12 Mar 2026 17:54:58
Oh dear, Licha has picked up an injury in training and is out of Villa match.

It's getting concerning all these knocks, we really miss him playing the ball out so well and instigating attacks.

Don't care what anyone says. The absolute necessity for a title challenging side is a top, top class Goalkeeper and a quality Centre Back. We are on the way with the keeper but not so with a centre back.

You won't do as well with top class strikers and poor keeper/centre back as you will the other way around. Look at our teams of the last 30 years. When did we win league titles without them. Look at when we did NOT win leagues and the keepers we had.

I do think both Yoro and Heaven are very, very promising. We must remember that Yoro is not long turned 20 and although over recent times he has struggled he made his debut at 18 and for the majority of the time, until recently, looked good. Longer term, I would be hopeful of both players coming good, but the concern is now.



A player I think who could come in and succeed would be Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck, 26 years old, 6'3'' excellent in the air and very quick, also strong and very aggressive in the tackle. A left footer who has top quality passing skills. He is also known to have a strong ''warrior'' mentality.

He ticks all the boxes and I would love us to do all possible to sign him this summer, his contract expires next year (Dortmund very keen on getting him to renew but not achieved yet). Despite this, I would be prepared to make a significant offer to try and sign him.
Real Madrid are also very keen but as is their way they want a cheap deal, so we need to blow them out of the water. Only my view but I think he would be very much worth it.

The foregoing all sounds perfectly reasonable to me, but sadly, I have just remembered I am not the one making the decisions, so I hope someone there agrees with me!

1.) 12 Mar 2026
12 Mar 2026 18:24:56
He is too injury prone to be relied upon for the first team, same as MDL, really. It does change things in the CB if this is a longer term injury or just a niggle.

2.) 12 Mar 2026
12 Mar 2026 21:11:19
Jbr, you have not backed that up in any way. Let's have a look at the facts, shall we?

2025.
He had a meniscus injury last year that kept him out from 7th April until 17th October, obviously a major injury, apart from that, excluding cold/flu, he had 5 days of injury.
2024.
He missed 14 days in total from 3 small injuries.
2023.
A total of 70 days from 6 injuries (3 injuries accounting for 60 days).
2022.
12 days in total from 2 small injuries.
2021.
22 days in total from 3 injuries.


2020.
Hamstring injury from 3rd October to 14th January, obviously a more serious issue; apart from that, 6 days in total.

So, over a 6 year period, apart from the 2 significant injuries, this is a history that could hardly be described as ''too injury prone'' and the ''same as Mdl''. There are many, many players who could match and even exceed that record. I have no doubt you would welcome them to the club.

I do not accept your assertion as valid.

3.) 12 Mar 2026
12 Mar 2026 22:17:08
Time to get rid of Martinez and de Ligt, both always injured.

4.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 07:43:59
It is valid he had missed 50% of the games we have had since he signed.
Whether you accept it or not, iwotb, which is irrelevant, he has been unavailable for selection for over half of our games.
Get rid, he is too small and will always pick up injuries; he is batting above his weight physically, and in this league gets exposed.


Pity, I really like both his character and ability, but he has to go due to his availability.

5.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 07:46:17
Strange response, that IWOTB.
Licha spent a lot of last season out, and Mdl has been out since November.
You have listed 14 minor injuries in 5 years and one major one in that same time.

Make your mind up, fella, either the injuries are a concern or they are not.....



IMO, his injuries are a concern, as are Mdl's and Mount's. As are Shaw's, whose injuries will come back post WC. Get rid of them all would be the correct way forward.

6.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 08:10:32
In his 2 seasons in Argentine top division, he played 21 and 24 games respectively.
In the Dutch top division, in 2 seasons he played 24 and 24 games per season.
Here: 27, 11, 20; this season: 14.
Of those appearances, 13 as a sub coming back from injury.


Really poor availability, mystery less than 50% fully fit.
Not available enough.
I'm still laughing at "he's all good injuries but he is not injured much". ????

7.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 09:08:08
I mean, apart from his first season with us, Martinez has missed more games than he has played. Obviously a quality player, but relying on him over a full season is foolish.

You only have to go back two seasons, and Jonny Evans was our starting centre back.

He was originally brought back in to train with the team and spend more time with his wife. That is not how a top football club should be run, imo.

8.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 09:13:51
I think we need to prioritise our resources over the next 2 summer transfer windows. This may mean we need to make do in certain areas, or bring in some cheap/free transfers as other positions take priority.

If we could have kept Casemiro, the midfield would not have been as pressing; however, we would still have needed at least 1 top player, but likely 2. Now we are looking for at least 2 top players, maybe 3. Then what do you do with Ugarte: keep him as a reserve player and develop him, or sell and replace him? Can we bring in anyone from the youth to take a position?

So, with all that in mind, I think we will be looking at Mdl/Yoro (RCB), Martinez/Heaven (LCB).

Heaven covers both, and can Shaw do a job? We can hope that injuries will be better for us next year. Schlotterbeck would be perfect, but I can't see the money being available. So, is there a free agent that could be brought in, Antonio Rudiger for a year? The following window will then be looking at defense/full backs.

We need to be realistic and pick where the biggest upside is.

9.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 09:20:57
He's one of my favourite players and characters, but he misses far too many games and, sadly, it's always been the case.

10.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 12:16:57
I am sadly coming to the same conclusion re Martinez. I love the player when fit, but that's the catch, unfortunately.

We have too many injury prone players in the squad. I would look to offload at least 2 of MdL (like him too), Martinez, Mount, and Shaw this window, depending on what we can get for them and the price of replacements.

My own preference would be Shaw and Martinez first.

11.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 14:46:22
I think he is a lot of people's favourite. Amen, he does play. But he will always be injured in this league. He is only a little chap, and he writes cheques his body can't cash.

12.) 13 Mar 2026
13 Mar 2026 17:27:33
The midfield should be the priority over everything else.
We have been lacking in that department for years. It needs sorting out in the summer urgently.

13.) 15 Mar 2026
14 Mar 2026 12:12:10
The problem we have is that we have several key positions that all need work.

Midfield has to be the priority, as we lack numbers as well as quality in that area.

Yet, just like last summer, we spent big on one area (attack) and massively upgraded it. Yet there still remain other parts of the side that are holding us back. We could solve midfield this summer and still have several areas that need attention.

CBs are one of them. We are in a weird position where, on paper, it does not look like we have an issue at CB. MdL and Martinez are a really good starting duo; in fact, there probably are not many better starting CB duos in the league. We then have Maguire as a veteran (and someone who has gotten better with age), along with two top-quality young lads in Yoro and Heaven.

On paper, that looks like a very solid selection. But, on the pitch, we struggle to keep MdL and Martinez fit, while even Maguire, as he ages, picks up more knocks, potentially leaving just the two young lads as starting options.

We need to invest in another CB this summer, whether we keep Maguire or not.

The problem will be that we will need to spend heavily in midfield, along with at least a LW or a LB depending on where we think Dorgu will play; ideally, though, we need both given Shaw's age and injury history. Yes, he's been fit most of this season, but he's also played most of this season in a less physically demanding LCB position of a back three.

Personally, I'd be looking to do a deal for Marcos Senesi from Bournemouth. He's been one of the best and most consistent CBs in the league this season, and is available on a free. While at 28 years old, he's in his peak years and wouldn't be a long-term road block to Yoro and Heaven. Are there better CBs potentially available this summer? Absolutely. Are there any better options available for free or fairly cheaply? Absolutely not.

We could go and spend 70m on MvdV from Spurs, and then have the very real question of whether he even starts if both MdL and Martinez are fully fit, while that's also ignoring his own iffy injury record.

14.) 14 Mar 2026
14 Mar 2026 18:34:46
Agree, Happy! Senesi had been outstanding this year.

15.) 15 Mar 2026
15 Mar 2026 04:22:31
I don't get the love-in with Martinez even when he is fit. I think he is about an average CB in the Premier League. Yes, great win-at-all-costs attitude, but that doesn't make him a great CB. He is very rash, dives into ridiculous tackles, gets caught out of position too often, and just needs a physical battle, that's about what he is best at. Like I have said for some time, we have not got a decent top CB at the club.

I got shot down when I said de Ligt is an injury-prone player all his career, and the stats guys come up with the usual, but my eyes come over all those stats and look how that's turned out.
de Ligt, decent CB but always injured.
Yoro, too weak, needs much more time.
Heaven, our best potential.
Martinez, not for me unless we're happy mid-table team.
Maguire probably our best CB, but lacks pace, something chronic.