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Summer 2018 transfer thread

Interestingly, in the guessing game competition, as far as I can see, only one person has so far guessed that Bale may be coming in.

And there are only a relatively few guesses for Martial.
I reckon thats because people dont see him as realistic because of wages etc and dont want to get their hopes up regarding Bale (Im trying not to)....
 
And who said that none of our players will be sold? Maybe Lamela will go if we believe we can upgrade? Maybe even Son? Who knows, but we have form for recuperating good money each summer, even just for squad fillers....
I have a feeling we may be ruthless as well. I love all our players, especially the 5 AM’s, but they can all be upgraded on (apart from Eriksen maybe).
 
I have a feeling we may be ruthless as well. I love all our players, especially the 5 AM’s, but they can all be upgraded on (apart from Eriksen maybe).
This in my opinion could well be what MP means when he talks of bravery, and having "crazy ideas", rather than the knee-jerk "he wants to spend loads of money and won't sign a new contract unless he is assured we will" that a great many immediately assumed even though MP has specifically excluded this prospect whenever he's spoken on the subject, and has always accepted that we are not yet able to compete on price with the top teams, and therefore have to be "creative". All this "we're going to spend "x" amount on "y" number of players misses the point in my view. The "creativity" is to compensate for a lack of large funds in my view, and his "creativity" and "crazy ideas" may involve keeping players that some fans think are rubbish and replacing some of those that some fans think are wonderful in order, in his view, to create a better and more balanced squad than we currently have, with potential to improve.
But we will see.
 
I think that's just a healthy dose of reality

United haven't sold us anyone in decades, other than a 36 year old Teddy Sheringham

And Bale earns more than double what even our new upper limit is, and has lots of injury concerns

I'd put my money on a younger, fitter model who is currently on lower wages, like one of the two from Germany (Pulisic and Arp)

I tend to agree - but still think (or should I say , hope) that we will make one marquee signing, who would immediately improve our first team.
 
I agree on the marquee signing - but I don't think it will be a forward.
Most of the big names that would improve our already very impressive forward line are very hard to get. And the pool reduces even further when you add the criteria of needing to fit in with a Poch team.

I suspect a CM.
 
Remember Poch has never managed a 'marquee' (I always prefer 'gazebo') signing before, and all the baggage that comes with it.

Some coaches make their careers of being able to navigate all the egos (and not do much else) - Ancelotti springs to mind, maybe Mourinho too. Poch's whole raison d'etre though is about growing young players into world beaters

I'm not sure he'd know what to do if Circus Bale turned up. Put him on double training sessions for 6 months and wait for him to earn his spot in the team, like he does with his other new signings?
 
"Marquee" signings arent necessarily the best signings, rather they are just "Names" for people to brag about.

Sometimes the better signings are the less flashy ones, but better suited/higher potential/more natural fit...

I find the desire for a name rather boring to be honest.
 
"Marquee" signings arent necessarily the best signings, rather they are just "Names" for people to brag about.

Sometimes the better signings are the less flashy ones, but better suited/higher potential/more natural fit...

I find the desire for a name rather boring to be honest.

The funniest thing for me is just how quickly the 'transfers are more interesting than football' phalanx have become bored with Moura, even though he's barely just arrived. Or how they want 'good on my abacus game' CMs who are nowhere near Winks' level or potential. It's just about the shiny new toys
 
The funniest thing for me is just how quickly the 'transfers are more interesting than football' phalanx have become bored with Moura, even though he's barely just arrived. Or how they want 'good on my abacus game' CMs who are nowhere near Winks' level or potential. It's just about the shiny new toys

Indeed, Moura is incredibly talented and we are yet to see what he can really offer, I am very excited about him for next season.

Transfer wise I think Pulisic peaks my interest much more than Bale.
 
Do you reckon any of our other players employ a team of bodyguards like Bale does, for example?

None of our other players currently play for the worlds biggest club...

He is exactly the type of personality that would succeed under Poch, a dedicated pro who works hard on and off the pitch and a family man to boot so no off the field activities to warrant a 'circus' - he'd have the same attention as the likes of Alli and Kane anyway and Poch does fine by them
 
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None of our other players currently play for the worlds biggest club - He is exactly the type of personality that would succeedunder Poch, a dedicated pro who works hard on and off the pitch and a family man to boot so no off the field activities to warrant a circus

So he's going to get rid of them when he moves back to one of the most deprived parts of the country?

He also might not be able to fly to away games with the rest of the squad because of the insurance risk (United used to have to do that when they had Beckham).
 
Remember Poch has never managed a 'marquee' (I always prefer 'gazebo') signing before, and all the baggage that comes with it.

Some coaches make their careers of being able to navigate all the egos (and not do much else) - Ancelotti springs to mind, maybe Mourinho too. Poch's whole raison d'etre though is about growing young players into world beaters

I'm not sure he'd know what to do if Circus Bale turned up. Put him on double training sessions for 6 months and wait for him to earn his spot in the team, like he does with his other new signings?
I keep hearing people talk Bale as if he is some kind of Primma Donna.
He was always very down to earth and I have seen nothing to suggest that's changed just because he went to Real and grew a stupid haircut
 
To be fair to GB, much of these possible changes may not have been his fault.

His profile now is higher than it ever was with us, as humble as he might be things like high insurance and security are inevitable.
 
So he's going to get rid of them when he moves back to one of the most deprived parts of the country?

He also might not be able to fly to away games with the rest of the squad because of the insurance risk (United used to have to do that when they had Beckham).

I didn't realise bodyguards came with a lifetime contract or that multimillionaire footballers were obliged to move in next door to the stadium. Not sure what Beckham has to do with anything either - in fact you equating Bale to him kinda sums up the issue here.
 
None of our other players currently play for the worlds biggest club...

He is exactly the type of personality that would succeed under Poch, a dedicated pro who works hard on and off the pitch and a family man to boot so no off the field activities to warrant a 'circus' - he'd have the same attention as the likes of Alli and Kane anyway and Poch does fine by them

I don't mean that he'll be a know-it all prick. Just that there's an enormous amount of baggage that comes with that level of celebrity.

Kane and Alli aren't even at the level Bale was in 2013. Plus Poch has nurtured Kane and Alli since they were teenagers.

For me his fitness is an even bigger issue. Poch is potentially going to be quite brutal on Dembele this summer, and its seemingly part of the reason he's gone cold on Alder and Rose. In terms of age-related decline, Bale is the same age as Alder and Rose, and plays in a position where it will affect him quicker.
 
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