15 Feb 2024 08:13:50
A lot in the media about de ligt and whether he could be available. If that's the case, could he be someone we look to?

1.) 15 Feb 2024
15 Feb 2024 10:01:00
Will be expensive and I think we will have other options that are priorities. He has been at big clubs, yet there always appears to be a negative with him not holding down first team places.
Maybe I am burned by Van De Beek/ Anthony but would like to see us look elsewhere other than dutch.

2.) 15 Feb 2024
15 Feb 2024 10:39:33
Liked him when he was captain at Ajax but doesn't seem to have kicked on. Don't think he'd be suited to the prem, seems to lack pace which you need. Wouldn't be cheap either. Hopefully with a new director of football coming in we move away from big names and go back to the days of unearthing the Vidic's and Evra's.

3.) 15 Feb 2024
15 Feb 2024 12:06:28
He's a really good option, my only concern over him is that he lacks a little in terms of mobility. Which could be a bigger issue in the EPL.

{Ed002's Note - Matthijs de Ligt (CB) Player now happier with Tuchel as coach and will likely stay where he is, as long as he gets the playing time he desires - but the summer will see a decision made with ten Hag likely to be interested if still at Manchester United. I am not aware of any approach to Bayern Munich by Arsenal and Bayern have no interest in selling although they are persisting in chasing another CB themselves.}

4.) 15 Feb 2024
15 Feb 2024 12:17:16
What’s that rule about buying players from Bayern?

5.) 15 Feb 2024
15 Feb 2024 12:53:53
Gleison Bremner the latest name linked? Don't know much about him tbh.

{Ed002's Note - Gleison Bremer (CB) Juventus do not want to sell and the player wishes to stay but the club need to raise funds which has led to his representatives testing the waters with Manchester United, Spurs and Chelsea to see if there is interest. He may well emerge as a first choice target for Spurs and don't rule out Manchester United but he is not first choice.}

6.) 15 Feb 2024
15 Feb 2024 15:09:16
Although De Ligt is a good player, don't think he and Licha together would work. No real pace there and not sure you could play a high defensive line with them.

Ed02 has said on a couple of times that Antonio Silva was our first choice and really hope this is still the case as I think he has the qualities needed to become a top, top player. Clearly with all the changes occurring things may alter.

In my view it is vital to get the centre back position sorted, above all else, think we need two quality player's in the summer. Would prioritise this over shiny new toy's up front.
You will never consistently challenge for leagues without having this area right, the better your defence, the more attacking you can be.
The better your defence the more attacking you can be.

7.) 15 Feb 2024
15 Feb 2024 20:07:18
What you would seriously go into next season with 1 centre forward? Because you seriously won’t challenge for anything if you don’t score goals.

8.) 15 Feb 2024
15 Feb 2024 21:35:17
That is not what I said RTFP.

9.) 16 Feb 2024
15 Feb 2024 23:27:42
Just ignore him Trophy.

10.) 16 Feb 2024
16 Feb 2024 08:26:10
Deligt not for me. Too slow and you can get a run on him. Need faster ball playing CB's as all of our current ones are too slow and why we end up playing deeper and defending deeper. Love Tapsoda:) He is left footer too and miles better than the Everton guy imo but suspect very pricey.

11.) 16 Feb 2024
16 Feb 2024 15:51:04
You don't play for Ajax, Holland and Bayern by being 'too slow', or too anything. He might not be Franz Beckenbauer but he'd do a decent job in the Prem in my view, albeit a little older than many of the players we're being linked with.

12.) 16 Feb 2024
16 Feb 2024 16:19:28
Eric Dier got picked ahead of him. Enough said.

13.) 16 Feb 2024
16 Feb 2024 17:05:54
Spenno, of course you can play for Ajax, Netherlands, and be slow, look at Daley Blind! Netherlands play 3 at the back so you can compensate for a slow player in that system, which, of course, we do not play. Maguire looks good playing for England in a 3.

As for Bayern, that is entirely the point, he is not getting the playing time there he wants and is likely to be the reason if he decides he want's to leave.

Also, I want someone who is more than just 'decent' at centre back. I honestly feel unless you have top, top quality there, you will never be truly successful.

I know it will never happen and as someone often advises I will not be holding my breath, but Araujo and Antonia Silva would be my first choice.

14.) 16 Feb 2024
16 Feb 2024 18:33:22
Donny played for Ajax he hardly moves, Antony played for Ajax for a winger he is slow Blind is incredibly slow, de jong is slow, De Ligt is slow, they rely more on technical quality hence why lots struggle in the blood and thunder premier league.

I’m not sure where this fallacy of play for Ajax and your a world beater, they would be lucky to get in top 6 in Premier even when ETH won the league with that team, it would not finish top 6 here

Good technical players but it’s poor league and is much slower and less physical.

15.) 16 Feb 2024
16 Feb 2024 18:39:54
Spenno

Mancman hit the nail. he is okay playing 3 at the back, they did that at juve too. with our 433 and two fullbacks who are suppose to get up the pitch we need pacey CB's imo, he lacks pace and i have watched him over the years quite a bit.

16.) 16 Feb 2024
16 Feb 2024 20:29:24
Agree with a large portion of that strangeways.
There are plenty of examples of elite players coming intnl the epl from Holland and excelling but mostly the struggle and primarily due to the physicality of the league.
Playing epl is like playing a different sport compared to practically all other league's.
Of course many come in and cope brilliantly but they are the elite and for every Bergkamp and van persie or RVN there are a dozen Anthony's or Roy's or berguin or vdb.

17.) 16 Feb 2024
16 Feb 2024 22:37:51
He's a top class defender, he's good on the ball, and he's dominant in the air, but he does lack pace. He would be a great option for the right price, and he's still very young, same age as Todibo.

Antonio Silva is potentially the best option available, but he's only 20 and I'm not sure he is ready to be first choice at Man Utd, although I haven't seen him play enough to fully judge.

Shame we missed out on Kim Min Jae in the summer really, he's a fantastic defender and he has all the attributes we would be looking for. Then again, so does that Van De Ven lad at Tottenham, he's certainly not slow.

18.) 16 Feb 2024
16 Feb 2024 22:58:25
Seriously, how many people have watched Antonio Silva? I'm sure everyone rubs their hands together gleefully awaiting the Portuguese league kick-offs every week. He's the latest bandwagon name that has snowballed and everyone has climbed on. Would anyone seriously know if they were sitting next to him in the pub right now?

19.) 17 Feb 2024
17 Feb 2024 00:46:35
spenno, I have watched Antonio Silva quite a few times, both in Champions League and Primeira Liga matches this season, mainly because we are very strongly linked with both him and Joao Neves (midfielder) and ED02 has said he is our No1 target this summer.

With one exception, when he a bit of a mare in CL game against Inter, he has always looked polished and accomplished. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time and is very good in the air and strong in the tackle, he always seems to have time to make the right decision. I have always thought the mark of a good player is when they seem to have that time.

Now I am not suggesting I am some sort of expert, but you can only say what you see and furthermore I have read quite a few scouting report's on him, written by people who do so extensively and believe me he is very, very, highly rated by many independent sources.

I am sorry if you feel your comments on De Ligt were not met with universal approval, but please do not let that cloud your opinion on Silva.

20.) 17 Feb 2024
17 Feb 2024 13:51:29
De Ligt is a very good player, he does lack pace and mobility but to a large extent makes up for that with good reading of the game.

That said he isn't a player I'd be hoping we sign. I think that mobility and pace issue will be more apparent in the much quicker and less predictable EPL. Add to that the likely cost and I just think there are better suited options available for much less.

Ahmad, you do seem to have a real love in for Tapsoda. He seems a decent player to be fair but he wouldn't feature as highly on my list of preferred targets. He is actually right footed (but still good with his left) . My concerns with him would be that he has excelled in a back three system in a league that is much less dynamic and varied than the EPL. I feel that due to the more transitional style of of the Bundesliga that both defenders and attackers from that league have a very patchy success rate when moving to the EPL.

Ideally I think if you want players to have the best chance of success then you want to sign players who play in leagues that have more similarities with the EPL and playing for teams that play in a similar way to what you're team are looking to play.

It's no good looking at the great stats and success a defender is having playing in a team that plays with a low block in a slow pace league. Is it any real surprise to see them struggling when they move to a team that plays a high line in a much quicker paced league?

While we need to sign a CB who is good on the ball and can play out from the back, they also need to have the physical ability to play in our more physically demanding league.

Kim Min Jae would have been a great signing in my opinion. Real shame we missed out on him.

Antonio Silva looks a great player, not the quickest but not slow and a great reader of the game. My only real concern would be price as I'd expect Benfica to demand a kings ransom for him. 70-90m would not surprise me at all. In which case that is just too much.

Todibo would be a good compromise, ticks all the boxes style and skill set wise, would likely be cheaper but maybe doesn't have the same potential as someone like Silva.

I think Leny Yoro has similar potential to Antonio Silva but would likely be available much cheaper. Although he lacks experience.

Also we need to assess Kambwala and wether he has the potential to grow into a first team player. If so then singing another 19 or 20 year old CB to play on the right side of the defence is just continuing to put barriers in the pathway to our own youth players.

I'm unsure what Kambwala's ceiling is, we need to see more of him playing at senior level to work that out.

If we are looking at young players Ousmane Diomande is someone who is definitely worth a look at. Good on the ball and a physical beast, quick and strong. Could be moulded into an elite CB, and we rarely go wrong when signing players from Sporting.

Marc Guehi could also be a good pick up from within the EPL.

Branthwaite looks a very good prospect, and is a left footed CB with is a bit of a unicorn in football. He also has leadership qualities that we are in dire need of.

21.) 17 Feb 2024
17 Feb 2024 14:19:49
IWOTB, I am sorry if you feel my comments on Silva were not met with universal approval. I'm sure you know best, just like most do here. All opinions and all valid.
He strikes me as a player that will cost a fair whack and we need a few of those in key positions, so I don't see us doing too many deals like that. We certainly do have a lot of average players and although everyone would like us to replace them all with worldies I think there's a rung in the ladder between them we may have to cross as we continue to build before world domination.

22.) 17 Feb 2024
17 Feb 2024 19:25:19
spenno, what was that about? my comments about Silva were meant entirely genuinely, there was nothing else to them. You seemed annoyed last night with your very sarcastic post about Portuguese football and Silva himself and it was simply a case of separating the issues.
Indeed this post of yours also seems to rely on sarcasm, with your you know best and word domination references.
I merely stated my opinion and am happy to talk about the merits of both, but only without the sarcasm.