Not sure I agree to be honest. Firstly, this probably isn't Mbuemo peaking, his stats have been improving for the last few years. At 22 he got 4 goals, then at 23 and 24 he got 9 goals (as a winger/forward) but almost 20 goal involvements each year then as a 25 year old he's got 20 goals. He's had almost no injury issues (has played 35-45 games for all but one of the last 6 seasons. This isn't a freak season, it's a pattern of improvement - for the record I 100% called this last year and said we should go all out and buy him as I think he's under-rated. I still think he's under-rated. My main point would be though that whilst it sounds great to buy in players for £20m and aim to improve them that's higher risk. Look at teams who actually win things or challenge at the top, they usually pick which players they know are going to imrpove them (often from clubs that are just a bit smaller than they are) and pay the money to get them in. I think if we want to actually secure top 4 for the next few years we need 2-3 "guaranteed" improvements rather than 4-5 "potentials". I'll accept whatever the club do though, they know this better than we do and have mostly made the right calls so far!
Bit of a left field one - but would anyone have a look at Mattias De Ligt at Man U. Nearly everyone ther eis up for sale. Had a poor season and Man U this year but previously managed 350+ apps for Juventus, Bayern and Ajax. 25 years old and Dutch would be great next to Botman as well.
please log in to view this image Did anyone have Dan Ashworth coming back on their Summer transfer bingo card?
Howe is clearly impossible for a dm to work with and him being untouchable leaves dms desperately trying to get out.
But is he good? Yes, as a young player when Ajax were dominating then he got a big transfer to Juventus. Did very little there before being shipped out. Same happened at Bayern
That shouldn't be the benchmark. A player can be an upgrade on those two and still be below the level that we should now be looking.
I'd say he's as good as Burn / Schar but 8 years younger. Stats suggest he is a better duel winner than our 2 but not one for distribution or ball carries out of the defensive 3rd so much
Agreed, was more tongue in cheek, personally think he's better than Schar and Burn but as Maxi said above - potentially another who ends up on the physio's table more often than not. If you could assure he's fit he's a decent addition. Although in fairness to the lad he's managed 42, 43, 30 and 42 appearances in the last 4 seasons so maybe he's not as injury prone as we fear. He's won the Eredivise, Serie A and Bundesliga and cups in all country's as well so he must have something about him, knows how to win stuff. It's unlikely as he's only been at United for a year.
Tasty is right.,... We should be looking to sign players who are better than what we have in the first team player positions. No point getting a GK who isn't already better than Pope. No point in getting a RCB who isn't much better than Schar. No point in getting a RW who isn't significantly better than Murphy
Howe doesn't work that way, and we are now acutely aware of who's overseeing transfers. Another Summer of bench warmers incoming, so the "bar" is the likes of Krafth, Targett and Longstaff. I've long since decried this policy - it should be about improving on Murphy, Schar, Pope, Trippier, Willock, not the subs of the subs.
Agree but also we need a squad capable of competing across multiple comps, while staying inside the lane bumpers that are PSR. Guehi, De Ligt etc aren't world class but they improve the 25 man squad. Can't be relying on 34 year old Schar, 33 year old Dan Burn and Botman's glass knee as our CB's by the end of next season. If you play the bare minimum of fixtures next year it's 48 games, make it to the end of all those comps its more like 67-69 games from what I can work out.
Apparently Mitchell had Garcia ready to sign, but Howe wanted to stick with Pope. This is one of many reasons according to the rumour mill.
Maybe, but he's a good player that improves the 1st team. I find this unlikely. I suspect what has actually happened is that Mitchell had a 3 month notice period and handed it in at the end of March. There has been no announcement until the end of the season to save it distracting from the CL race. If this is the case, the Garcia rumours have picked up pace after he handed his notice in, so they are still on track. I don't see why he would be here until the end of June if he has been forced out of the club in recent days...
Hopefully he'll go back to what we did those first couple of windows, but I'm highly nervous he'll stick with players who we all know just aren't good enough - Pope, Burn, Wilson, Murphy, Trippier, Lascelles.
