24 Apr 2025 19:20:30
Hi Ed001, what's your opinion on a few of our apparent targets? Delap and Ederson (Atalanta) more so as obviously Cunha is quality but I haven't seen much of the others and would like to hear your thoughts? Cheers.
{Ed001's Note - Delap is decent, but not really ready to lead the line under such pressure yet. Step up from what you have but might not be much more than that in the short term when you probably need more.
Ederson is excellent, a very good hard working midfielder.}
24 Apr 2025 20:41:24
I’d sign Vardy on a free over Delap. Yeah, he’s a bit of a knob, and a few years past his best. But he’s a goal scorer, and would be a decent option off the bench.
Vardy for free, plus another proven scorer, and send Hojlund out on loan. Better than bringing in another young striker.
24 Apr 2025 21:17:31
Delap for me looks like mistakes from the past. It’s the right price rather than the right fit and the right quality
We should be getting two strikers, for me Oshimen and maybe Jonathan David on a free. Let Hojland go and have Obi learning from a master craftsman
I saw a comment attributed to Berbatov. Oshimen would cause defences to drop 5 to 10 yards and give us space. To me Delap is high risk. I would also say that like when the club bought poor players for Mourinho, if Amorim wants better but the club sends him Delap and it’s not what he wants, he should resign on the spot.
24 Apr 2025 22:20:12
Why would Amo resign might as well wait till he's sacked red fella get the big pay out.
25 Apr 2025 07:16:19
Vardy lol.
25 Apr 2025 07:25:53
I guess at some point we have to trust the new structure and recruitment team. I read yesterday, not sure how true it is but Amorim wanted Delap at Sporting and Wilcox obviously worked with him at City so it seems there is enough knowledge around the lad. I absolutely get the want for a more established and proven striker but the positives on Delap is he’s played a season in the Premier League and he’s scored goals in the Premier League.
I think with young strikers it’s not necessarily a case of them not being established, it’s more the expectations and pressure put on them to score goals but if we can 3 options to rotate, he won’t get flogged every game and you can rotate when it looks like they are struggling.
I think an issue with Hojlund at the moment is he’s going into every game now with the burden of not scoring but our options are limited he’s having to try and play himself into form in an underperforming team which contributes to even more pressure on him. The lad can score goals, he proved that last season but he needs someone else to take some pressure off him. 3 good striker options I think would see our strikers scoring more goals.
25 Apr 2025 12:24:19
Ports, The problem with Højlund is he was never a £70m player. We paid way over the odds for him.
I’d go all out for Osimhen this summer, and if possible David on a free as Red man has said above. We need quality up top badly.
25 Apr 2025 12:30:48
The new team need to earn trust like the new manager 1st signing wasnt thst good Dorgus pretty grimm so far . I like Delap think he'd be a shrewd signing way better than Hoijlund and Zirkzee good price as well . Hoijlunds problem is he's the first touch of a Clydesdale horse and can't read the game scoring for a striker ain't a burden its his job another ETH waste of money i reckon.
25 Apr 2025 13:22:41
Funny how fans see different things, imo dorgu has been far from 'grim', yes he's been inconsistent but shown how he can be a threat going forwards and looks comftable defensively, put in a shift every game as well, I think he'll be a good player for us.
25 Apr 2025 13:47:06
Grimm. are we watching the same player. Dorgu is a young player who has been up and down which is to be expected especially stepping in to this team/ season.
He has given balance to the team and has performed well. Looks comfortable and is strong phyisically. Will develop further and be a key player next season.
I actually think that Dorgu gives me more faith in the players that the club/ Amorim want to bring in.
25 Apr 2025 13:57:02
2toms, you are absolutely right about the fee and sadly Hojlund has to carry the weight of this fee but it's a result of non football people doing business with football people and being showed up which is the story of the last 10 years for the club but unfortunately the players have that thrown at them.
I have to be honest and say I have been left disappointed with Dorgu so far. I hope it's a settling in period and he's been thrown straight into it but I hoped he'd be a bit more direct and I thought he was quicker. But that's not to say he won't come good, he just looks like he is playing too safe at the moment. What I will say though is that the team is much better balanced when he is in the team which shows the worth of having a natural left sided player in the team with this shape we play.
25 Apr 2025 14:19:50
I don’t think Dorgu been bought by RA for first team yet anyway, he still wants another who will be in front of Dorgu.
Dorgu is a fit lad with good engine but bit erratic with poor touch, poor crossing and got a lot to learn and far from the finished article, hopefully he kicks on, but I don’t think he makes starting 11 next year him and Mazzouri will both be back ups. Dalot will be one side and either Amad or another new signing the other side.
25 Apr 2025 16:59:56
Danny, so let me get this straight. You'd rather sign the 38 year old who has 7 league goals over the 22 year old who has 12 league goals because in your opinion the player who has scored less is more of a goal scorer?
Did I get that right? ?.
25 Apr 2025 17:59:34
Dorgu is raw and still finding his feet. If we want to progress under Amorims system, Dalot needs to be gotten shot of. He’s not good enough.
25 Apr 2025 19:51:20
Brum and German don’t like any of our players, they both give them no time whatsoever and say they are all useless, it’s almost like they are the same person.
26 Apr 2025 01:26:42
I don’t see the point in ‘buying’ another young striker Shappy.
I would rather us sign a 38 year old who has scored consistently in the premier league on a free transfer to use him as an option off our bench, alongside buying an established striker to lead the line.
By doing that we could send Hojlund out on loan for the season, and give him a chance to develop.
That’s a better option than bringing another young g unproven striker to the club.
26 Apr 2025 05:44:34
You need some therapy, the other day you said I was maze then something about Romanian now Brummy, I would say just stick to United and what this page is supposed to be about, people’s opinions than being fixated with me, I appreciate your loving, but please your beginning to feel a bit weird and more like a stalker, in fact more like a stalker than Rasmus is a striker.
26 Apr 2025 11:36:29
Danny, I agree that signing a top class proven striker in their prime would be best. Someone ready to take on the burden.
The problem is that there are very few players out there that fit that description. There is a real shortage of top class strikers right now.
There are only 8 players across Europe's top five leagues that have scored 20 or more league goals so far this season. They are Salah, Lewandowski, Kane, Retegui, Mbappe, Isak, Haaland and Ousemane Dembele.
The top three are all in their 30's, while Salah, Mbappe and Dembele aren't really strikers but goal scoring wide forwards.
We then consider where those players are playing and we see clubs like Liverpool, City, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG amongst them. All clubs that we absolutely cannot take their best players from right now.
That leaves Isak and Retegui as the only ones who are the right age, style of player, and at clubs where it might be able to sign them from.
Newcastle would demand over 100m for Isak even if we could convince him to join. A fee that we just cannot afford.
Retegui is at Atalanta, the same club that charged us 70m for Højlund who only showed potential, and not the kind of scoring form Retegui has shown this season. While strikers from Serie A have a patchy record when moving to other leagues, particularly the Italian ones. So again a player who'd cost close to 100m.
Simply we cannot afford to buy that profile of player, especially in such a sparse market that is driving up the prices.
Other options seem like Osimhen, yet there are concerns over him a 65m release clause and the player is refusing to drop his excessive wage demands that have seen other clubs walk away. He's also fallen out with pretty much every club he's played for, and has a patchy injury record.
Is he a player the club should risk breaking the new wage structure they are trying to put into place for?
Other options might be Mbeumo who has 18 goals, but is more of a wide player. He also won't come cheap.
Greenwood has 18 goals in Ligue 1, but I don't see the club looking to bring him back.
Moise Kean has 17 goals and is the right age and profile of player. Yet he flopped pretty badly at Everton before as one of those aforementioned Italian strikers who have struggled when leaving Serie A.
Schick has 18 goals in the Bundesliga, but is 29 and comes from a league where scoring seems to be easier with many players unable to match their goal tally when moving to other top leagues.
The problem is where is this player who we can afford, is the right profile and is available?
The only one I can see is Jonathan David from Lille, he has 16 league goals and has consistently hit 15-20 league goals every year for the past 4 seasons. He's also available on a free transfer (although he reportedly wants a large signing on fee and substantial wages) . I'm not sure he's the perfect fit for Amorim's striker role though. He is quick, great in the channels and is good at dropping deep to link play, but he isn't really a target man or someone who has the physical profile and ability that Amorim demands from his striker.
So the club has to make a decision, do we sign a player who fits the age/ experience profile or do we sign a player who fits the playing profile the manager needs to make his style work?
I think that the club are looking to sign Cunha as a player who is in his peak and has consistently scored in the EPL from a position just off or wide of the striker as someone who can maybe carry a little more of the burden allowing a younger striker who has the right profile for Amorim to come in and make the system work.
Personally I'd be looking to sign David as well as Delap as we are very short of options up front, and he fits the age profile while offering something slightly different giving the manager options off the bench. Especially as he can be brought in for a very little. Even if he doesn't fully succeed he's a player we could sell in a couple of years for a profit if need be.
26 Apr 2025 14:33:59
German,
You are all of them people, been banned more times than Keano in his hay day.
26 Apr 2025 16:28:37
Some people on this page have regenerated into new personas more than Dr. Who lol
We all have our opinions on who/ what we need, noone right or wrong, but I do hope we can get one or two players in early so there’s a fighting chance for a preseason and getting some of these ideas ingrained. A tour on the other side of the world two days after the season end seems bizarre, got to top up the kitty somehow I guess.
27 Apr 2025 07:37:26
Redman, maybe it is RA that wants Delap.
27 Apr 2025 10:25:59
Jimbo
Could be that RA wants Delap. If he does want him as first choice then good, it’s on RAs head and he will have scouted or seen something in him. But if he wants say Oshimen and the club say no here is the cheaper option Delap which we like because it’s cheaper, then look where years of that got us.
When the club bought poor players and not the ones Mourinho wanted he should have resigned on the spot. Instead he stayed and took the payoff. Amorim may do that, but he strikes me as someone who would walk if the club really do not support him.
We don’t know exactly what Amorim wants, I just want the club to support him with his first choices, for the right reason.
27 Apr 2025 20:19:40
No managers walks these days, why would he, he just waits for the pay off, sadly principles have gone from society and especially football.