Manchester United Banter Archive March 31 2015

 

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31 Mar 2015 22:04:35
Any interest in andros townsend ;)

Believable2 Unbelievable2

01 Apr 2015 14:33:17
There's interest from Daley Blind, he wants to put him in his pocket again

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31 Mar 2015 21:36:18
Watching some repeats of the WC in Rio and Di Maria was awesome for the Argies, maybe even more so than Messi.

He was everywhere on the pitch in the majority of their games. Pushing forward, drifting wide, slipping inside and tracking back. His passing was effective and he was often the outlet to take the ball from his own box to the oppositions.

What was surprising though was the amount of time he back tracked to help out the full back, which shows he does have that capability in his game. So the question is what has happened since the summer? Now his passing is poor and his defensive duties void. Sure he is still 'settling in' if you like but his ability to put in effort and do the simple things haven't been stripped from him.

He could add so much to our arsenal if he would just try a little harder in my opinion.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

{Ed004's Note - He would be such an asset in the team we played vs Lpool if he replaces Young effectively. He could be a real game changer most games}

31 Mar 2015 21:45:26
Ed004 do you see Felliani as being as vital next season as he has been this season? Folk seem to think he won't be in the first team next year but I for one can't envision him not being in it.

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{Ed004's Note - I think he will be a very useful player especially when playing teams who sit back and invite pressure as he offers a very difficult threat to deal with. However, we need to look at improving on him but with a world class player such as Pogba or Vidal}

31 Mar 2015 23:55:00
To me it seems like Di Maria's confidence is absolutely shot. Intense media scrutiny that comes with being the most expensive British player, a few poor performances, and Young's impressive displays in his absence all point to this. The fans need to get behind Di Maria. At the start of the season he was our best player and people on this site were saying that he was one of the top midfielders in the league, but now a fair amount of people seem to want him sold?!?! He needs more game time and to be played in his most effective position.

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01 Apr 2015 04:02:27
The thing is Ruud if you have players who play his role performing each week how can you then say to these lads 'you're dropped for Di Maria even though he has been poor this season'. It's a tough one mate but I think unless he works harder at getting back as well as forward he would be our weak link at the moment.

Having said that we play Villa next who are a shocking team. May be a good time to throw him in and hopefully restore some confidence like you say.

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01 Apr 2015 09:34:02
The Villa game is the perfect time to rest Young and give Di Maria a go again. He should have no problems up against Hutton or Lowton and if he can get a goal or two before the Derby then that is a big bonus to us.

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01 Apr 2015 11:07:23
Rest one of our best performing players against his old club? How is that the perfect opportunity?

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01 Apr 2015 11:49:31
Maybe we could rest Felliani as we need him to be fully fit for City, Chelsea and Everton and show that we can play without lumping the ball to him. Di Maria or Mata through the middle?

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01 Apr 2015 13:24:09
JMB,

I would agree with that, Fellaini would be the player to drop out for me, but LVG has come to rely on him a little bit and he has also been in great form.

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31 Mar 2015 19:19:03
Not sure why the media is consistently linking us with left backs.

Rodriguez first and now Coentrao.

That's the position where we are stacked with options (which is kind of ironic given that for almost 6 years we just had Evra for that position)

Believable2 Unbelievable0

31 Mar 2015 21:16:45
How could you forget buttner? He was man of the match everytime he played don't ya know.

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01 Apr 2015 00:44:21
MrE,

He was man of the match more than every time he played!

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31 Mar 2015 14:11:00
A question for ed!
With you occasionally informing us that we are interested in Garay among several defenders, i don't understand why we never made a step for him . He is rated so much yet he moved to zenit for such low fee which would have been a peanut for club as ourself. If we were interested then he would certainly be bought this summer . May be I am wrong but i do not believe that we are interested in him though i really want him to join us.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

{Ed002's Note - You have a naïve view of the transfer process if you think a club can sign any player they want.}

01 Apr 2015 06:04:26
may be ed!
I know transfers are much more complicated than we have knowledge of but if the player was available plus we were interested plus the price was so low then why didn't we made an offer?

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{Ed002's Note - It is not as simple as that.}

31 Mar 2015 13:16:14
Out of our new recruits who do folks here think has more passion for manchester united ?? For me Rojo has been extremely dedicated to the club . He has played well in every match and has given everything he has to offer.Exluding performance I have been watching him from the first game and he celebrates every goal we score, no matter who the scorer is, as if he has scored himself a cracker . Just recently against liverpool, when mata scored the superb overhead goal everyone were celebrating but rojo was different, he was jumping in the bench . Every other player were just clapping but rojo was so passionate about it which made me myself smile for a while.
People may slant me for this simple thing but the way player celebrate other's goal tells much about their value for the club. Shame, money has overtaken passion from the players

Believable1 Unbelievable0

31 Mar 2015 13:59:10
Maybe Rojo is on a win bonus ;)

Only messing, it is something I have noticed myself about him, he is very enthusiastic when we score, it is good to see, but to be honest most players are joining in with the celebrations this year and genuinely look pleased when we score, it is that team spirit that has seen us through when we haven't been playing too well.

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31 Mar 2015 14:00:29
I can't look beyond Herrera, he is passion and effort exemplified.

Falcao despite his poor form has celebrated like it's his greatest ever achievement when he has score.

I also agree with what you say about Rojo, but for me it's Herrera.

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31 Mar 2015 14:07:24
Beside Rojo, Herrera and Blind are also very much passionate . TBH I like the watch every player's reaction when we score a goal . It makes me feel better

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31 Mar 2015 16:12:37
Hahaha yes! I love watching them celebrate too. Dave celebrating is quality imo

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31 Mar 2015 08:32:23
With all the talk about Hummels being a target this summer (which I am 50/50 on as he is a great player but his injury record worries me) when was the last time we signed a German?

I can remember the young lad Zieler as a reserve keeper but other than that I am stumped. Does anyone know if there is a reason for this as traditionally Germans seem to do well in England? And also they have never had a lack of talented players.

Believable1 Unbelievable0

31 Mar 2015 10:10:04
Ballack is the only one that springs to mind. However, the best German players always want to go to Bayern Mumich, and that's why there has been a lack of top class players, same with Spanish players wanting to go to Madrid/Barca and English players wanting the top English clubs.

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{Ed002's Note - When did Manchester United sign Ballack?}

31 Mar 2015 10:28:23
I don't think it is a United against Germans thing, I think a lot like English players Germans have always been more likely to stay in Germany for a lot of their career rather than move abroad. This has changed a bit over recent years with a few more German players in England but there are still only 7 playing in the premier league and not sure that traditionally they do well in England, who were you thinking that fits that description?

Of the 7 German players in the Premier League 4 play for Arsenal, one of which is out on loan (Podolski) and one hasn't played a game all season (Gnabry). Robert Huth has been ok but not lived up to the expectations of when he signed for Chelsea, Gerhard Tremmel is ok and the jury is still out on Emre Can.

You are correct that Zieler is the only German player ever to sign for the club but none have ever played for the first team, maybe Hummels will be the first.

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31 Mar 2015 10:44:23
GDS - I think Ozil has done okay, Ballack was solid at Chelsea, Hamann was fantastic at Liverpool as was Babbel before his injury. Jens Lehmann was also a top keeper for Arsenal and of course Klinnsman was and still is a Spurs all time hero.

I think the Germans have the mentality to play PL football well.

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31 Mar 2015 10:56:01
I certainly agree with that, there is no reason why they wouldn't fit in well here and the mentality suits the premier league, the style of play is much more suited than to the Spanish league for example, but it has been a bit hit and miss with German players coming over here.

I think as I said a lot of the top German players have often just played in Germany for most of their careers, even Ballack didn't leave Germany until he was around 30, it seems to have changed a little in recent years though.

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31 Mar 2015 12:07:58
Traditionally the best German players have all played for Bayern Munich, which means that if we were to sign any German players they would have likely came from the second tier of quality German players, i.e. the ones Bayern don't want as they don't feel they are good enough or they have better players already in their positions.

With us being Manchester United we tend to try and only sign the best, Ballack fell into that category and we tried to sign him. But beyond him not many of the best German players leave Germany during their peak years. This is why I feel we haven't signed any German players up until now.

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{Ed001's Note - that's not always true mate, some players, such as Can who turned down Bayern to move to Liverpool in the summer, will look to move abroad to continue their development. This is a good time to look to Germany, they have some great keepers (such as a former United one in Zieler) coming through and they are not going to compete with Neuer. With Bayern being so strong a side, there are a lot of top German players available, such as the Bender brothers, who should play in England just so people can get their names on the back of their shirts...}

31 Mar 2015 12:16:55
Just wanna mention some German names that haven't been touched on above; Helmer for Sunderland, Ziege had spells at liverpool and Boro but had a good couple of years with spurs, Fulham had a world cup winner in Riedle and they had Volz from Arsenal as well, Marin didn't live up to his "German Messi" expectations, who remembers the controversial keeper Lars Leese and I hate to say is but Rosler in the early EPL years wasn't bad. Other names that come to mind are Sean Dundee and Schurle.

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mbd              

31 Mar 2015 12:27:27
MBD Andre Schurrle is a player I would have took off Chelsea's hands!

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31 Mar 2015 12:55:40
I remember most of the 1990 world cup winning squad played in Italy so they do move abroad. Most either sign for Bayern or go to the sun. It was Italy back when serie a was dominent, now there's a few going to Spain mainly madrid.

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31 Mar 2015 13:08:08
Once upon a time in a Fifa Career Mode, 002. how don't you remember ;)

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31 Mar 2015 14:06:52
Ed001, I did say traditionally. But players such as Can, Schurrle and players moved abroad at a young age rather than in their peak. It makes more sense to leave moving to a team such as Bayern until you reach your peak as you may struggle to get games as a youngster in the Bayern side unless you really are one of the best young talents in the world. Neither Can or Schurrle would have got many games at Bayern when you look at the competition for their starting places.

I'd certainly consider moving for a German keeper if DDG was to leave, Zieler, Leno, Trapp, Karius and Horn are great prospects. If we were to lose DDG then I'd love to see us bring in one of Leno, Karius or Horn to challenge Valdes for the No.1 shirt.

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{Ed001's Note - sorry but I disagree, Klinsmann is just one example that stands out. Bayern try and cherry pick the best, but usually the very top ones have ended up going abroad for the money.}

31 Mar 2015 22:04:45
If De Gea leaves then Leno should be the no. 1 target

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31 Mar 2015 01:31:04
Not a big lover of hummels and especially at the proposed fee. I think he is slow and would struggle in pl. No doubt good on the ball. If he signed for us I would love to be proven wrong. Alves again looks a bad deal even on a free due to his age and the fact he's past his best. I like Rafael but if we must sign a right back danilo or clyne. Centre back I'd take garay. Even though depay wasn't great Saturday still like to see him join in summer.

Believable2 Unbelievable1

31 Mar 2015 06:12:18
Alves on a free is a great acquisition and still has a few years in him. Much better than rafael and the finished product. People get this idea that 30 is death in football but not true proven by loads of players. There is a good reason he is an automatic pick for Brazil, whilst Rafael does not even make their squad. I still expect us to sign Clyne as well and rafael is being moved on.

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31 Mar 2015 08:06:26
I agree with you GCU Alves would certainly do a job and Clyne will be on our wish list but I'd still rather have Coleman over both.

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31 Mar 2015 08:20:16
Yes Hummels is not the fastest I grant u but hasn't Blind taught us anything over the last few weeks? The first few yards are in your head.

I'm pretty sure Dortmund know he's not the quickest but have no problem playing a high line with him.

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31 Mar 2015 08:25:45
A lot of people on here (and rightly so) about the diving / cheating antics of Januzaj and DiMaria, and prior to that Ashley Young.
Well you better get used to it lads because few were to sign Alves, you will witness a whole new level of "simulation", to put it nicely. Good player, but really is one of the very worst when it comes to feigning injury.
Personally hope we don't see him at OT.

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31 Mar 2015 08:49:54
John Terry and Vidic were slow, but they are arguably the two best Cb the premier league has seen.

I don't understand why fans still think that you have to be some sort of brute to play in the prem. Silva has proved you don't have to be massive and Terry and vidic have proved pace isn't everything at Cb, if you can read the game well and have a good CB partner.

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31 Mar 2015 10:03:33
Dani Alves is past his best, he is great going forward but very lax defensively. My picks would be Coleman or Clyne. Coleman is better going forward and Clyne is the better defender - depends on price I would imagine. Valencia I suspect will back up one of those two with Rafael moving on.

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31 Mar 2015 10:50:03
We saw how a lack of pace exposed Vidic in his last few seasons.
My issue with Hummels isn't just about his lack of pace, he also has a tendency to switch off in games like Rio used to early in his United career, the difference was that Rio had the pace to recover such mistakes more often than not and Hummels doesn't. Also the pace of the Premier league is much much faster than the Bundesliga. If Hummels could be bought for 20-25m max then it might be worth the gamble. But we are likely to have to pay 35-40m which is around 20m too much, you can afford to over spend on a player by that much if he is going to be a guaranteed success. But there are a couple of question marks over Hummels which makes taking such a gamble silly.

I'd rather go all out for Varane with Otamendi as the back up option.

As for Alves, he was a world class player, and he may have another season or two left in him. But could he adapt to the Premier league? He is very similar to Evra in style but not as combative. If he was 24 then it would be a no brainer as he would have time to learn how to cope with the Premier league. But as his age I'd pass on him.

Clyne I would be cautious about, for around 15m yes but not for any more than that. Yes he has had a very good season, but loads of Saints players had very good seasons last year. Then they moved on and none have been as good as their form was last season people such as Lambert, Lallana, Lovren, Chambers and Shaw. We can make up excuses for them but The recent managers at Saints have been very good at getting a team to perform better than the sum of its parts.
Remember last season Clyne struggled to be first choice ahead of Chambers who hasn't really pulled up trees at Arsenal. Lovren had a good 6 months at Lyon then spent two years playing poorly, moved to Saints and had a good year moved to Liverpool and has struggled since.

I'm not saying Clyne is a bad player, he's a good player. But he might not be as good as the form he is currently showing. As such we would need to be careful making a move for him.

Personally I'd prefer making a big push for Danilo who will be the best RB in the world in a year or two. Beyond him I'd seriously consider making a move for Santiago Arias who has been solid for PSV. He would be relatively cheap and is a very good RB who ticks all the boxes. It would allow us to focus our spending on other positions more in need of a world class player.
At the end of the day a world class full back rarely makes a difference in the out come of a match, yet world class CB's, CM's and forwards win you points on a weekly basis.

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{Ed004's Note - I agree with Clyne being a risk. Personally I would go for Coleman. I think Danilo is highly likely to move to Madrid. Hummels is slow but if paired with a quick and athletic centre back I think it would work. Also Smalling would be even better if paired from a proper defensive leader who is excellent on the ball}

31 Mar 2015 11:16:44
If we can get Alves on a free then it's a no brainer in my opinion. Massive upgrade on Valencia and Rafael. Brings experience into the defence and is free! Would also have a resale value if he signed a larger contract.

It also opens up more spending for other positions in the team.

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{Ed004's Note - I think it would be a terrible signing. I would avoid at all costs}

31 Mar 2015 11:25:11
Shappy you said 'you can afford to overspend by £20million when you are guaranteed success' so what's your verdict on Di Maria?

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31 Mar 2015 11:34:50
I wouldn't mind going all out for Coleman Bale and Hummels and maybe a pacey but cheapish striker

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{Ed004's Note - Replace Bale with Pogba for me and I'd agree with that. I think Depay is a very likely signing and would like to see Mata continue out right after his superb displays vs Lpool and Spurs}

31 Mar 2015 13:05:32
Not impressed with danilo and has Madrid written all over him.

Think hummels is a bit risky.

But terry as one of the beat two cbs in the prem era has been the funniest thing I've read today, cracking laugh that.

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31 Mar 2015 13:46:24
well have to Disagree, PSG scouts and the rest that are looking at him are not stupid. I mean with the low quality of talent in Spain and a team like Barca, they must be also stupid to start this guy every game.

Some of the comments are amusing to say the least. Its being served Fillet Mignion instead of rump steal and saying i prefer rump steak.

Offensively he is at a another level we have not had down the right wing since the Beckham days. Same silly arguments about Marcelo at real Madrid, top top left back around and yes they are both told to go forward and defensively the team is sometimes exposed. Superb on the ball, can pass and cross and still has tons of pace.

Unfortunately I don't think we will get him anyways.

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31 Mar 2015 12:39:15
Ed004, Hummels would get exposed by the best players in the league. At Dortmund the only time he comes up against players of a better or similar quality to him and his team mates is when he plays Bayern Munich. But how would he cope in the Premier league when there are several teams with players of a similar or better quality than himself? Vidic had a world class Rio Ferdinand along side him every time he played against Torres but he still got tore a new one every time. I don't think it makes sense to invest so much in a player with such an obvious and easily exposed weakness in his game.

I agree that Danilo is probably Madrid bound, but if we are going to heavily invest in a RB then we might as well fight it out for the best. As for Coleman I rate him but he isn't world class, and for the 25m it would cost at least to sign him I think it would be silly investing so much in a player who isn't world class and at the age of 27 is only a medium term option. Arias is not far off of Coleman and has just as much potential. He would cost 15-20m less in transfer fee and probably a similar amount in wages over the term of his contract and being younger is a better long term option. Going for a player like Arias over Coleman could be the difference in being able to target Pogba over Strootman. Who would you rather have Arias and Pogba or Coleman and Strootman?

Juan, If I'm honest I let my heart rule my head when we signed Di Maria. I always had reservations on his suitability to the Premier league. But at the time we were trying to sign one of the best players in the world at a time when we were at a real low. So I was just happy for us to sign a big name player. But that has so far shown to be a mistake. We signed Veron who was one of the best players in the world at the time and he could never get to grips with the Premier league.
That for me is the main reason I am against signing Hummels. We have twice signed one of the best players in the world for big fees. Both times there was a question mark over whether they would suit the league and both times they struggled. Hummels in my opinion would make that a hat trick.

Lets not sign players based on their name and their appeal but instead sign players who suit us and the league we are playing 80% of our games in.

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{Ed004's Note - But people forget Hummels has played in a really high line defence all his career and usually been the best player in the defence for the past 4/5 years. He has had a dip in form this season but has said a fresh start will help with that. He just needs someone who can cover for him when he goes forward with the ball. There are no other world class centre backs available out there. Godin I don't think is possible, same with Varane and Laporte. He is also the leader we need badly in our defence. English teams have struggled badly recently and this is due to them lacking technically. I think with Van Gaal we will improve on that front and is a big reason why we looked so good against Lpool and Spurs.
You have a point on Coleman but Everton have had a disastrous season and will need to raise funds to sign more players. I wouldn't go above 20 million for Coleman. Also think a right side of Mata and Herrera and a right back that is direct and excellent going forward would make it a whole lot more threatening. I haven't seen Arias so can't comment on his suitability.
Di Maria started off very well in the premiership. I think he just needa to regain confidence and reckon he could go back to being one of the best in the league again.}

31 Mar 2015 16:19:10
GCU i certain someone named Ronaldo playing on the right wing for us after Beckham. didn't do too bad did he?

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31 Mar 2015 16:23:27
I think if we get a player like Nainggolan or Vidal, then Di Maria on the left of a midfield 3 or diamond would be perfect. As good as Carrick and Blind are at passing/being a basis for attacks, they struggle when the opposition are running at/past them as they have little to no defensive work ethic to run 30 yards after a player IMO, whereas those two would, and could easily cover for Di Maria, who in my opinion needs to be less relied upon for tracking back, as that isn't something he does too well. At this stage, and with the age Vidal is at, I would probably take Nainggolan ahead of him.

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31 Mar 2015 21:28:25
Isn't Vidal only 28?

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01 Apr 2015 09:06:25
First purchase has to be pogba. Cb otimendi or geray. Rb clyne. And we should only get bale if the price was right.
I would not consider hummels but i think alves will do a very good job for a couple of years.
Depay has looked poor the last ten matches for psv. He'll be a risk and could end up being another nani.

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01 Apr 2015 11:01:42
Yeah JMB, and Nainggolan is 26, so just completely disregard that post hahaha, no idea what i'm talking about with that one tbh!

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01 Apr 2015 00:00:01
Why do you think varanes not possible if you don't mind me asking ed?

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{Ed004's Note - I don't mind at all. He recently signed a new long term contract, is getting game time and will eventually replace an ageing Pepe}

01 Apr 2015 15:08:24
Do you actually think he will wait another season though ed? There's Rumours Carlo will leave as manager and I'm guessing jose will want him as his no.1 Target. And him and Mourinho do love one another.

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{Ed004's Note - I think he will. He's still very young for a centre back and will replace Pepe over the next season I think}