Manchester United Thread 25/26 - Teamtalk/Transfers/Gossip Mod Note in OP 26.09.24

Lots of links in Portugal to a Gyokeres transfer but Simon Stone claims its being used to get Arsenal to hurry.

Which we've seen a million times before.

Ya Watkins garnacho swap kinda psr fyckery would be a pretty good front 3 going into the season.

Rashford in Barcelona...

Good bloody riddance. Fingers crossed he manages to muster up a bit of effort so they don't send him back.

Do we know what kind of loan deal it is, obligation to buy and not the farce we saw with the Chelsea deal with a get out clause of 5m?

ugh

I have no optimism that they'll actually keep him tbh.

Me either, would of been nice to get some money from his transfer this summer as we need every penny we get can get to strengthen.

Well at least we're not subsidising his wages this time so that's a hefty saving this year. And most importantly were ridding ourselves of his self important attitude.

At the end of the day we hold feck all cards in this negotiation. The fact that we're not left carrying half of his wages is actually surprising.

Stolen from reddit. How those stats stand to be true I've no idea

More in a reply to the reddit post... It's a bit of a stretch to declare it as "proper scouting". Stats / data is so readily available that it's not hard to find "the best" stats-wise. Stats don't show his character, ability to handle pressure etc. And stats can be very misleading, there could be better keepers in his league who just don't have to face as many shots etc. For a keeper at a top team (which we only aspire to be these days), I would say that an ability to stay concentrated and pull off the saves when called upon / fairly infrequently, is key.

Not completely dismissing the stats, they are indeed positive, but they don't paint the full picture and if you were to assume that a keeper with the most saves in a league, is the best keeper, you would often be very wrong.

Agree completelely, and you also have to consider how a team plays and the impact that will have. A keeper might show up poorly on short passing, for example. But that could be because the manager tells the defenders to get to the half way line and the keeper to knock it long.

Was similar discussion on Delap not being much of a box presence (according to the stats) - but is that because Ipswich play counter football and don't maintain the ball in the final 3rd enough for a player to demonstrate box presence?

And we've (this thread) had this argument on Bruno for years. Is he an idiot who can only and immediatly look for a smashed through ball over the top or has he been told to find Rashford/Garancho/Hojlund on the run in quick transitions when we get the ball?

Agree. Very unlikely they will want him permanent. He was their 3rd choice after all, behind Williams and Luis Diaz. Realistically he is just a "back-up" signing.

Raphinha and Fermin Lopez both offering Flick fairly good options already in Rashford's favourite position on left side of the attack. He may end up more an option at No.9, to give some rotation options when Lewandowski is rested.

I'd far prefer to see us get a transfer fee for him but Villa prudently saw he wasn't worth the kind of $$ being discussed. Amorim just wants him out of sight before pre-season starts, which is understandable

I think he could do okay in Spain. The open style of play will suit him.

It's a double edged sword with 'MR10'…..if he flops, we can't sell him next year. If he does well, gets back in the England squad heading towards a World cup, Amorim will be pestered with questions about him and the circus continues.

Does anyone know if Barca actually have the cash to complete Rashford's loan? Apparently, and according to the tabloids, Barca can't afford to register him yet until they sell some more of their VIP boxes.