12 Apr 2023 12:26:53
Not sure anyone else has seen but over on the Liverpool page ed has said we may go for caicedo or Amrabat in the summer don't know much about Amrabat though so couldn't comment.

1.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 12:58:25
Amrabat looked class in the World Cup I thought, be a good signing imo.

2.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 13:17:13
I'd be vary wary of signing players who did well at the world cup. Harry Maguire looked a class act at a world cup for example.

As for Caicedo he's a talented player, but personally I'd prefer Mac Allister if we were to sign a Brighton midfielder.

3.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 14:09:29
Macallister for me over Caicedo on the basis that we are filling that box to box transition player. I also think that Macallister can also fill in for Cassimero if needed as he started as a HM and has been moved more forward over time.
No idea if we are trully looking at any of these names.

4.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 14:56:03
I’d prefer whomever ten hag wants.

5.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 16:56:15
I reckon we will sign two midfielders this summer. One will be an Eriksen alternative who can play as an 8, chip in with goals here and there but primarily help transition the ball from defence to attack. The other will be more defensive minded but is likely to be a backup to Casemiro who can also step in and play a similar role to Fred or McTominay when we have tougher matches.

Who those players are is obviously up in the air and we seem to have been linked with every midfielder under the sun. Looks like players such as Bellingham or De Jong aren't happening so it'll be very interesting to see who we go for.

I'll throw in some of my personal preferences. For the defensive minded player I'd be happy to see us get Joao Palhinha. He's been excellent at Fulham, he now used to the league and is not just good at getting the ball back but he can actually use it as well. He'd be an excellent stand in for Casemiro and he could play alongside him to a higher standard than both McTominay and Fred.

For the number 8 I'd like to see us go for Milinkovic-Savic. While he is an all around midfielder, he has been very good for a number of years. He would chip in with goals and assists, we'd be better on the ball with him too.

I'd also be happy to see us keep Sabitzer as he's done pretty well.

Final opinion I'll throw in is around an alternative we haven't been linked with who I think would be a great signing for the future. Amadou Onana at Everton looks like he's going to be a very good player in the future. He's a bit raw just now but with the right coaching and players alongside I think he could be a standout midfielder in a couple of years. If Everton go down, we should consider him.

6.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 17:47:01
RJ, I wouldn't be so sure to see us sign two midfielders. For one thing I'm not sure there is the budget for us to sign two midfielders, especially if we are to sign a ST, GK and defender as well which looks like we will need to. Secondly we have several young prospects in midfield, Savage and Iqbal did well last summer on tour, while we also have the likes of Hannibal and Mainoo.

Add that to current first team options of Casemiro, Fred, Eriksen and Bruno then I expect we'll only see one new midfielder join.

That's why I expect we'll sign a more rounded player, someone technically gifted, who's comfortable on the ball, able to carry the ball through midfield, hard working and defensive diligent off the ball.

7.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 17:54:56
Shappy, just the other day you was lauding maguire as a solid cb, here you say he looked a class act but should be wary. Which is it bud?

8.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 18:26:33
I think we will see at least 2 midfielders leave hence the 2 coming in. Most likely being McTominay and Donny.

While we've got some good prospects in midfield, I don't think they are first team ready at the moment. Mainoo may be the exception to that but I think it's more likely he takes the place in the squad that Fred occupies once his contract runs out in summer 2024.

I do agree that the cash may not stretch as far as that though, especially with the other positions we are looking at. I'd expect the 2nd midfielder to be further down the priority list than a striker or new CB for example but we may not sign a keeper which could free up funds. I do think the midfield depth has really hurt us at times this season and I would personally prioritise a 2nd midfielder over a right back for example.

9.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 18:30:08
RedWhiskey, I said Maguire "looked" a class act at a WC.

International football isn't a great standard in my opinion. Too many average or poor players, and not enough time to really build a good cohesive team.

I think Maguire is an average EPL defender, an asset to any team between 20th and 7th, but not good enough to be first choice for a top 6 side.

He's an example for me of why we should be wary of a player doing well at international level as it's just not indicative of how a player could perform in the EPL.

10.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 19:03:31
That’ll be Sabitzer then. Hard as a midfielder to come in make an instant impact. I think he’s a good player, attainable and won’t break the bank.

11.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 21:16:48
Shappy,

Maguire has never looked world class to me, even at the 2018 WC, I thought he was poor. It was always the media hyping him up when he was at Leicester. Players had to xover for him, to protect his weaknesses. He has and will always be a fully fit version of Phil Jones.

12.) 12 Apr 2023
12 Apr 2023 22:04:00
Amrabat would a great signing and at a reasonable cost given his contract situation. He was outstanding playing against the likes of Portugal and France who are not short of talent. He mops up everything like cas does and solves a problem we have when cas is not available and we get run over like we did against New castle.

13.) 13 Apr 2023
13 Apr 2023 07:13:18
RJ, we will 100% sign a keeper this summer. It's just how much we will spend on a keeper.

Currently we have DDG who is out of contract in 2 months time.

Heaton who is out of contract in 2 months time (and really only good enough as third choice anyway) .

Butland who's loan ends in two months.

And finally Henderson who forced his way out on loan this season, refused an invitation by the manager to come back in January and who has repeatedly spoken of his desire to leave the club this coming summer.

If Henderson gets his wish (and there is no reason why EtH would want to keep him around when he wants to leave), and none of the other keepers sign a new deal then we will have ZERO first team keepers in 2 months time.

The only way we could possibly go into next season without signing a new keeper is if DDG signs a new deal, Heaton also signs a new deal AND Henderson is happy to stay at the club and fight for his place.

The chances of all three things happening are very slim, it's almost certain that at least 1 of those three leave, likely 2. Thus we will definitely sign a new keeper. It's just a case of how much they cost and whether we are signing someone to be first choice or to be back up.

14.) 13 Apr 2023
13 Apr 2023 09:25:21
Going to be a lot of outgoings (hopefully) in the summer, so hopefully that will add to the overall pot to allow addition of 4 to 6 quality players?

Outgoings
Henderson
Jones
Bailly
Telles
Williams
Wan Bissaka?
Donny
McTominay
Elanga
Greenwood
Martial.

15.) 13 Apr 2023
13 Apr 2023 09:27:38
I don't see Utd buying another top GK while De Gea is still at the club. This dynamic with two top drawer GKs competing for one spot never seems to work well (see Chelsea), unlike any other outfield position where rotation is frequent and expected. I expect him to sign up for 2-3 years with either a younger player for the future coming in or more likely a permanent deal for Butland.

{Ed001's Note - Chelsea don't have any top drawer keepers.}

16.) 13 Apr 2023
13 Apr 2023 09:51:29
Phil, the issue we might have is more of a cash flow issue rather than anything else.

The club has reportedly bought players on credit and on deals where the payments are spread.

As a result the club supposedly has to pay off 200m in credit this summer or refinance the credit agreement.

We might be able to raise some funds through sales.

Henderson should bring in 20-30m.
Jones, Williams and Bailly will bring in no more than 6m combined. Telles maybe 10m, Donny maybe 20m, Martial maybe 15m. Elanga 15m, McTominay might bring in 25-30m, and Maguire could probably fetch 30-40m. Greenwood is a mystery, no telling what someone would pay for him, but due to his circumstances it'll be less than his worth as a footballer no doubt.

That's somewhere between 140-160m for incoming fees. However, it's likely many of those fees will be spread payments rather than all of it up front.

If we sell ALL of those players for around the fees I've suggested, we'd be lucky to receive 60m up front this summer.

Which still leaves us around 140m short of paying off the credit cards, then we need to have funds on top of that to buy new players.

17.) 13 Apr 2023
13 Apr 2023 09:52:00
Agree with much of that Phillip.
Henderson seems to have burned his bridges and unless he's first choice would return to the same situation he obviously wasn't up for last season.
Jones/ Bailly/ Telles/ Williams - who are these people :D. Can't see any use in any of them hanging around.
Donny hasn't taken a single chance he's been given, as far as I can see.
Wan Bissaka continues to be linked away and Frimpong seems to crop up a lot. I thought AWB was looking decent in a few recent games.
Elanga is at best 6th choice in those wide positions even before Diallo is factored in, get rid.
McT / Martial. Both fill a gap but are probably decent commodities that can be upgraded. If Martial has a decent run of form and scores a few by the end of the season I can see the clamour for him to stay but we still need strengthening up top.
Greenwood. the elephant in the room. I can see the negative press amongst media and our own fanbase that keeping him will have. I think he'll have to move abroad to escape it. Interestingly we will owe him about £8m to let him go I read?