02 Jul 2021 10:28:37
Looking at our squad it's becoming more clear what we will look like as a squad next season.

With Sancho joining I think we are well stocked in the attacking department.

Cavani, Rashford, Sancho, Greenwood, Martial, James, Amad and Bruno.

Gives us 8 viable attacking options in the front 3-4 positions. Four of them are already top class, two are young kids who look like they will be top class, while the other two (Martial and James) offer good squad depth.

Until Martial and Cavani move on we don't need anyone else in the forward areas.

Varane is supposedly the next name on the hit list. Even if we don't pull off a deal for him then we are still looking at Torres/ Kounde etc. So it looks fairly certain we will sign a CB.

That will give us 6 options at CB (Varane, Maguire, Lindelof, Bailly, Tuanzebe and Jones) . In reality at least one maybe even two will need to be moved on.

The issue is while Varane/ Maguire will be first choice, and Lindelof solid as cover. Bailly, Tuanzebe and Jones all suffer with injuries. Ideally we would maybe move all three on and buy 2 CB's this summer, but that just isn't going to happen. It's a shame with Tuanzebe, I really rate him. When he has played he has done well. Kept both Mbappe and Neymar in his back pocket. But the lad can't stay fit long enough to get a run of games. He reminds me a little of Wes Brown, a supremely talented defender who went though his career on crutches so never really stayed fit long enough to make his mark. Tuanzebe probably needs to move on for his own benefit now. Although I'd keep a buy back option on him.

Now myself and probably most people on here probably all feel the same. McFred while statistically our best midfield duo, they simply as a pair aren't good enough to get us where we want to be. For me McTominay could be a player who develops into a top box to box player. His late runs into the box along with his shooting quality mean that he could be a player who comes up with clutch key goals against teams that are tough to breakdown.

Fred while much improved, sadly despite a great attitude just isn't good enough.

Yet we still have Matic, Pogba and Donny. Giving us 5 first team options in central midfield, for what will be two starting positions. While we also have James Garner coming through as one to keep an eye on.

The problem though is how many of those 5 have a long term future at our club? Pogba will likely leave next summer if not this one. Matic is on his last legs and can't play twice a week. He'll also be gone next summer. Donny has all the talent and hopefully he can make a push to start more next season. But based on this season's performances he doesn't look like a long term solution. That leaves McTominay who'll be a long term option and Fred who as stated isn't good enough.

Ideally we would move Matic on this summer and sign a replacement. Then maybe Garner could become the 5th option next summer after another year on loan and when Pogba leaves.

The issue is that I can't see the club plumping to spend a large amount of money to have a 6th player for one of 2 positions in the team. Not when they have already spent 89m on Pogba, 52m on Fred, 40m on Matic and 36m on Donny. That's around £217m on midfielders. While the most likely one to have a long term future is McTominay the lad that came through the academy 🤦‍♂️

While few of us understand it, we are looking at a RB. When we look at the squad on paper we have Shaw and Telles at LB along with Williams who can play there. At RB we have AWB, Williams, and Dalot. However, Dalot is likely to leave. While Williams ideally needs to be playing every week to improve and develop, something that won't happen while he plays back up to AWB. He needs a loan, as does Laird who looks very promising if he can get over his injuries. So if the club sell Dalot and loan Williams then we will need a back up player at RB. The key here is to find a player who has the experience and ability but will be happy enough to play a back up role. Trippier might make sense if we can get him at the right price (10-20m tops) .

The final area that need sorting and for me is one of the most important is the goalkeeper. We can't go into next season with two keepers fighting for the No.1 spot. All it did this past season was create indecision in both our keepers. Sell one, keep the other and sign a back up keeper. Maybe that's Heaton. If so then great, if Heaton is signed to be third choice then go get a solid back up keeper. Personally I'd keep Henderson and sell DDG, others would do the opposite. It doesn't really matter which camp you fall in, the result is the same. A decision needs to be made over who our No.1 is, with the other one let go.

1.) 02 Jul 2021
02 Jul 2021 11:24:19
James should be sold this summer.

2.) 02 Jul 2021
02 Jul 2021 11:45:41
I’d rather have James over martial. Happy on the bench. Martial isn’t. Simple as. Martial will recoup a lot more than James and we could use that sort of cash to invest elsewhere.

3.) 02 Jul 2021
02 Jul 2021 11:59:50
I see James as a possible convertion into a midfield player - he covers well has speed to break and good game awareness. Needs to improve crossing and passing.

4.) 02 Jul 2021
02 Jul 2021 12:12:49
The midfield is a mess, populated by players who either (supposedly, although do we ever really know? ) don't want to be at the club, or are not good enough. I reckon Pogba will sign up, whether or not he is the 'right' type of club for Utd or indeed the physical fast tempo of the Prem is another debate. I think on his day he is outstanding but probably Utd isn't the greatest choice for him.
Donny is class, but we only have his previous exploits with Ajax and to an extent Holland to back this up. He's offered nothing so far, but cases of players moving on after only a few seasons are few and far between. I think he'll stick around at least until Jan, and if he hasn't improved maybe a loan out for the remainder of the season is needed.
McTominay is a fantastic allrounder in my opinion. Probably not quite the level everyone foresaw in a Utd midfield, but good enough to bring in when required.
Fred. Oh dear. He seemed much-improved halfway through the season but tailed off by the end. I listen to most games on radio, and the amount of times the commentators were mentioning how often he'd misplaced a pass was a joke. I know Rentato Sanches has had his injury problems, but what I saw of him in the last few Portugal games showed me the type of combative relentless midfielder I imagine Fred ought to be. This position in the team needs addressing urgently.

5.) 02 Jul 2021
02 Jul 2021 13:36:03
James is a simple one, he is a great squad player and we need good squad players. I don't see his value changing much whether we sold him this year, next year or in 3 years time.

I see the money we would get for him being a similar amount to what we would have to spend to replace him.

If he's happy then keep him.

Martial the same. He isn't good enough to be first choice, but he still has enough quality to be an excellent squad option.

If he's happy with that then keep, at least for the time being. Let Greenwood mature and develop then address the issue next summer.

I think games like FIFA have given fans itchy trigger fingers. If a player isn't world class then simply sell them and buy someone else.

It's revolution over evolution every time.

Every single squad in world football has a mix of players. Some might be world class, or at least good enough to be first choice at their level. some will be potentially good enough players, the ones that will see large ups and downs in their form as they develop. Then there will be those that are not good enough to be first choice and might only suit a squad role.

As a club even under Sir Alex we had at least 7 or 8 players in the squad who weren't good enough to be first choice. Great squad players, but maybe a little too limited to be first choice.

Nothing wrong with having a few of them about.

What we need to be doing is signing players who are or potentially are good enough to be first choice.

Them over time those that fail to hit the mark will drop down the pecking order and probably move on.

Martial while a divisive player is still one batting around between being first choice or first sub off the bench (when fit) .

We know Rashford is going to have surgery when England are out of the Euro's, whenever that is. That could put him out for 2-3 months potentially, including full rehabilitation and recovery of full fitness.

That leaves us with an injury prone aging Cavani, an inconsistent Greenwood (which is normal as he is young), and Sancho who is new to the league and may take time to settle.

Beyond those three who can we look to from the bench while Rashford recovers?

Martial, James, Amad and Mata most likely. Of which Martial is probably the best option.

That's why I'd keep him another year while Greenwood and Amad develop, then next summer look to move Martial on as well as Cavani and then look for a replacement.

6.) 02 Jul 2021
02 Jul 2021 13:51:38
Mctominay's passing is below average and he spends too much time hiding when we have posession.

If we signed rice, Mctominay could be a poor mans soucek granted but nothing more.

7.) 02 Jul 2021
02 Jul 2021 15:51:21
I think people assume moving players on is as easily done as returning a pair of jeans to Next. I think it's a lot more complicated than that once contracts, agents, miles of red tape and the potential buying club's structure with how they want to stump up the cash comes into it.

8.) 02 Jul 2021
02 Jul 2021 16:18:35
Funny you don't have mata as an option yet he just signed a new contract which you've defended above but still he is not an option for you in attack shappy?
You defend him getting a contract in 1 post but don't have him as an option in another post. Very inconsistent again. Lots of words but contradictory as usual.

9.) 02 Jul 2021
02 Jul 2021 17:59:53
Ken, I sent this post at 10.30am, long before the news of Mata's new contract broke. At the time of writing he was a player whose contact was about to expire.

So I naturally didn't include him in this post.

But sure now he has signed he can be included.

I know you're against Mata being given a new deal, and I can see your point of only viewing it from a playing perspective.

However, there are multiple people at the club who will be involved in making the decision. I'd hope that they are basing it on something tangible about the value he offers the club, be that playing, coaching, as a role model or an ambassador, or all of them.

Ultimately it's the club's money, and if they want to spend it on Mata getting a new deal then so be it. We don't have to agree on every penny the club spends, and clearly as evidenced every day on this site we don't.

10.) 03 Jul 2021
03 Jul 2021 07:43:17
Ultimately its the clubs money to make ddg the highest paid player but it doesn't stop you banging on about it every other day.

11.) 03 Jul 2021
03 Jul 2021 09:31:00
Ken, there is a subtle difference between paying a bit part player an average wage within the squad and making a declining player the highest paid player not just at the club but in the league.

My concerns over DDG's wages aren't actually to do with him being paid. It's actually to do with the context within the squad that his wages can cause.

Rightly or wrongly a players wages impact their position within the squad.

If DDG loses his place to Henderson, then how would Bruno feel about the second choice keeper earning more than him, when clearly he is having a far greater impact in the team.

Bruno is currently on just under 50% of DDG's £350k per week wages.

Martial is the second highest paid player at the club. So it's not just DDG's wages that could cause problems.

12.) 04 Jul 2021
04 Jul 2021 16:59:40
Yeah shaps, second highest paid player yet can barely string 3 top performances together.