Manchester United discussion 3

10 Aug 2025 14:51:18
Whoke pirate transfer qindow has been very positive so far, l really thunk a CDM and GK should have more of a priority that a second 10. We have lots of players who can play the 10 role, but no top CDM or GK signed yet. Hopefully there are a few deals waiting other movements and hopefully we have tge money to get these players. A aCDM.

11 Aug 2025 08:33:25
What? Whoke pirate?

04 Aug 2025 15:27:52
With the first game fast approaching what 11 would you start v Arsenal after watching the preseason? For me Heaton is our best GK, back 3 of Yoro, Deligt and Shaw, Dorgu and Amad wing backs, Bruno and probably Casemero and then Cunha, Mount and Mbeumo if his fitness gets there, if not Mainoo. The top 3 rotating. Bad when we could be playing Heaton as GK, Casemero as CDM, and a false CF as our first game of a new season. Hopefully a few more to come in.

04 Aug 2025 16:39:04
Shaw for me lacks the tactical intelligence to advance the ball from the back that anmorims system needs so I'd prefer heaven to start.
One the false 9 I'd start rasmus over mount neither are great options but we would be better with a focal point and Cunhas beat position is on the left only my take
Heaton would be my number 1 as it stands which is a scary thought.

04 Aug 2025 17:06:31
We could get a smacking if that’s our starting 11 against the gunners!

04 Aug 2025 20:19:45
Altay
Yoro MdL Heaven
Amad Dorgu
Ugarte Bruno
Mbeumo Hoiljund Cunha

As our squad stand right now with injuries/ transfers etc, that is the starting lineup.

Final score, 3-1 to united.

05 Aug 2025 10:45:02
My god If that team starts against Arsenal, we will get spanked Ugarte and Bruno in midfield will be totally overrun…. any team would love playing against that side.

05 Aug 2025 22:51:49
Shaw needs to be sold too this summer. That ships sailed years ago.

06 Aug 2025 11:58:44
Jim I think that a decent shout at the first team, maybe he will drop Hojlund (if he is still here) and have Ugarte, Mainoo and Bruno as midfield, we Bruno used on the counter attack.
As Sesko seems to be nearing a conclusion, I suspect he could be used as a sub for the last 30min.

24 Jul 2025 23:28:48
May be an outside shout as I don't know why he'd move to United but with Isak wanting to leave Newcastle, would we be considered a potential destination for him? Give them Garnacho + £25m.

25 Jul 2025 11:12:05
If Isaac doesn't want to come, perhaps we could try for Kane, or Mbappe, or perhaps Haaland would come across the city, although they may all be outside shouts.

26 Jul 2025 16:34:09
Isak would be a show of intent and pretty much guarantee us cl football next season. He is a brilliant striker. Can't see it happening tho sadly. We will end up with Calvert-lewin.

27 Jul 2025 09:29:31
Isak has already said he wants Liverpool apparently, so no chance we would even look at a deal.

27 Jul 2025 18:45:29
Reds that would mean your valuing Garnacho 100 mil + which we all know in reality he not worth half that figure, plus can’t see Isaak being too excited by United.

24 Jul 2025 19:00:54
Rip to Hulk Hogan easily one of my favourite wrestlers of all time. RIP.

22 Jul 2025 20:59:32
I think Maze is really a Bayern Munich Fan and just Salty that De ligt came to MUFC. If fans of Ajax, Juventus and Bayern were lauding him their is a very good reason why they did. It's no secret players need time to bond to get to know their game. All that pressure and then the lack of confidence in a player who should be the most alert and coherent of all players. It's like being a conductor of an orchestra naked and Freddie Mercury all tall and proud behind you rubbing vaseline on the big lad.

Would you miss a beat or be out of sync? . I think MDL may have a fridge to lend youfor your back.

Now maze 002 banned your last account if you want to continue being so neg Nancy join the arsenal page

We are beginning to look like a team enjoy it or sod off for a while.

23 Jul 2025 07:45:49
Great post, RDF. Herr Maze, take note.

22 Jul 2025 09:07:18
Looking at our keepers with the young lads going on loan, Heaton seems like most reliable of three, any time l see him in the preseason games, wonder why he never get a game. He solid, assured and huge experience.

22 Jul 2025 21:50:00
How many premiership league games had he played redcon? Not played one epl game for 6 years played 20 games in last 8 years. Not huge experience to draw on.

20 Jul 2025 16:41:14
The Bruno conundrum.

Before I start, I'm his no.1 fan. However, with Cunha and Mbeumo signed, things get rather awkward as to where Bruno fits.

Him in a midfield two alongside either Casemiro or Ugarte just doesn't seem to work. If it doesn't work with Ugarte, I don't see who it would work with - Ugarte's attributes are similar to those of Ederson and Baleba so I don't think we'd function any better with either of those two in there alongside our captain.

Bruno and Mainoo in midfield is a simple no no - both go seeking the ball aimlessly and vacate key central areas.

Therefore, the only place I see us being effective with Bruno in the side in Amorim's formation is as a false 9. There's no decent available centre forward for us to sign, so throw that money at a midfielder and use Bruno there instead. Watkins is poor, Sesko blocks Obi's development.

Ugarte and Mainoo may work.
Mainoo and Baleba may work.
Ugarte and Wharton may work.

Bruno doesn't (and wouldn't) work in a midfield two with anyone except perhaps N'Golo Kante or Claude Makelele.

20 Jul 2025 18:49:56
You've fallen for the classic trap of assuming we will have a fixed team all season.

Bruno will start some games in the midfield pivot, and some games in one of the two attacking midfield positions.

Cunha and Mbeumo won't start every game, or even play in every game. While both of them are also capable of playing as a CF if needed so might even get some minutes there.

And like you say maybe Bruno will get a few minutes as a false 9 as well.

Football is a squad game now more than ever, having too many good players is a luxury that we haven't had in a long time, which also probably goes some way to explaining why we haven't challenged for the league in a long time.

Having too many good players is a great "problem" to have.

20 Jul 2025 20:02:37
Can't have too many good players is right. We have too few.
I posted something greatest song it will be interesting to see where bruno plays and who is partner will be more often than not when deep and as a 10.
Shappy is right it is a squad game but with only domestic games this season game time will be at a premium with only 1 game a week most weeks. I can see a few being frozen out before end of Dec and a couple leaving in jan. I can see him using a core group of about 20 players in the league including 2 keepers so 18 outfield players at most as regular starters that leaves a lot of players on the fringes.
Given only 3 can start regularly from heaven yoro maz Shaw deligt martinez and maguire plus academy lads there is 2 or 3 that probably won't kick a ball between now and Xmas.
2 to play regular from mainoo Bruno ugarte cas kone collyer.
2 regular starters from cunha mbeumo Bruno mount zrikzee amad plus academy lads.
That's before any new signings.
I can see a few still going this window and maybe a few in Jan when it becomes clear they are not getting enough game time.

20 Jul 2025 20:45:25
I can see Cunha playing on the left Mbweumo on the right and Bruno behind a striker.

20 Jul 2025 22:20:37
I think if Ugarte can become the player he looked like at Sporting under Amorim he would be the best bet alongside Bruno as a two.

Bruno plays every game and having so many midweeks off will help him a lot this year, i expect a lot of him especially with options of Cunha and Mbuemo in front of him this season.

I also think we will see Dalot and Diallo shine on the right outside Mbeumo with the ridiculous work he gets through.

I figure Bruno will be covering the left side a lot.

21 Jul 2025 06:52:36
We play between 19-21 games over 20 weeks till Christmas. One game a week means we only need a small squad,

Goal - Onana, Altay and Heaton

Defenders - Dalot, Mazraoui, De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez, Dorgu, Yoro, Shaw, Heaven, Leon

Midfield - Casemiro, Bruno, Mount, Ugarte, Mainoo, Collyer

Forwards - Hojlund, Cunha, Mbeumo, Chido, Zirkzee, Amad

And with a rumoured two of the deals done for the famous five and Antony, Garnacho and Malacia will hopefully be sorted by August. That should leave some funds for replacing Casemiro and Maguire whose contracts end this season and possibly replacing Onana and Hojlund who I think Amorim will move on.

21 Jul 2025 06:57:15
Unfortunately Ugarte is just not good on the ball.
Once he receives the ball, he mostly plays it backwards and slows the play.

21 Jul 2025 09:20:49
So you think he will change the team shape and his preferred system Salford? What makes you think he will do that?

21 Jul 2025 10:00:29
There’s surely no place for Luke Shaw?

LCB - Heaven and Martinez
LWB - Dorgu and Leon (plus Dalot)

I’m pretty certain Shaw will be off by August.

21 Jul 2025 11:53:48
Downsie53,

Did you mean, I'm pretty certain Shaw will be injured by August, as that seems more likely.

21 Jul 2025 11:54:02
Here's hoping Downsie.

21 Jul 2025 12:26:33
What's ole doing over there in Turkey. Surely he would like Shaw and maguire. Hope he gets the band back together.

21 Jul 2025 17:13:47
I'm confident that a full preseason under Amorim will shake out a tune from a couple of those who, frankly, failed last season.

Sporting, when Ugarte was there, were a very different type of team to the one he finds himself in now - aggressive pressing, quick and fluid transitions, and plenty of players who could mix it up and support each other. There was just far more graft too.

At United, the anxious, clumsy way of playing the RA way is due to, in part, not having the time to find the right mechanisms required for each individual to click.

Ugarte might surprise us all this season because the whys, hows and wheres of the system should be better tuned, thus developing the confidence amongst the players that their own individual instincts can be better read and accommodated by their teammates - Ugarte could be the biggest benefactor of this deeper shared intuition.

That said, everything's quicker here so his speed of thought might well still hinder him, and the team, until an upgrade arrives.

Maybe we might see him start the game and be replaced around the hour mark by one of Collyer, Casemiro and Kone - depending, of course, on the game status.

I'm trying to convince myself that our midfield could work itself out without a signing, but I am struggling on this one - can anyone help?

21 Jul 2025 17:42:55
Not even sure ugarte can help? he was sold from sporting by RA before they became a very good team.
Hope he can do better this season. But not sure he will improve enough to solve our midfield issues.
He is a bit one paced but I do like his aggression.

26 Jun 2025 21:38:34
Watching Juve v City was interested to see how Vlahovic did for Juve. Unfortunately City just bossing the game so not really had a look in.

What's really apparent is that City are v strong again with Rodri back and their midfield. If we aspire to get back to the top it's something we really need to address. They already have bought with the next few years in mind and have a very strong bench. I know Rome was not built in a day but we really do need a lot more quality.

I fear City will give Liverpool a real run for their money this year.

26 Jun 2025 23:46:25
Ps. He scored a well taken goal not long after my above post and never gave up. Yilditz was really good for Juve when he came on. Def a player to watch in the future.

28 Jun 2025 09:41:59
He's an odd one. He has the frame and the skills to be a top striker, he is also clinical in front of goal. Yet ever since his move to Juventus he has seems to regress each season.

I wonder if it's a mentality thing. He's expressed some pretty controversial opinions in the past which have reflected badly on him. That could be a sign of a less that ideal attitude.

He flourished at a smaller club where he was the big fish in a small pond, but has struggled at a bigger club where he isn't the centre of attention. Some players just need to be big fish in a small pond to get the best out of them. Maybe he's that sort of player. Someone who'll leave Juventus and go to a mid-table side and re-find his form.

Juventus have been open to selling him for a couple of years and no one has bitten. Maybe it's the cost, maybe the player hasn't been interested in any of the possible moves, or maybe clubs aren't interested in him for some reason.

I'd be concerned with taking a player who has struggled at a top club, has question marks over his attitude/ mentality, and personally I worry that his lack of pace could be more of an issue in the EPL.

We need to keep our fingers crossed that Arsenal sign Sesko and we can get a deal done for Gyökeres. Who is by far and away the best option available to us.

If we can't get Gyökeres then the player I'd be most keen on us trying to do a deal for would be Randall Kolo Muani. He is available from PSG and we might even be able to do a loan with an option/ obligation to buy deal which would save laying out money this summer which could be spent on other areas of need (maybe a top keeper like Diogo Costa who is available for 45-55m, which will be far too much for us if we spend upwards of 50m on a striker this summer) . He was excellent in Germany, got his move to PSG and then they changed their manager and he just doesn't suit how Enrique wants his striker to play, so he's never really got the chance to show what he can do. He's still scored at a respectable rate given the limited minutes and often being played out of position. He then went on loan to Juventus in January and was really good for them, he pushed Vlahovic out of the line up entirely. So while he has that "failed" at a big club with PSG on his CV it wasn't that he played and didn't step up, he just didn't get many chances because of the change of manager.

I think he suits how Amorim likes his strikers to play. He's really good at running in behind and stretching play, fairly clinical in front of goal, isn't selfish and links well with team mates and gets a good number of assists (which if we will have Cunha and Mbeumo in the team then we will want a CF who'll create space and chances for them) . While at 6'2 he's strong, able to hold off defenders and is decent in the air. At 26 years old he also has good experience and wouldn't be overwhelmed being the main man at a club like ours.

Ekitike might have a higher ceiling, but is younger and less experienced. Personally I think he needs another year in Germany to solidify his performances, show he can be consistent across multiple seasons and to continue to grow and develop before he moves back to a big club. Also at the ridiculous price Frankfurt are demanding he's far too big a risk. That sort of fee will weigh heavy on a young player who has already been labelled a flop at a big club (unfairly in my opinion as he was very young and PSG had some phenomenal players ahead of him at the time meaning he didn't really get the playing time he needed) . However, if he moved to another big club for a huge fee, and he struggled to hit the ground running, I wouldn't be surprised if thoughts of his past failure at PSG didn't start creeping into his mind. At 22 I would doubt he has the maturity to handle such pressure, very few of us have to mental and emotional maturity at that age to handle that kind of pressure.

I wouldn't be sad if we signed Ekitike, but I would be apprehensive. Not because of his talent, but due to the pressure he will be under to be the main man and perform at a top club that has struggled in recent seasons. The weight of the fee and the glare of the media that comes with playing for our club would be the things I'd be concerned about.

Remember when we signed Højlund and the media were hyping him up as "United's answer to Haaland". Huge fee, expectations to be the main man, and the media glare at United have all contributed to Højlund's struggles (along with some injuries during his first season and a change of manager and tactics in his second) . Højlund is still a talented young player, but many fans on social media talk about him like he's a Sunday league level player. I think a move away to the right club (probably in Italy or Germany) will see him rebuild his confidence and I wouldn't be surprised to see him scoring 20+ goals a season within the next few years.

Gyökeres should be first choice and if we can get a deal done then we should move heaven and earth to get it over the line. If he can't be signed then Kolo Muani is the guy for me.

01 Jul 2025 16:27:34
1 season of plus 15 goals in the league for juve is hardly clinical shappy.

02 Jul 2025 19:58:38
Dn8red, he was and remains fairly clinical, with him finishing a decent proportion of his chances.

However, I did say that he has seemed to regress with every season since joining Juventus.

His minutes on the pitch have not been what you'd expect them to be for various different reasons (injuries, ill-discipline, controversy, and being out of form/ favour with the manager) .

Add to that he is the highest paid player in Serie A on around £315k per week, he wouldn't be anything like good value on even two thirds of his current wage.

He isn't a player I think we should be looking at.

19 Jul 2025 16:47:30
Didn’t Kolo Muani get filmed by Saliba doing a 5 finger shuffle in the dressing room? I’m kind of done with deviants at this point in the club.

21 Jul 2025 07:00:53
Dude was just winding down after a game, isn’t that normal in a dressing room full of …….

20 Jun 2025 23:47:55
Is their a buy back clause for Mason Greenwood? Read somewhere he's training with some old team mate in Manchester. Emotions aside, he's much better than a lot of our forwards.

21 Jun 2025 10:17:44
Can we just stop this Greenwood stuff.

He's a good player who through his own actions and choices has ruined his chances of being able to have a career in England. Especially at a club like ours with such intense media scrutiny.

We don't need players who have a poor attitude, or a questionable personality in our squad, regardless of talent.

The club did the right thing getting him out. It'd be madness to undo a good decision by bringing him back.

22 Jun 2025 03:14:08
Hope you get your typing mojo back soon Shappy! 4 short paragraphs. Are you okay?

22 Jun 2025 12:57:20
Keefy, it's the final stretch of the academic year, I'm up to my eyeballs in marking, data entry, and writing reports. End of July/ start of August I'll have my mojo back ?.

22 Jun 2025 15:48:18
Shappy

By which time we'll still only have signed Cunha for the first team.

23 Jun 2025 09:58:34
Emotions aside ?????.

23 Jun 2025 12:50:15
Ork, I doubt that. I expect Mbeumo to be sorted in the next week or two. I also think we will look to get a striker in as soon as we have moved one or two out the door.

While I'd prefer us to get all our business done on day one of the transfer window, that's just not realistic.

I'm more concerned that we have the right players in and the right ones out by the time the window closes.

23 Jun 2025 17:41:16
I suspect that, irrespective of the complications relevant to the ins, the outs are going to be hard to achieve.

Sancho wants to earn the same money which I believe, in Italy, would mean a greater amount gross than what United are currently paying.
Should United entertain the idea of a swap for Vlahovic, it could make sense to maybe pay the difference for a year to keep Sancho happy.

Rashford seems so deluded that he thinks Barcelona might overlook Williams and Diaz in his favour. Again, wages are the sticking point and, because I believe he only wants Barcelona or PSG, I fully expect we'll be stuck with him and his delusion.

Garnacho should be the easier one, albeit still a stretch. He's also demanding a stupid amount, but he's only 20 so would offer greater longevity.

I would be gutted, but completely unsurprised if all 3 were still at the club at the start of the season.

24 Jun 2025 18:38:53
If RA thinks Greenwood is the right fit and has learnt his lesson and changed for the better then I would say he's done the time for the crime so give him a second chance.

26 Jun 2025 14:29:40
Lol Salford.

02 Jul 2025 17:36:51
Er no.
Aside from the incident, there are credible reports from France that he has been disruptive in the dressing room. Considering how Amorim has taken a strong decision on Garnacho for something similar, it seems unlikely he would want another problem player.

07 Jul 2025 06:18:07
If RA wanted Greenwood or not, won’t be his choice to make…… no way Greenwood comes back to United nor should he, yes he is better than what we have but so what, do you have no morals!

19 Jul 2025 17:00:01
I’m not having Greenwood back and don’t think he’ll ever reach his potential, we need to move on.

The only thing I would add, and I’ve heard the audio is a question.

If the survivor of the alleged assault is now married to him with 2x kids, is it time for them to speak up on whatever went on? There’s no closure here at all.

I mean Partey seems worse, Ronaldo’s US stuff is well documented, Alonso killed someone yet Greenwood gets all the online hate. Mainly due to his Utd link or being black imo.

I’m not excusing the horrific audio that clearly demonstrates he is not a good man but I’ve actually done training on stuff like this and there’s a lot about taking the voice of a survivor.

It seems like we are outraged on behalf of someone who has moved on. It doesn’t sit right with me especially when people say she’s with him for money.

Appreciate this is a highly nuanced topic.

12 Jun 2025 18:08:17
So, a signing has been made, but it is for the academy. We have signed Harley Emsden-James from Southampton.

He is a 16 year old Centre Back, who apparently was wanted by quite a few of the top sides as he is touted as being one of England's top centre back prospects. He chose Utd as he feels he will get more opportunities with us.

I can see this being a regular thing for us, where young players choose O. T. He looked and saw Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi, Toby Collyer, Harry Amass this last season also Leny Yoro who was only 18 when he first played. Mainoo and Garnacho previously.

This clearly says, if you are good enough you will get chances. If we get the best young prospects there is a greater chance of them getting opportunities which then brings the players in and it all becomes self fulfilling.

12 Jun 2025 18:25:42
Problem is there are so many good prospects around, and 95% of them won’t make it.

12 Jun 2025 20:31:38
That's why you need to try and get the cream of the crop, looking at all the players who got an opportunity last season it would seem to be working reasonably well.

15 Jun 2025 10:07:36
Jason Wilcox, now Director of Football, did this at City and was acknowledged as one of the best at it. He targeted top youth and brought them to City, now
Looks like it is something he is doing here.
Heaven and Obi look really good recruits, Heaven really looked the part. I see people outlining their defence and don’t include him. Looks to me like he is a natural. I also read he can play midfield and but of a Vieira type.
Wonder if he can find a keeper.

16 Jun 2025 01:48:15
Red man, I would have Heaven and Yoro as the first two on the team sheet for defence.

16 Jun 2025 07:25:02
Heaven and Yoro look the future Jimbo, plus players like Munro and Emsden on who I posted on Rumours page a few days ago.

16 Jun 2025 09:48:02
I'd play those two ahead of all our other CB options currently.