Who would you buy?

The Albert
651

I agree with this. A lot of Man United fans I know were shaking their heads a year or two ago watching Man United’s centre backs and comparing their form to Evans’ form since leaving Man United. He wasn’t bad there either but I really think he was a good buy for Leicester even if I found it a bit funny at the time.

That said, I think that Liverpool will buy a centre back who is a long-term investment, whoever that might be, but knowing how Edwards conducts his business, I’d be surprised if anyone came in January, I think that transfer would have been done by now.

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652

Is Ragnar Klavan available?

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653

Haha no worries bud. Yeah I haven’t watched him too much. Just one of those random thoughts.

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654

Bastoni
Konate
Romagnoli
Fofana

Happy with any of them.

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655

He is far from good enough for first team play and is only being used because we have no one else and it is an emergency. Even so, he along with the other youths, imo, too young and too early to judge them for most fans. Who amongst us watches them likes hawks on the training field, not many.
I think as fans we should be grateful for the job our youngsters are doing, it is good enough considering how they have been thrown into the fire. But ideally, even Curtis Jones (most impressive of the lot and closest to actual first team play if there had been no injuries) should not start. None of them should. But they have to and I am very grateful we have them. They have done better than I thought they would, part of the reason is probably our ingrained system.

As to who we should buy, I have no opinion. A centre back maybe, but I don’t know most of the best ones well enough, so can have no opinion.

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656

@RedOpium so you piqued my interest and I went digging on Caleta-Car to see how he’s doing with club. Evidently West Ham offered £25M 2 days before the Summer window closed but Marseille couldn’t get it done. The same article said Hammers are likely going back in for him this window but they also expect Liverpool to be in the mix. I didn’t have a chance to dig into any fancy/advanced stats on his play this season but evidently is a “star” (not my words) for OM. I couldn’t find exactly why Marseille would sell him other than I’m aware many Ligue 1 clubs are facing financial uncertainty over a recently lost broadcasting deal.

This is a good shout, RedOpium. And for me it further solidifies the thinking we will sign someone completely off everyone’s radar but is real quality.

EDIT: and since we are only a few days from the window opening I’m going to sound the whistle on the Omar Colley train again. Now being reported Sampdoria is willing to listen and do a deal instead of risking losing him for his Release Clause, and the player would be interested in moving.

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657

Ismaila Sarr incoming.

Jordan - Gini - Deep Deep 6
Williams - Phillips - Billy - Fabinho CB’s
Allison punching ALL corners away

The other teams in the league are not that strong. We get through each game as it comes.
Build the cash up for the summer or next January depending upon Covid situation and crowds

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658

I rembered this article from a while ago on Duje Caleta-Car. Interesting.

659

Croatian! Interesting :thinking:

660

My view is we bring in Alaba to replace Gini like for like. Then we troll the league winning it with 2 central midfielders as our defense.

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661

The best centers defender out there, someone likely on the list for a while, but brought forward from a probable summer acquisition due to exceptional circumstances.

Who is at Leipzig? Konate? Maybe Keita can go back there to rediscover himself, and help get us the central defender we need?

662

Don’t want a French defender,please.

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663

And cue @Flobs. Sigh.

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664

Why bring me up in a thread I rarely even peek at (as I know absolutely bog all outside LFC these days). I couldn’t even tell you if there was a half decent player in France outside Mbappe and Camavinga. :astonished:

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665

This guy should be Gini’s replacement. He is moutarde.

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666

Yeah, though he only played one game, the final group game against Iceland when they rested the starting team. He’s been getting more game time now, through various niggles, suspensions and drops of club level by the likes of Lovren and especially Vida. He’s basically between Croatia’s 3rd and 2nd choice CB now, could/should be taking over as a starter sooner rather than later, if he keeps up his good recent form and development at Marseille. He’s originally from my hometown, but moved to Austria pretty young. Shows good strength and composure as a right footed CB who often plays LCB. Sometimes can be a bit heavy defensively when he needs to defend deep. Still not quite sure about his ceiling… one to keep an eye on for now.

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667

We need someone that’s for sure if we want to keep playing for the title and in the CL. Gomez and van Dijk will not return this season, Matip is injured or on his way to get injured, Phillips could not become a regular at Stuttgart and Williams… I thought he did fine until I saw him ‘sprint’ the other night. It was if he was running true ankle-deep mud and you can not play with a CB that slow every week, not in this time with al the speedy forwards and the high line we like to defend.

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668

I accept the mid season difficulties in getting players, and I understand the impact on revenues of the current situation.

One of the things that galls me about this pandemic, is that small and medium well run businesses are being shafted just because of their sector, whilst monopolies and many sector specific larger businesses are profiting.

If this goes on, there’s a real risk that all our work as a club to compete despite not being benefactor owned will be undermined, money will talk, benefactor money will win through, and we won’t win what we might have done in this era.

In particular, I worry that we might be more accepting of selling a top player on a big transfer this summer than if our revenues hadn’t been hit.

That said, even within the current situation the club must have some room for activity in the transfer market.

Put simply, we will be unlikely to win the league this season, despite being top when the transfer window opens, if we don’t sign a quality centre back.

If Matip spends half of the remainder of the season out, and if Fabinho gets an injury, we might even find ourselves in a fight for top four. It’s that funny a season, and that close.

Whilst the prospect of United winning the league this season, taking them to 21 titles and leaving us on 19, when we are in a strong position to level that up at 20/20, might not matter as much to the money men as it does to us, the possibility of not getting CL should.

That would seriously harm us financially when crowds are allowed back in, hopefully next season.

This is not an anti FSG post, it’s merely a statement that I would seriously question the club not signing a quality defender in January, when we know that two of our senior centre backs are out for the season, that the remaining senior centre back is terribly injury prone, and when we’ve seen the limitations and lack of readiness of the younger back ups.

Also, as I’ve said before, the impact on the broader morale of the squad will also be felt, if their efforts are undermined by central defence, when we had an opportunity to do something about it.

At the very least I expect us to replace Lovren with someone at least as good as a 4th choice. In reality, given the injury records of Matip and Gomez, we should be signing a player who could be first choice alongside VVD when he’s fit.

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669

Rhys Williams is already better than Lovren, as is Phillips.

Yes please on a new CB though.

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670

What a load of shit.

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