11 May 2026 11:07:36
Can anyone here see Utd spending upwards of £100m for Anderson, which is what he prob cost. I can't see it but think it will be a huge mistake if he would come to us.
If we get five or six years of his current form or better, it will be a bargain just like the £105m Arsenal paid for Rice was worth every penny.
I would rather spend that sort of money on him than buy a player or two for £50m or £60m, who might improve the team but is not at elite level.
We are at a critical juncture for the club's future. Pep may stay another year, but I can't see him staying much longer.
He will want to go out with a big trophy in his final season and will do whatever it takes, including paying huge sums for the players he wants. Liverpool and Chelsea need to sign players, and Arsenal will use their position of strength to buy players to maintain their trajectory. Bayern, having fallen short in Europe again, will sign players. Madrid likewise, and especially as they have not won a trophy in two years. PSG have shown they know how to buy well.
If we don't buy top top quality this summer, we will quickly slip back into mediocrity.
11 May 2026 11:21:38
I think, just take the money out of it. The focus should be: are we buying players that a) are better than the current pick, and b) are or could be genuine, very good/world-class players (subjective, I know).
If the answer is yes to both those questions, money is of no relevance to us.
The Club, Ratcliffe, Berrada, Wilcox and co will decide how much they are willing to spend on those types of players.
I do not care if he costs 50m or 100m. I only care if he makes us better, and imo he definitely does that.
11 May 2026 11:29:38
We can probably forget about Anderson. Looks like he's guaranteed to be off to City.
11 May 2026 11:49:31
I think valuations of players matter less when they are the right age, English and Premier League proven in terms of quality.
The age allows some sort of safety net that their value will remain if it doesn't work out completely.
English and Premier League proven should remove some uncertainty around adaptability to the club and the league.
The two bona fide examples of this are Rice and Kane. Signing them at age 22/23, you could have probably paid any amount and they would have been good value in terms of service and quality. I think Anderson fits into this category. Ideally, you would want to see 1 more season of him in the league, but someone else will get him before.
11 May 2026 12:42:54
He would be the engine room of our midfield for a decade, so worth every penny, imo.
If City indeed are interested, then I doubt it will be a contest, unless he's up for the challenge of being the wheel in an evolving Utd side as opposed to another cog in the City midfield. If City aren't in for him, maybe we're in the driving seat, as I can't see another top Prem team that needs him that much.
But, there are alternatives, and we do need a handful of players, so I can see both sides of the coin. We'll be able to afford another starter if we swerve him, yet he's probably the best (if not shrewdest) signing we could make this summer.
11 May 2026 13:07:29
He does seem to be the best out of the available midfielders in the Premier League, but I'm not too worried, to be honest. There's actually a huge pool of available talent that could improve us centrally.
Unless City get whacked with a ban or a significant punishment for cheating, I think Anderson is nailed on there.
Would he and Mainoo work together? I'm not too sure. He's quite aggressive and gets about the pitch. He's quality, but I think someone to sit and break up play/dictate play might suit our team slightly better.
The team behind the years did well last year with the transfers. I have faith they'll get it right this summer as well.
11 May 2026 16:46:14
Worth every penny in this market.
He's been my first choice since the start of last season.
Suck it up. The money's there.
11 May 2026 17:16:27
I can't see Anderson or anyone else, for that matter, staying for a decade, or if it's even healthy for either side to do that nowadays...
I personally would prefer upgrades every 2-3 years, keep it refreshed.
I would certainly take Tonali and Bruno from Newcastle, I don't care if they've not got 10 years in them.
I think we need some experience, not keep buying potential and worrying about resale values.
I would take those two over 1 Anderson anyday.
Then worry about a cb and a striker.
11 May 2026 17:36:04
Anderson would be my first choice, and I think, given his age and so on, then spending 100M on him is better business than 80M on Tonali. Joao Gomes, Mateus Fernandes, Alex Scott, Ederson, Manu Kone, ...
there are so many players that we could get for the 40-60M range, but really I'd prefer us to get Anderson and one other rather than 3 CMs. I really think he's that good.
11 May 2026 17:44:46
Anderson is a fine player. Really good imo and would be someone I'd like to see in our team.
But he might have his sights set on City, and if he does, then no point in chasing him. If he is undecided, I throw everything at it in the hope everybody can sign him.
I like Baleba a lot, but him and Mainoo are very young and lack know-how and experience.
Tonali I like very much, Bruno G is also a very good player, both have epl experience also.
Wharton I don't see the attraction, but lots of others do. I've not seen too much of him tbh to have a strong opinion.
Outside of epl there are lots of good options on the face of it, but epl is like a different sport, so can they transition?
Tochimene (spelling) might be up for grabs, he is a very good player, as is Ederson and Kone at Roma, but can they do it on a wet Wednesday in Coventry? It's a big adjustment.
We have nobody in the academy doing well on loan who plays in midfield, and no obvious candidates from the academy to even squad fill. Two needed: Anderson and Baleba and Tonali, any two from that three would be great business imo.
I am hopeful we will buy well.
Cb lb rb cf lw all need depth, and preference would be starters in all those as Sesko is our only option as a cf currently.
I do see 5 or 6 coming in and at least 8 departing. I think type players coming in must be good enough to start and buying any potential should come outside of that.
50plus games next season so depth is needed. Not just bodies, we need real quality ready to go.
11 May 2026 20:44:54
We should be aiming for Anderson, Tonali, etc. The issue we have is, if we buy two real quality players, does that push Mainoo out again? Or are we buying a tier 1 to sit alongside him, and then a further 2 to bolster the squad?
You could argue we need one 80-100m signing and 2 40-50m signings.
Anderson or Tonali.
Plus 2 from Baleba, Fernandes, Ederson and Scott.
Or you gamble on 3 from the second list, and pump the surplus 50m into a lb, cb, sk fund.
Both paths are acceptable. I think the club will get it mostly right again, within the transfer market.
11 May 2026 21:36:01
Push Mainoo out of where Jimbob?
No player will play 50 plus games next season. We need 3 midfielders, Mainoo plus 2 more of equal quality, so no matter who is left out of a game there is no drop in quality.
Are Bayern worried about pushing Diaz out if they sign Gordon?
If you hand 3 top midfielders for 2 spots, they can each play close to 40 games, not too many do that anyway.
Ideally we should have 4 of similar quality, like Bayern, Barca, City, etc.
Injuries come, form comes and goes, so I don't see signing 2 as pushing Mainoo out; I see it pushing him to command a place.
We used to have Keane, Butt, Scholes and Veron fighting for 2 spots, and that's the way it should be imo.
Can't have too many quality players. You need to change a game from the bench in a big CL game; I'd rather be looking at bringing Tonali or Mainoo rather than Kone, for example.
Same as we need to sign another starting cf to push Sesko and complement him. No point in signing someone who is of much lower quality.
There will be enough games to keep players happy. I don't see a queue of players wanting to leave PSG or Barca or Bayern because they only start 20-30 games.
They have big calls to make, and because the cupboard is so bare, there will have to be compromises, no doubt about that, but midfield and cb are the areas that you can't hide mediocrity, imo.
You pays your money, you take your chances!!
I'd be placing my chips on 2 x cm, 1 x cb, 1 x cf, 1 x lw, 1 x gk, all good enough to start regularly without a huge drop in quality.
Notwithstanding, we need 2 fbs also. ?
11 May 2026 23:32:37
Agree with you, Ken. We need to get back to having two top players for every position.
Have read all the above views about Anderson etc. To my mind, he is the closest player I have seen to Roy Keane in years, apart from Declan Rice. I would do all I could to get him.
12 May 2026 00:24:12
Yep, Salford, he is excellent. But, if he has his sights set on City to replace Rodri, then we need to look elsewhere. But, if there is a sniff, id throw the kitchen sink at it.
Ederson is a really good player too, at a good price.
Tonali is also excellent, imo. Baleba has huge potential, but the AFCON thing bothers me, along with his inexperience, particularly in Europe, where Ederson has plenty of that, as does Tonali.
Lots of options if Anderson says no.
12 May 2026 03:58:02
I agree with you, but the reality is, as we have seen, that players will get disgruntled if they are not selected and throw their toys out of their prams.
Even with those mids you mentioned, there was a clear starting two, and the other two picked up the scraps.
12 May 2026 08:53:00
Let's go back in for de Jong. ?
12 May 2026 09:12:17
They don't get disgruntled at bid successful clubs. If they do kick them out.
12 May 2026 10:48:18
He may be worth the money, but our funds are limited. I'd be surprised if we spend that amount on one player. We have too many positions needing strengthening.
12 May 2026 10:50:44
Cannot see us buying 3 mids for the life of me. Two plus a lucky academy promotion, probably Thwaites.