Lots of ifs and buts indeed mate, but at the very least we will have Kaboul, Dawson and Caulker plus any 2 from King, Gallas & Nelson. Everything I have seen since the end of the season suggests that Harry wants to keep the latter two on board. So if we do finally complete the Vertonghen deal then we would be seriously over compliment for CB's. My concern is that this rumour has surfaced when the V deal is still not done and dusted. Psychologically, not getting the Belgian at this stage would have a very negative impact all round, but especially in influencing some of the potential wantawayers!! Hoping for more positive news tomorrow...,,
PNP - Hasn't Nelsen been released with Saha already?, or are those reports incorrect?? Caulker has to be better than Tompkins surely....whats that about??? Based on having Kaboul, Vertonghen, Daws, Caulker, and it looks like Gallas may be staying, (i've based this only on players that i thought had already been released) as he's been training with Hudd and Daws apparently. To bring in Tompkins to push Caulker out on loan...again, doesn't make sense to me, he's done more than enough to have earnt his own place in the squad imo.
God knows what's going on in that regard - there's been no official confirmation about King, Saha or Nelsen, but plenty of rumours since the middle of last week. Rmours about Tomkins sound a lot like the ones about Jonas Olsson from a couple of weeks ago, which have gone quiet almost overnight. At most he'd be a stopgap measure if King, Bassong and Nelsen all leave this summer, but we have Caulker stepping up, Dawson coming back, and *touch wood* Vertonghen coming in to make those rumours sound utterly redundant.
I thought that Nelsen and Saha had been released Notso, but I'm not sure if anything's been made official, yet. Caulker might prefer to be a starter, which he's hinted at. He might want to add to his experience and guarantee that he'll get a decent number of games. Alternatively, perhaps Levy wants shot of all of the older, more injury prone centre-halves? Kaboul, Vertonghen, Dawson, Caulker and Tomkins does seem like overkill though, doesn't it? Redknapp mentioned that he believes the Belgian's also a competent left-back, so perhaps he intends to make sure we're well stocked at the back? Walker, Naughton and Assou-Ekotto, on top of the previous five names, would make sure that we've got good depth and can deal with extra games or injuries. All speculation, of course.
I watched JV at LB the other night for about half an hour and thought, there's a reliable option there too. I also like the idea of having left and right footed CB's in their respective positions aswell, previously ours have been predominantly right footers, to have a left footer comfortable at LB too is a huge bonus. We must get this bloke signed!
Agreed. No way is Fergie going to pay what Levy is going to ask for Modric. He'll definitely look elsewhere first.
The DM (yeah yeah I know....) seems to be suggesting that United have bought Kagawa for £17 million. When you consider that Chelsea already now have Marin, Mata and Hazard with rumors of Hulk arriving too I don't think Modric would want to go there now because he'll want first team football guaranteed in the same way it is here. I don't think he would want a move to City for the same reason. United are unlikely to make a £30+ million move for Modric IF they've just spent the best part of £20 million on a player to do the same job. So I don't think we'll lose Modric to a Premiership club this summer (even if Utd don't buy Kagawa I don't think Fergie will meet our asking price), which is something I guess. As I was writing this it popped up on the BBC as well, basically confirming it. I'm reasonably certain Modric is staying now. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18262878 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...i-Kagawa-sign-Manchester-United-17m-deal.html
Doesn't Kagawa play in either a more advanced role or on the wing? More an eventual Giggs successor than a protege for Scholes, I think.
He's still meant to be the creative force that United are lacking though, in my opinion. I do see what you mean though. I don't think Modric is fully a like-for-like for Scholes anyway. I mean, neither can really tackle but at least Scholes has a measure of physicality about him.
His physicality is his worst trait imo, and earns him more cards than Modric. Scholes indiscipline has cost United a few times being suspended.
What I mean is that being able to put yourself about effectively (or not in Scholes' case) is an important part of the modern game for most players. Knowing that a player in the opposition midfield is perfectly willing to go for the ball and isn't too bothered as to whether or not he gets the player as well can be an effective deterrent sometimes. It makes some players look over their shoulders rather than look for the next pass. Don't get me wrong I think Modric would unfortunately be an excellent fit for United - for nearly any team actually. But he's not Paul Scholes' clone, as everyone knows I'm sure. Having already signed a creative force in Kagawa I just get the feeling that they might go for someone who performs a different role who they can get for much less than Modric. EDIT: I guess that what I'm trying to say is that effective physicality (like Parker most of the time) is of course preferable, but a physical threat can still be a useful tool even if it isn't always applied legally. Thats what Modric lacks. I'm not condoning fouling players by any means though!
i totally get what you are saying Huddle..and i agree..you need someone to just let the oppo know that you are there.
talking about transfers..i tried to sell Defoe to Sunderland for 10 million and some add ons..but they are not having any of it!
What's Mulumbu playing at with that rumour mongering? Anyone can just look at our squad and see that he wouldn't have a place in it. Parker, Sandro and Livermore is easily enough to cover that role, plus we have other players who can fill in there.
Probably another agent-inspired attempt to attract attention. As you say, unless he wants to be 4th choice in the role at Spurs I cannot imagine he would be looking at Spurs as a viable destination. Or maybe he fancies an early move into management and he is getting his name in first!!! Lol
