply walk away.
The strategy should be similar to any other business - you want to buy an asset but can't afford to be drawn into a haggle, market dictates the value, you make an offer, you receive a counter that's unacceptable, you say no and return staunchly with your original offer, they say no, you walk away.
The point is that, if we get the right Nissans quickly enough for decent value, then the Rolls Royce becomes a more sensible option.
Like Jimbobred says - that's 10yrs+ of our midfield engine room being covered by two incredible talents.
The weird bonus regarding Neves is that, although £103m is quite the outlay for one player in a summer transfer window that will witness the start of Sir Jim's revolution, it is a release clause so, if terms and agent boxes can be ticked off swiftly, there's a deal ready to be done in a timely fashion without the standard haggle.
If United spent £200m while we see six players come in - a sensible marquee signing at £103m, a couple of frees, and made three wise signings for little more than £30m each - that, for me, would be a good summer.
Obviously, if we were to opt for Branthwaite over the likes of Calafiori or Alip, then we influence our ability to make other signings.
For me it's simple - midfield is halfway there with Kobbie.
In one summer we can complete our midfield engine room with one signing - we need to appreciate that advantage.
We know defence will take 2 or 3 seasons to fix, but should that mean we pair Kobbie with players who aren't good enough?
No mate, I'm 100% with Jimbobred on this, Neves is absolutely what we need.
18 May 2024 10:52:33
Without a shadow of a doubt João Neves is one of the best young midfielders in the world and will likely become one of the top 3 or 4 players in his position in a few years time.
That said I'd probably not sign him this summer for two reasons.
The first is that I cannot see any professional football manager lining up a team to compete in the EPL with two 19 year old midfielders at the heart of their side.
It's an area of the pitch that needs to balance talent with experience. You need to have a player in there who has that experience to lean on, to know when to press, when to up the tempo, but also when to sit back and when to slow the game down.
I'd absolutely love a midfield with Mainoo and Neves as a couple of 24 year olds looking to boss world football for the next 5-6 years.
But for both of them to become world class midfielders by the age of 24 they need to play regularly for the next 5 years. I don't see that as being likely if they are both in the same team.
We have a super talented young midfielder, we need someone with a little more experience ready to step up and be the leader and take the strain for the next few years as Mainoo develops alongside them.
The second reason is that we probably need to change around 18-20 members of this squad before we are really ready to compete for top honours.
That's not really possible if we are signing 100m players. That money needs to be used to sign at least 2 or 3 players, maybe even 4 if we can find players with the right attributes and mentality that just need a platform to step up and prove themselves. A couple of those "hidden gems".
We are better off signing several players that next bracket down, but who still have a lot of potential who are all suited to playing the same style of play and who have the right mentality and drive to create a better all round team.
I think the biggest mistakes we have made in the transfer market over the past decade have been when we've signed big name players for massive fees thinking that one player will start to turn the club around or take us that next step. Be that Di Maria, Pogba, Lukaku, Sancho, Maguire or Antony.
Those 6 players were all signed for massive fees and all to be the player who'd transform the team or allow us to play a specific style. None of them managed it. Over 450m spent on those 6 players, which is probably 300m more than they were worth.
We are supposedly looking at Olise for his 55m buy out clause this summer to solve the RW position. This is the same player we looked at but ignored 3 years ago when we could have got him for 10-15m. The same player we would hope will solve the right wing issue that Sancho and Antony haven't been able to solve, despite costing over 150m combined.
I'm not against Olise as a player, I think he's a phenomenal talent and I wouldn't be upset if we signed him. I do have concerns about his injury record, but for the money you won't find a cheaper, more talented, EPL proven player. So I do wonder if there is a cheaper alternative out there that we could sign who has a high ceiling of talent but hasn't yet had the chance to prove it.
I suppose ultimately we do need to sign a blend of players this summer, some proven and more likely to be able to step straight in and hit the ground running, and some cheaper players who might take a little time to settle.
We shouldn't sign just big names for big fees, nor should we only try and unearth hidden gems. We need to do both and be selective over which positions/ players we take a chance on and which we go for a more proven option.
At CF for example we won't be able to sign a top proven star as they will cost a huge amount and really well are just looking at cover/ support for our 70m 21 year old Højlund. It doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money on a player for that role, so we can maybe take a chance on someone like Guirassy who has a cheap release clause, but whose scoring record probably won't translate from the Bundesliga to the EPL. Or someone whose a lesser known gem of a player like Kevin Denkey, someone whose got talent but is raw and needs a bit of developing. Both would be available for under 18m. Which is what we need to add depth at CF but not to eat up the budget.
Signing a player like Neves as our big money signing just doesn't make sense this summer. He's a cherry on top signing, we need the buy the flour, butter, eggs and sugar to bake the cake before we get the cherry on top.
Olise would make more sense as one of the bigger name/ price signings as he plays in a position of need, is EPL proven and is available for a relative bargain in the current market. He's less of a gamble, would be half the cost of Neves, while he is more likely to make an immediate impact in the side.
We need to be smart with our signings this summer more so than ever before. This is the start of a new Manchester United squad, and we need to lay the best foundations to build on over the coming years.
Neves is a phenomenal talent, but he is the wrong type of signing for where we are right now.
18 May 2024 11:07:20
For the left side i'd put Martinez there, he s intelligent enough to take on the role if he can stay fit - between him and injury prone Shaw they should be able to cover it between them over 50 -55 games - Shaw has no re sale value, Malacia never impressed me in what little we saw of him.
I would go all out for 2 central defenders, i know in some peoples opinion Martinez has done well at CH -he has been good - and his height hasn't been a problem but I still say 2 big fast CHS not injury prone who can form a partnership week in week out would be huge for us, something we haven't had in a long time.
18 May 2024 11:25:46
Yes Shappy.
You’ve said much more eloquently what I initially suggested - we need a selection of players from the next bracket down.
We can add the icing further down the line.
18 May 2024 11:44:55
Shappy
Enter. Adrien Rabiot on a free.
Now let's wait for all the talk about how much of a problem he is.
Imagine a midfield trio of Neves, Rabiot and Mainoo - who's outworking that?
18 May 2024 12:03:37
You won't win anything with kids.
18 May 2024 12:57:03
Ndidi on a free in a summer would be an excellent squad player.
18 May 2024 12:58:58
Thank you Mr Tumble!
18 May 2024 13:58:51
Ork, why would a player coming toward the end of his peak years, currently playing for a Champions League bound side, sign for a mid table English team?
If he decides to leave Juve, he’ll have offers from clubs with a much better chance of winning bigger trophies. The only reason he’d possibly pick us over them is money. That’s the same mistake the club have been making for the last decade. Bringing in players that value money over winning has created the culture of mediocrity in the dressing room.
18 May 2024 14:16:16
Danny
You're right, he probably wouldn't come for anything other than vast sums, but he has to be on the radar.
I haven't said he's the best option - that would be Ndidi, I simply talked him up as the experienced, hard-working option he is.
18 May 2024 15:17:34
I agree that he’s a good player, but I’d be concerned if he wanted to come here. Similar situation to Varane and Casemiro.
18 May 2024 19:56:43
I'm clearly in a different time zone to most of you as I've woken. To all these.
Anyway, in summary, Shappy disagree with the age issue. As Tumblr said, we won't win anything with kids.
Also with the masses, I would say signing Neves, Rabiot AND Ndidi ticks all the boxes. That's 2 Nissan's and a Bugatti for 103m.
18 May 2024 21:13:49
That’s more like it Jimbo, I feel a plan is having the younger ‘lesser’ arrivals with a few experienced heads to consolidate. I see us grabbing a few freebies if we get a move on.
19 May 2024 04:55:04
I'd only want the Rabiot's and Ndidi's for max 2 year, then flog them off the Saudi as the youth system is delivering the goods by then on a consistent basis.
That's what I would do if was in charge of it all, which I'm not, so I'll watch on and see how it all develops.