Summer window

Original source of the aravena news is reporting we have began negotiations

 

According to DirecTv, the agent Fernando Felicevich began his first contacts with the people of Sunderland through Alexander Aravena. The soccer player is one of the jewels of Chilean soccer, he debuted with the Chilean team in the friendly against Paraguay and was a figure along with Alexis Sanchez to turn the game around. Aravena registers 7 goals and 3 assists in 15 games

 

Funny that Amad seemingly disagrees with that point

 

But the Liverpool Echo have a story saying JH is definitely leaving this summer, so if it's in the Echo it must be true

 

He will do TBF. Had his best run of his career. However, I agree with Flash here. His parents club will want him to be tested at higher level or be in and around the squad. Doesn't make sense for him to come back here unfortunately.

 

I’m resigned to Diallo going back to Man U. It’s been great watching him and in particular his link up play with Roberts- it’s good to hear how positive he seems to be about his own experience here.

Looking forward to seeing who is recruited and added to the squad which will be naturally strengthened by the returns of Ballard Stewart Baath Alese etc. The loan signings are really important here too imo.

Good times these compared to a lot of the last 45 campaigns I’ve witnessed.

 

I completely agree but the devil's advocate in me is thinking they'd rather he went to a side challenging at a top of a league than fighting for their lives at the bottom. Arguably a loan to top of championsip will do more for the development of "his type" of player than a loan to bottom of EPL would do.

That's not necessarily my view - but I have seen an article with a top loan manager stating exactly that before (not in relation to Amad of course). And if United place great weight on knowing Amad is flourishing here and continuing to develop and trust that he will continue to, they MIGHT see us as a risk free option rather than sending him somewhere like Everton and risk having him sit on the bench most weeks.

The other option for him is an international loan to somewhere that he can be in a team that dominates. Somewhere like Porto or Benfica; or even the likes of AC Milan, Inter, Juventus might even be interested in a loan.

As i've said before though, I think the most likely outcome is he doesn't go on loan at all and he becomes part of United's first team squad. Perhaps with a focus on champions league games rather than EPL ones. And if he DOES go anywhere, it won't be until end August once United have made some big signings anyway.

 

Lots of top leagues in other countries are tin pot leagues where you get 3 or 4 good teams then the rest not so good.The championship will be competitive this season and is more akin to the premiership than all those other leagues.
I say he’ll come back if given the opportunity and MANU can keep a closer eye on him

 

Aravena maybe the Diallo replacement? Looking at the videos off him he tends to come inside from wide, quick and an eye for goal.

 

This. And you think there'd be plenty of takers too.

 

I still don't think he'll come back. I think its most likely he'll stay at Utd or go abroad on loan.

But Utd will also be wary of loans going wrong for him. Do they want another Rangers experience or another Sunderland experience.

They know if he comes here he plays every week and he improves. They have first hand experience of him going elsewhere and not playing.

 

Depends what United's priorities are. As I've harped on about a few times, loan managers don't just want them playing at a higher standard of football, they take all sorts into account. And if they think he can continue developing with us, at a place he's happy and loves the team and manager, and is pretty much guaranteed to be one of the first names on the team sheet, they might value that higher than being a squad player in the premier league, or abroad.

Might.

I still think its unlikely.

I just don't think its as cut and dried as them wanting him playing at a higher level.

 

He def looks better coming off the wing, the bits ive seen he seems better as a LM or an AM. When he does play up front tho he does run in behind, hes def the type we should be signing as hes quality plus plays a few positions

 

FWIW there is no point looking for an "Amad replacement". We won't be able to replace what Amad does. Obviously we can look for new wingers etc and this recruitment team obviously will. But I don't think we should be trying to replace him like-for-like. For a start its an unrealistic ambition.

If we are to have a system with two wide attackers, then we already have those players anyway. Roberts on one side and Clarke on the other. I know we need backups... but I think we already have the closest thing we are going to get to an Amad replacement in Patrick Roberts.

It's surely much more likely that we look to replace him with a number 10 type player to compete with Pritchard and possibly Jobe in that link space between the striker and the two holding midfielders.

Or that we pivot to having three central midfielders with one holding and two marauding.

Or even use that squad "space" for an extra striker and return to the two up front model that worked at the start of last season.

tbh a lot of it will depend on if we keep Clarke and Roberts.

 

Moneyball: “you can replace him in the aggregate.”

 

If/When Stewart comes back we are arguably stronger up top with Clarke Pritchard Roberts Stewart than we were with all rotation and our false 9s playing 2nd half of last season

 

Hopefully we'll have some strikers next season! So wouldn't mind us adopting a move conventional 3 man midfield next season. Holding midfielder and sat, two number 8s. Ekwah used as a box to box midfielder for example. Times we've struggled last season was having our centre midfield wide open, particularly at home.

 

Agreed. As good as Diallo is, and he's clearly very very good...

A front line of Clarke ; Pritchard ; Roberts behind Stewart

is preferable to

a front line of Clarke ; Amad ; Roberts behind Gelhardt


(to me at least).

Although I still think Stewart won't play for us again.

 

I can imagine a system with Dan Neil or Cory Evans playing a deep lying playmaker style pivot role, with two large athletic midfielders either side of them going box to box. Ekwah and Jobe perhaps.

Until Jobe is ready then the likes of Ba and Pritchard can play there and go further forward. Or Neil if Evans is fit and can slot in.

And that's even without us recruiting any more midfielders, which I think its fair to say we may.

 

Diallo was linked with Feyenoord this morning. Reigning Dutch champs and CL football, wouldn't be surprised.