Since last Saturday's painful defeat I have been thinking not just about who we should sign but how we should line up and the tactics we should employ. For me, Barca are the benchmark, and I think we should look to play a similar shape but with two deeper lying midfielders (one DM one box to box CM). This is mainly because I just don't think we will have the all round technical ability to play with only one. Also, I think we should play Hernandez on the left of a front 3 (a la David Villa, Barcelona's only out and out CF), with Rooney dropping deep in to the space between the opposition's midfield and defence. The front three should be interchangeable any way, creating fluidity and movement, with the wide players able to cut inside, becoming more narrow and allowing Rooney to drop in to midfield if neccessary. I can see us lining up something like this; De Gea Rafael Ferdinand Vidic Evra Fletcher B2B CM AM Nani Hernandez Rooney Now, on to the players we have been linked with. Below is a fairly exhaustive list of what I would class realistic targets (and by this I mean someone who has been mentioned a fair few times, and not someone who has appeared as a headline on a slow day for the tabloids - Pastore for instance, who would probably be out of our price range). Sneijder De Rossi Sanchez A. Young Rodwell Modric Douglas Costa Adam Gotze Hamsik From those, given the weight of rumours, and what I think would be best for the club in terms of playing style and finances, I would like to see De Rossi and Modric, but realise it could be Rodwell and Young. If it is Rodwell, it would certainly help him playing along side Fletcher, and they could interchange between holding and box to box. De Rossi is great at both the defensive and attacking side of midfield, and his signing would allow Fletcher to protect the back four. Again, the inclusion of De Rossi allows for fluidity in midfield, with three "stages" taking place i.e. DM, box to box and AM. However, given that Costa was guest of honour at our home game against Bolton, this link may have some legs, although his visa could present a problem, as he hasn't played the required percentage of senior internationals. So being realistic, I think the most likely signings are Rodwell and Young/Modric with Adam potentially coming in to deepen the squad. Therefore this is how I see us lining up next season. De Gea Rafael Ferdinand Vidic Evra Fletcher Rodwell Modric Nani Hernandez Rooney When we are defending Nani and Rooney can drop back in to midfield, Modric out on to the left, and Hernandez the lone striker. Any thoughts? Just to stress, again, if it were up to me, I would have De Rossi in place of Rodwell, and most likely Sneijder ahead of Modric. I guess Fergie also has to think about the home grown quota which would be another reason for him to sign Rodwell and/or Young.