Nine

People are weird

Just cant understand why ASM as a striker, I know Liverpool need to be got in behind but he doesnt have the best movement or even often make good runs. Hes a ball carrier through and through.

Just poor from us, not a foul

They’ll be on a high today after Klopp signed his new contract and it’s a game we’d very likely lose anyway so I’m going to say 2-0 them, interested to see if Howe mixes it up today now that we are safe.

Although I wouldn’t want it rushed, I can’t wait for him to be back. Watching him walk out with the armband on will never get old.

Frankfurt looking defensively sus here

Holy shit that’s going to send them into full on meltdown

Against 99% of teams it is insanity to want ASM playing through the middle instead of Wood

Gayle has been almost physically finished since those back to back hamstring injuries he suffered under Rafa, he did manage that one good season with West Brom after but those injuries + his age seemed to have taken their toll now. Considering hes on around 40k pw we'd be lucky to get any fee for him.

Might be worth keeping an eye on this one

The thing is the standard of our squad right now is not even close to being enough to finish in a CL spot next season, it would take a mass turnover of players to achieve that goal.. far to many for one window. We also need to strengthen again on top of that for the demands of the extra European ties which are all against high quality teams to.

Oh agreed, big ask over one window though. Ultimately it will obviously depend on which player is available for what..

Would anyone be disappointed if we didn’t upgrade Wilson and instead filled the gap in between him and Wood? Perhaps a younger player that could learn from being around this squad for a season or two and step in for Wilson through injury or just for a tactically different approach? Not sure if Ekitike fits this bill as I think he should be playing week in week out if possible, but another player of that age with a lot of potential that could be fulfilled? Ideally we bring in a better/more reliable player than Wilson of course but I might not be suprised if we take the other route.

Zaniolo is primarily a #10 right? Interesting that we keep getting linked with players who are naturally #10s

To be fair Ive seen little of him over 90 minute games, maybe 2 matches at most so he very well could be suited to the prem.. I worded that badly in my other post, should have said I personally haven’t seen enough to say if he’s PL suited but I do know what type of player he is. Cannot compare a midfield in the French league to the PL, I just doubt a midfield of him and Bruno ahead of any DM that isn’t a very good player would be industrious enough against most PL sides.. you saying that he is meant to have a good personality is intriguing mind, that defo ticks a big box for Howe. Wages yeah, if he wants around what Bruno’s on that would be acceptable imo.

I think looking at top 4 2 seasons from now is a big, big ask. So many variables to consider that I very much doubt leadership has identified ‘we want to finish in x position by x date’, I think it’s more likely they have a 5 year plan that has us near the top of the table by the end of it. Also we have no idea how investment will progress, we know how rich our owners are but that doesn’t necessarily translate into us spending massively every window (in keeping with FFP of course). Also comparisons to City, Liverpool or whoever else sacking a manager is a different kettle of fish from where we are right now. I don’t expect us to crack top 4 for at least 4/5 seasons (without a freak season of multiple top teams flopping) because there is far more chance we experience many bumps in the road before then, it’s going to be a long slog but we will get there.

Really looks a player but I think there’s more than one reason that we won’t sign him this summer. Not sure he and Bruno can play in the same midfield without an elite DM behind them and I don’t think Bruno in the DLP role with Paqueta and Willock/Joe ahead is viable either, how suited he is the to the PL may be a question to ask as well and also he would come for pretty big wages.

Can’t see us overhauling the squad to that extent in one window, 6/7 will leave at most I think. (One of the GKs, Fern, Clark, Lewis, Ritchie, Hayden + Gayle and Hendrick if we can do deals for them but because of their wage these 2 will more likely be loaned out). Has anyone else considered that we might not sign a striker that will take the starting spot over Wilson? I could see this happening tbh. I think there’s a possible scenario this summer that we sign someone that will play 2nd fiddle to Wilson ready to come in whenever needed with Wood being 3rd choice, it all comes down to who is available and if the right deal for the right player can be done obviously - if Abraham was available for £40m and we could put him on a 5 year deal for 130k pw no doubt we’d do it but actually signing a better player than Wilson for reasonable money that will fit into our wage structure might be harder than it seems. I’m not even sure Toney is a better player in this side than Wilson, I know on fitness terms he is plus his age/longevity but on actual ability I’m not sure which makes spending a big fee on him questionable.

Ridiculous money for a player that I’m not even sure has it for this league.

As far as numbers go you could make the same argument for Sterling though, he put up his best numbers in 19/20 and last season only put up about half of that (in a far better side than Rashfords to). I just feel that with Rashford his dip in form is related to the team hes been a part of rather than down to him on an individual level, a move at this point in his career might not be a bad choice for him.

But wouldnt you say £150k for him is to much? A big risk for sure. I remember him being highly rated in Germany and kept up with him until last season when he just seemed to fade out completely.

Has Rashford really dipped that badly though? I dont think hes anywhere close to Alli levels of failure, looking at Rashfords numbers alone last season wasnt a bad season for him also taking into account hes been a part of a broken Man United side.

That specific player has a contract until 2025, he likely wont be leaving for any less money than hes already on until his contract expires.. unless hes really motivated to try and revive his career which I doubt as he would have left Madrid a year ago if that was the case. You're right though, he will most likely drop down when he does leave but there are also plenty of examples of flops at that sort of age moving to clubs and remaining on big wages still. Also I wasnt saying that he'd get a wage rise anywhere at this point, would be mental if he did.

This will make that move a no go imo, this summer when it comes to buying younger players from foreign leagues I think we’ll mostly be looking at players that currently earn somewhere around 50-60k pw or below so we have room to offer at least double their current wage without smashing our own wage structure. He looks a player mind.