I like the transfer. Didn't realise he was still only 22. The right age and I like the fact that last season he collected only 2 yellow cards - that makes it feel like he reads the game excellently. Looking from a few highlights he seems like he is good on the ball as well, which is great.

Hopefully him and Bailly can be our next great centre back pairing for years to come. A good CB partnership has shown to be one of the keys to having a top quality team throughout the years.

I think Lindelof might be a great transfer, as he seems as a perfect partner for Bailly.

Calm and good on the ball, reads the game well, yet he is physically strong. An improved version of Daley Blind :)

All of that at the age of 22 and for a reasonable price.

I'd like us to do more business with Benfica, as they have a fantastic RB Semedo, who is also wanted by Barcelona.

However, I don't think we will move for him, as we have Valencia who was one of our best players next season and he seems to still have a good season or two in his legs, so changing him now would be a strange move.

Among current rumours, the one which I find the most exciting is Fabinho, as I think he would be a great buy. He would be someone to replace Carrick and give more freedom to Pogba and Herrera, but he is also excellent on RB.

I've only seen Fabinho in a few games, but it worries me somewhat how average Monaco were defensively and surely the midfield plays a part in that. I wouldn't be unhappy about him coming, but I do hope that Jose has done his homework there so that he'd fit in. I'd hate it if we had an unbalanced midfield after spending a lot of money on someone like him and struggle as a result.

I also don't like the idea of buying him, because Monaco aren't going to sell their whole team and if we buy another of their players, then it's likely that they won't want to sell Mbappe.

I think our best chance of getting Mbappe is this season. For two reasons - next season Benzema is 30 and Real will be more serious about replacing him. If Mbappe doesn't have a horrible season, they'll go all in and pay a crazy amount with which we might not be able to compete. Secondly if we don't buy him, we'll buy someone else that's good and don't really have a need for a new striker next summer.

It does feel like he isn't coming to United this summer and I'm slightly disappointed about that, because it feels like we should try to get guys like him. I guess we'll see who we're getting.

I'd like us to do more business with Benfica, as they have a fantastic RB Semedo, who is also wanted by Barcelona.

I think Valencia will be our right back for more than a few years. His physique seems to be so good that I think he might be going strong for another 3-4 years if not more.

When we replace him I think we should look for someone like Rafael and not someone like Darmian. I mean the profile of the player, not the style. I think Rafael when he came had the talent to become one of the very best RBs while Darmian.. well he was never going to be the new Lahm or Cafu. I don't know enough about Semedo to comment on him tbh. If he is talented enough to perhaps be the best RB of his generation, then I don't mind Valencia getting some competition. But if not, then I don't see the point.

I've read that Real Madrid might offer about 130mil euro to Monaco for Mbappe, but they are also willing to let him stay at Monaco on loan for next season.

This will give the player assurance of playing time, which is one of his main concerns, as he wants to play at the World Cup at all costs. Of course, to do so, he must be a starter for his club, which at Real Madrid might not always be guaranteed.

Maybe Real Madrid wants to stick to Benzema, Ronaldo and Bale for one more season and give Mbappe more time to grow, but at the same time it might be a risky move, if this story is true in the first place. I guess we'll see soon.

Anyway, I think that our chances to sign Mbappe are currently less than 20%.

Yeah, I agree that it's unlikely we're getting Mbappe.

I think that for Real it's not reasonable to pay 130m and then not want to use the player themselves. That just makes no sense. If he is worth 130m for them, then surely he is a galactico that should start every game, no? It makes more sense for them to just get a 'first buy option' at a fixed price next season if they want that.

From our point of view I think that it's now or never. Because this season Real seem to be happy not to add to their squad much(what's that all about?) and Mbappe is going to one of the very top clubs. That means United, Real, Barca or.. well perhaps that's it? I think Arsenal without CL are less likely to get him.

But the way things are now both Real and Barca have formidable forward lines. But next season Ronaldo is 33, Benzema is 30 and Suarez is 31. All of them probably are either at their peak or have just peaked. And we don't have a forward right now but unless next season is a disaster(in which case there is more doubt for Mbappe I guess), we'll get a striker this summer who will do very well for us. Now it looks like that's going to be Morata. So that maybe it doesn't make sense for us to spend that heavily on a forward. We might be more inclined to strengthen at RB, right wing?, perhaps add depth rather than outright quality(why fix something that isn't broken?).

It just seems that he might prefer Spain to England next summer, especially if he has another great season.

With us playing time would be more or less guaranteed. It just seems like Jose isn't a fan of him. Which is a shame.

Looking at France - England tonight and cooperation between Pogba and Mbappe, if there is even a slight possibility of signing him, Mourinho should save 70mil euro planned for Morata, add another 70mil and go all out for Mbappe :)

What a team it would be with Martial, Mbappe and Rashford/Mikhi in attack.

Mbappe is an energetic bomb, always on the shoulders of defenders, so with someone like Pogba he would be even more dangerous than what we saw at Monaco.

And what to say about Pogba's performance. Every penny of those 89mil pounds look well spent. Looking at how are the prices going wild, maybe those 89mil will really look like a good price (not to say cheap) after all :)

For me in addition to being on the shoulder, Mbappe also seems to have the vision to play players in. He created the Dembele goal and gave another few great passes to his mates(also had 8 assists in about 1500 minutes in the French League last season, something that possibly goes unnoticed).

He is the gem of the next generation IMO. I just don't understand why we aren't trying everything to get him. At his age already he seems unplayable. A complete player who seems to have everything.

And as we're probably looking for a right winger improvement as well, then Dembele. What a player as well! And also just 20..

Got to say that France have a really awesome NT right now. Just don't understand the role of Giroud there :)

As for Pogba's performance - I think you've got to mention that England didn't have a proper midfielder on the pitch so he should dominate that midfield. Ox is a winger/AM and Dier is a CB and a converted midfielder and somewhat overhyped. No wonder they didn't manage to control the game at all even against 10 men. Looking at it - do England have midfielders right now? It's funny to say it, but Henderson seems to be the best of them... The others are number 10s or just wide players who are listed as midfielder in the current squad and the recent squads. And then Jake Livermore. Compare that to Pogba, Kante, Rabiot, Matuidi, Tolisso + those who didn't get into the team like Cabaye, Bakayoko, Kondogbia, Schneiderlin.

It's weird how big the difference in quality is.

That said Pogba obviously did well, he played out his own level, created chances and was just brilliant on the ball. I'm sure next season he'll be great in PL. The last third of the season he looked better defensively already, which is the slight worry with him. The rest is at his worst very good.

For me in addition to being on the shoulder, Mbappe also seems to have the vision to play players in. He created the Dembele goal and gave another few great passes to his mates(also had 8 assists in about 1500 minutes in the French League last season, something that possibly goes unnoticed).

Yeah, he had some nice passes as well.

I liked the one in the first half after about 15mins, when he set up Dembele nicely from the left wing, with a great through ball.

He is the gem of the next generation IMO. I just don't understand why we aren't trying everything to get him.

Maybe we are.

Hope I'm wrong, but I just think he wants to go to Madrid unfortunately, or maybe Barcelona.

However, I still have some hopes that Pogba might convince him to come to United. Just sweet dreams :)

But, when he looks at how Martial is having hard time to get minutes with Mourinho (despite a high price paid for him), maybe a young player like Mbappe will have his doubts and rather choose to go elsewhere. I gave the example of Martial as he also came from Monaco, also as a very young player and a great talent. Not as hyped as Mbappe, but still he was deemed as one of the greatest talents of his age.

And as we're probably looking for a right winger improvement as well, then Dembele. What a player as well! And also just 20..

Dembele is great, I wanted us to sign him even before Borussia Dortmund got him. Now they want 85mil euro, which might be too much. Dunno whether he is worth that kind of money. I'd settle ONLY for Mbappe :) and keep Rashford or Mikhi on the right, Martial left and they could all swap positions during games, thus making the opponent's defences crazy. It would be really an exciting attacking line, with Pogba giving his brilliant passes from behind.

Got to say that France have a really awesome NT right now. Just don't understand the role of Giroud there :)

Yeah...Giroud....seriously!? With all great players at Deschamps disposal...
OK, Giroud is the one who has an excellent feeling for goals, but I wouldn't keep him as a starter, with all the talent France has got upfront.

Concerning Pogba, he was unplayable yesterday. Dier couldn't do anything against him. I am afraid of those rumours that Mourinho wants to sign Dier, hope those are not true. The latest story is that he doesn't want Fabinho and prefers Dier or Matic instead. Just crazy, if true.

But, when he looks at how Martial is having hard time to get minutes with Mourinho (despite a high price paid for him), maybe a young player like Mbappe will have his doubts and rather choose to go elsewhere. I gave the example of Martial as he also came from Monaco, also as a very young player and a great talent. Not as hyped as Mbappe, but still he was deemed as one of the greatest talents of his age.

Yet Martial started about half the games this season, which means he still got to play a lot. The problem with him was his end product. He looked good in patches, but at times he slowed down the tempo in the wrong moments etc. He has the talent, but there are moments when you question whether he makes the right decision and when you have Zlatan as a sure starter and a choice between Martial and Rashford, then it's tough for Martial..

I can't see that happening with Mbappe - from the looks of it he is very direct and understand the game almost too well for his age. Looking at his stats it seems like end product is already around the levels of Messi/Ronaldo. Which is crazy and probably has some luck involved and he won't score all chances next season, but his overall game is just.. great.

Dembele is great, I wanted us to sign him even before Borussia Dortmund got him. Now they want 85mil euro, which might be too much. Dunno whether he is worth that kind of money. I'd settle ONLY for Mbappe :) and keep Rashford or Mikhi on the right, Martial left and they could all swap positions during games, thus making the opponent's defences crazy. It would be really an exciting attacking line, with Pogba giving his brilliant passes from behind.

Me too. I think that 85m isn't a bad price for Dembele to be honest. If you read the article about the valuation of Mbappe, then more or less the same applies for Dembele. With him the risk is smaller, because he has now had two very productive seasons in different leagues. And he is still 20 and going to improve. The thing is that it's almost sure that he'll be great for the next 10 years. If we sell him on at some point, we get most of the money back. If not, then over 10 seasons the transfer fee is 8,5m per season of top quality football. Compare to Perisic at 35m at the age of 28 and if you assume that he will start to drop off at 30 as well, the Perisic costs about 17,5m per season. In this sense Dembele at 85m is about 2 times cheaper than Perisic. I love it that Jose so far has bought Pogba, Bailly and Lindelöf, because they're all young players and the prices are quite low if you think of it like an accountant(and that's what really matters).

IMO this summer is the summer to make a statement of intent. Getting those two would make us favorites to the PL title IMO and in contention for CL as well. (The only worry then is the Carrick-sized hole in midfield....)

Concerning Pogba, he was unplayable yesterday. Dier couldn't do anything against him. I am afraid of those rumours that Mourinho wants to sign Dier, hope those are not true. The latest story is that he doesn't want Fabinho and prefers Dier or Matic instead. Just crazy, if true.

Yeah. Dier is somewhat overhyped - English player and all that. I think that everyone will suffer against Pogba, but in general I think Dier is perhaps only suited to play really well for a team like Pochettino's team. His defensive game is good when in a solid team, but individually.. he isn't spectacular. Kante on the other hand... Still can't believe he went only for 30m last summer. Matic is not a good idea IMO - too old and not THAT good. Verratti seems available. Of the options out there he might be one of the better ones. Although I'm not a huge fan of him.

Didn't see the game but have to say I'm impressed with Dier as a defensive midfielder, especially since he is only 23 years of age. He reads the game very well, excellent positioning, has a very good passing range, is good in the air and in duels. He played a lot as a centre back this season when the Spurs had problems with Alderwereild and Vertonghen and got exposed at times, but in midfield he is among the best in the league IMO. Don't think he will leave spurs but I'm sure he will be an excellent addition to United, he's exactly the player United needs.

He's somehow been an under the radar talent since forever. He got part of his youth schooling in Sporting where he afaik also played mainly in the central defense.

As defensive midfielder, I'd love him at United as the defensive workhorse providing more offensive freedom for Pogba and the others. I'd even be alright with him getting games as a central defender.

For me he is a good player, but that's it. Schneiderlin is also a good player. I don't think there is too much of a quality difference between them for example. Dier is just playing as a part of an excellent team right now that works really well defensively. For comparison - at Southampton Schneiderlin and Wanyama played under Pochettino and both did really well. We opted to buy Schneiderlin at the time. And Spurs then bought Wanyama and I'd say they're both about on the same level. All three are on a similar level really IMO. Dier can just play multiple positions.

Don't think he will leave spurs but I'm sure he will be an excellent addition to United, he's exactly the player United needs.

Would he be better than Fellaini and improve our squad? Yes. Would he be the type of player we need? I don't think so. Ideally I'd want someone who can dictate the play, not a water carrier. I'm willing to see us buy someone who is excellent defensively, but I'd prefer a playmaker instead. We've struggled to push our opponents back in recent seasons - if we do create some chances in the last 15 minutes it's usually just one attack, then some midfield battle, then another attack, more midfield battle etc. The thing that made Fergie time great was that we attacked so that when they managed to clear the ball, then 10 seconds later we were creating danger again. That's what teams feared. For that we need someone in a deeper position to be great on the ball, that's usually the DM. He has time on the ball, he has to choose the right pass to start an attack. I'm not sure Dier is good enough to do that. Against France a midfield of him and Ox vs 10 men weren't able to do anything really in the second half. The midfielders should take control of the game and make France suffer. But they didn't. For me this showed how... average the English midfielders are. The key player for Tottenham is Eriksen, not Dier.

The other thing is that Tottenham don't want to sell and his price would be extraordinary. We'd overpay hugely and because of this I think United shouldn't even consider him as an option. If we buy from a rival, then the player has to be magnificent. The only players from the top six in PL that I wouldn't mind getting are.. Gabriel Jesus, Coutinho(just to piss off Liverpool, but he's also good), maybe Alli, Sane and Sterling maybe as well. Others are either quite old(but would still cost an arm and a leg) or just not worth paying 20-30m extra because we're rivals.

I agree with everything but....Sterling???

C'mon, the guy is running around like a headless chicken :)

His decision making is one of the worst I've ever seen.

With his pace and agility he could be a very dangerous player, but he just doesn't have the brains to become one, so he will always remain a player who shines occasionally and nothing more.

About Dier I already said before that imo he is very good but not the solution for us.

I think Fabinho is a much better and more complete as a player, offers more quality and versatility. Not exactly a Carrick type of player, but there aren't any in the market nowadays, so we need to adapt in the best possible way.

I think that Sterling is still quite young and therefore might improve his decision making still. I think he is one of those players who can get to that 'not quite Ronaldo or Messi, but about as good as Robben' level if he continues to improve. He wouldn't be my first choice(from the few matches I've seen Jesus is better if we look at City), but he would be among the players I that if available, I wouldn't mind signing. It won't happen obviously tho.

chuksi wrote:

I think that Sterling is still quite young and therefore might improve his decision making still. I think he is one of those players who can get to that 'not quite Ronaldo or Messi, but about as good as Robben' level if he continues to improve. He wouldn't be my first choice(from the few matches I've seen Jesus is better if we look at City), but he would be among the players I that if available, I wouldn't mind signing. It won't happen obviously tho.

I wouldn't even swap Lingard for Sterling :)


I know a guy who is a City fan (since many years, not one of the new ones since the Sheikhs came) and he gets sick just by mentioning Sterling and considers him one of their worst players, along with Navas, Clichy, before them Demichelis etc.
Of course, his opinion doesn't mean anything.....just mentioning what one of their long-term their fans think of Sterling (and I don't think he's the only one).

I read this morning that Juventus have agreed a price of about £35mil with Bayern, for Douglas Costa.

This makes it even more difficult for me to understand our pursue of Ivan Perisic, who is 2 years older and will cost more than Costa, who (imho) is also a better player.

Not saying Perisic is not good, he is definitely a good player, but when I compare all the details I somehow feel Juve is making a better deal.

Let's see what happens, maybe I'm wrong, hope I am...

What do you guys think of the latest story of a possible CR7 return to United???

First of all, the whole story seems more as a distraction from unpaid taxes issue (if that one is even true, which I don't believe).

Anyway, even though bringing Ronaldo would make us stronger, even though he probably still has at least 2-3 good seasons in his legs, I don't think we should overpay, in case this transfer really happens. CR7 would make us a lot of money as he is great for club's marketing and appeal, but if he really wants to leave Real, then we should play hardball.

If we pay more than 100mil euro, we will fund their purchase of Mbappe, who will be their star for the next 10 years or so. At the same time, we would free them from a player who already (allegedly) wants to leave and from his enormous wages. Not really a good piece of business.

For me anything over 60-70m is too much for Ronaldo. Yes, he is great, but he is 32. He is likely to age well because he seems to be the model professional. We should know that even great players like Scholes and Giggs age and they became a burden on the rest of the team, making them just good players, not great. I think Ronaldo will play at a good level until he is 40(if he doesn't get bad injuries) and that means 60-70m is justified.

But I'd rather see Mbappe, who is going to be great for 10 years for sure and likely to get even better rather than slowly regress like Ronaldo. I mean - Ronaldo can age well like Zlatan, but it's not certain. And even Zlatan last season didn't score as many as he did in the previous seasons.

The thing with buying Ronaldo is that we'd be taking a huge risk. He can be great for the next 10 years, but he can get an injury and at that age he might not come back to that level. There is also little to no upside - at best he will age like Zlatan/Giggs/Scholes, but sure he won't be 50% better than them or smth.

I don't think we'd be funding their chase of Mbappe. Instead we'd be freeing up a place in their starting line-up for him, which possibly has a bigger impact on him going there or not.

All in all I think that getting Ronaldo can only work if the price is right and I like that United haven't shown great interest so far. If it does happen, then it has to happen like his exit from United - he drives the process and the clubs will eventually agree a fair deal. When Perez tries to bluff 150m for Ronaldo or smth, then it's just sad and funny to see :).

One good thing is that Ronaldo's agent is not called Mino Raiola :)

chuksi wrote:

For me anything over 60-70m is too much for Ronaldo. Yes, he is great, but he is 32. He is likely to age well because he seems to be the model professional. We should know that even great players like Scholes and Giggs age and they became a burden on the rest of the team, making them just good players, not great. I think Ronaldo will play at a good level until he is 40(if he doesn't get bad injuries) and that means 60-70m is justified.

But I'd rather see Mbappe, who is going to be great for 10 years for sure and likely to get even better rather than slowly regress like Ronaldo. I mean - Ronaldo can age well like Zlatan, but it's not certain. And even Zlatan last season didn't score as many as he did in the previous seasons.

The thing with buying Ronaldo is that we'd be taking a huge risk. He can be great for the next 10 years, but he can get an injury and at that age he might not come back to that level. There is also little to no upside - at best he will age like Zlatan/Giggs/Scholes, but sure he won't be 50% better than them or smth.

I don't think we'd be funding their chase of Mbappe. Instead we'd be freeing up a place in their starting line-up for him, which possibly has a bigger impact on him going there or not.

All in all I think that getting Ronaldo can only work if the price is right and I like that United haven't shown great interest so far. If it does happen, then it has to happen like his exit from United - he drives the process and the clubs will eventually agree a fair deal. When Perez tries to bluff 150m for Ronaldo or smth, then it's just sad and funny to see :).

I think ronaldo has 2-3 more seasons, never more than that.

In the last two years he has played really under his best level. Oh yes, he will get two Golden Ball but last year he didn't score in important matches (City in Semifinals, ATM in Final). He didn't played well for Portugal, being 3rd in their group and just because of the UEFA new rules they got into final rounds. And then even didn't apper in the final, or in the Europe Super Cup. Pepe deserved the Golden Ball more than him, but this is just marketing.

And in this year... well, he scored goals in champions, half about illegal goals because of off side or fouling the rival. In the league it has been his worst season and the League where less has played in the past 7 years (and the first league for Real Madrid, just in case). And again he will win the Golden Ball for sure, while I think Isco, Modric, Hazard, Buffon, Dybala, Messi or Neymar had better seasons than him.

Maybe in marketing would be a good deal, but to pay 100m for him... better buy Mbappe.

Anyway, if he finally quit from Real Madrid, he would fit better in Ligue 1, which is slowly, than in a fast-paced Premier League.