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

He’s been excellent and a very solid starter at the moment. But he’s on €200k a week. Likely to be our highest earner next summer once the lads above leave.

That puts him as a top 5 CB in the league. He needs to be a PFA team of the year player to justify his wage which he isn’t close to.

With PSR performance relative to wage is as important as absolute performance. In American sports you can be among the best player in the world at your position, but still seen as negative value if you’re the highest paid. Football will/has gone that way. It’s just a mindset shift that’s only happened in back office and isn’t evident to most fans.

Flightradar had it first so.

Any other arrivals scheduled in Manchester today?

Agreed, he had a wobble or two last season but was mostly solid and he has probably been our most consistent performer this season too, certainly the pick of the defenders.

If Lammens isn't ahead of both of them already we've just wasted time and money. He can't be on the bench.

Ideally a season long loan for Martinez could still be done but if the 2 clowns don't go anywhere, hard to see us paying 4 goalkeepers on our books.

Maybe he surprises us, but definitely a big unknown - step up in class, new country, new teammates, new style of play to get used to and to play against.

Hopefully we get lucky here and he takes to it like a duck to water.

Lammens only it looks like. 7 hours to get a MF in, not that I have a single hope it will happen.

I'd expect to see Onana out the door before Bayindir. Onana seems completely out of favour. He cannot be trusted at all as shown by his performance at Grimsby.

This is actually a great example. I’d say MDL and Maz have both been a very solid, ‘good players’ for United. MDL probably slightly better than Mazroui but it’s debatable.

Mazroui PSR hit is €10m per year. MDL is €19m per year.

Therefore the club likely view Mazroui as good to v good signing. MDL an ok to below average signing.

It’s the moneyball stuff that most fans don’t think about.
1. MDL has been very good for United.
2. MDL is not performing to a level that justifies his cost.

Both statements can be (and are) true.

even then though you are missing context.

at 19 per year what is that as a % of our budget space, or our squad cost.

I think though you are at a point where you are putting too much emphasis on that cost than is meritted. Too finance focused.

It’s not though. As soon as PSR comes in you’re in a pseudo salary cap league. Absolutely everything becomes about your performance relative to your cost

You essentially evaluate players by looking at

1. What are other clubs spending on this position. (CBs less than strikers etc)
2. What does my player in that position cost.
3. How is my player performing relative to that cost.

MDL is a very good CB. But he’s paid like a bonafide superstar (Van Dijk, Saliba, Gabriel etc.), which he is not.

I promise you this is how every single club looks at it. Unless you are diabolically run. If your mindset is ‘ah sure it’s only x% of the budget’ then you’re done.

I'm assuming the thinking is that they're betting one of Lammens or Vitek (apparently performing extremely well on loan in the Championship) will turn out to be really good and will sort out the GK position for a few years.

That's the medium-long term thinking. They are clearly taking quite a big risk in the here and now, though. But it would also have been a risk to sign Martinez for £30m + big wages.

HHe Isn't called data dude for nothing