Manchester United’s 3 summer targets are …
I’ve yet to see an intelligent analysis of who United’s ‘reported’ 3 summer targets will be. Everyone’s speculating blindly on rumours, latching on to the Berbatov story in a sickeningly predictable way.
Here’s the real story - who Ferguson has (probably) asked for, and why.
United’s Transfer Targets
A no-brainer, considering that Manchester United have been after him since last summer. Reported price is 18-20m, could come for less. United will pay what it takes to get him, but expected a tiered deal like Carrick’s (so the basic deal could be 15m but rising to 22m depending on circumstances).
2. Nani
Surprised that no one has mentioned him. Manchester United need a second winger, Nani is a comparatively cheaper option, has the Portuguese connection and Sporting and United have club ties as well. If this was Arsenal chasing a kid with these circumstances, fans would have locked this in as a done deal. But we’re hung up on Torres and Berbatov, which is a bit sad.
3. Ribery
There’s a nagging thought at the back of my head which says that Manchester United will go after Ribery first, just to test the waters and see where he stands. Ferguson has talked about competition, and because of that I think Manchester United could be talking to Marseille over the summer.
4. Bale
The left-back was being chased by United, Arsenal, Newcastle and Tottenham. Looking at relative league positions, only Tottenham and United seem likely options (Arsenal will have other priorities, IMO).
It could all come down to how Southampton do in the playoffs. If they come through to the Premiership, Bale will probably stay.
5. Berbatov
After just one season, you can be sure that Berbatov is not thinking of leaving. He’ll be offered a wage hike and Tottenham will bring in reinforcements to push for 4th spot next season. There is the thought that because Tottenham only have an outside chance of breaking into the top 4, Berbatov may never play Champions League football with the Spurs and that could push him to Chelsea or Manchester United.
Baseless, pointless speculation by the tabloid hacks. This is what happens whenever a striker does well. They were after Torres for almost two years but came off it after he repeatedly told the press that he was going to stay at Atletico Madrid forever. They were after Villa as well, and will probably go after him again, but I doubt that Valencia will let him go cheaply.
A minimum of 25m for Berbatov, considering that Tottenham don’t want to sell. I think Berba will stay at Tottenham for one more season because neither Chelsea nor Manchester United will be willing to throw crazy money their way.
My Picks
1. Hargreaves
2. Ribery (if we can get him) otherwise Nani
3. Nani (United will go for two wingers / attackers)
4. Bale (if Southampton don’t qualify for the Premiership) - outside chance
United need to replace Giggs and Scholes. They already have Danny Simpson and Wes Brown to replace Gary Neville. They’ve shown that they probably don’t need to replace Ruud if Rooney / Saha / Smith / Rossi work out, with Ole / Dong as backups.
I think we’ll go for two wingers / attacking midfielders. The ideal grab would be Joe Cole but Ribery isn’t bad either, probably better on a technical level. Him and Nani can play on both wings if needed and United will need backup for Ronaldo as well.
Bale if we can get him, but he’s not a priority. Neither is a striker or defender or keeper (EVDS is here for another year, Foster will be tested more often next season and so will Kuszczak).
Now it’s your turn. Speculate.
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Rumours were that Torres signed a precontractual agreement in January, Man Utd have previously bid for Hargraeves and mainted that interest, and been linked with Bale and Micah Richards.
These are the most likely signings
Thanks for this article, I have been looking for someone to try predict what Fergie is going to do in the summer, after his comments today.
I must say I disagree with you on who I think will be United’s top 3 choices. I think that Sir Alex is looking for another striker this season and Berbatov is a top of that list. Despite how well the team has faired this season, particularly in the goal scoring department, I feel that the front line needs a bit of freshening up. If one looks at what United have to offer; Rooney, Saha, Solskjaer, Smith and next season Rossi one may feel they are in a very comfortable position. I think one needs to look at these names more closely…
Saha, an excellent talent, but far too injury prone. I think his niggles have finally tested Ferguson’s patience and he will be gone in the summer. Then you have Smith and Solskjaer who I believe will soon be surplus to requirements. Smith, despite his cracking goal against Roma, has not done much since returning from injury. Right now I just don’t feel he is a starter for United and with Solskjaer already saying this is his last season, that leaves Rossi, untested at this level and Wayne Rooney.
Torres also is another option, but with him not proven in the English league, I really believe that Berbatov along with Hargreaves and Nani will be Sir Alex’s three choice signings!
In my opinion Fergie will go for Hargreaves (an obvious one), Nani and Huntelaar. Saha will be out in the summer (think Fergies finally lost patience with his injuries) and will need replacing. We need cover for Giggs/Ronaldo. I’d also like to see shut of Richardson and Silvestre. We’ll see. Hopefully we’ll get the 3 targets Fergie wants to help us defend the Premiership crown and push on again in Europe. I can’t see us going for Bale whilst we still have Evra, Heinze and O’Shea in the squad.
Hargreaves without a doubt (but who says he is actually a “target” as its a practically done deal by all concerned)
also he isnt exactly an unknown
An out and out striker after Saha has thrown tantrums and his unreliability fitness wise. Barbatov would be fabulous but more likely Huntlaar or Torres.
Bale is a fabulous option - not sure both Heinze and Evra will last the summer after recent performances, more likely Heinze to go even though I think he would be a better option on a regular basis with Bale allowed to grow into the position
Nani I think is also a very likely person to come although I can see the attraction of Ribery Nani also makes Ronaldo alot happier - so two birds with one stone
Wes Brown is good as backup but doesnt quite give enough (apart from in spirit) in either position. Pique is a great option for backup for Rio/Vidic, and Wes as the fourth option but no better. Micah therefore as a successor to Gary would be excellent choice however probably very expensive and potentially too big a move across Manchester for such a young lad
i think we will get torres hargreaves and michar richards cos berbatov is new to spurs and i cant see him leaving so i say torres there was rumours that we paid for torres in the january but only littile bit but we will pay the lot for him
i agree wiv zac there
Lets all get off the “Hargreaves” bandwagon and look at things objectively. Yes we need a hard man in midfield but for me the more pressing issue is a striker. We are not going to get 25 goals from ronaldo EVERY season, and we have to keep that in mind. Terry has scored almost nothing this season and Chelsea’s over dependence on goals other than from their strikers has cost them dear this season. Rooney blows hot and cold too often to be considered out MAIN striker and Saha is just too unreliable fitness wise. We need a mixture of a clinical finisher like ruud but yet fast and nible like saha, which isnt going to be easy to find or cheap. I dont know too much about huntelaar and berbatov leaving after just one season is wishful and unrealistic thinking. We need to look at other options and quick, so we can get him cheaper and he has more time to settle down in pre-season.
Secondly, we dont need hargreaves. we need a player who plays his style of football, hard man who will put in the tackles and pass it off to scholes/carrick to do the creating. There are plenty of players out there who can do that, duscher,senna,poulsen, etc etc. I dont think hargreaves is worth 20 million plus and lets face it we are being ripped off by bayern.
If there is any money left then we can look at nani and other wingers. There is no immediate need to splash the cash on a wide man. Giggsy has a season, maybe two left in him. We can push in lee martin and chris eagles as back up to ronaldo giggs and park. According to me, the importance of the purchase is from up to down.
And maybe a topic for another day but for me the left back slot still isnt filled. When evra plays he runs down the wing and leaves a huge gap on the left which puts vidic under added pressure. While when heinze plays he is too erratic and unpredictable. Plus he has a habit of closing down and committing too early which again, leaves a lot of space. Dont get me wrong, i’m a huge heinze fan but i dont know, im not too happy with either of them. Bale would once again great, but i dont know how he is as a ball winning defender and once again is an added luxury rather than a necessity.
I Would love to see Berbatov playing with Rooney up front. But I cant see that happen for at least another season.I have also heard about a swap deal involving Saha. This would be great as Saha has always been injury prone and technically not as great as Berbatov.
Ribery is a class act, and is a must for me as he can play in a variety of positions:- either wings or just behind the main striker.
Although Bale is a good prospect, I think Utd need a replacement for Gary Neville. So a new RB should be a priorty. Maybe Daniel Alves from Sevilla.
How about Ricardo Quaresma as a long term replacement for Giggs? Etoo would give Utd 30 goals a season. so he should be an option seeing as he is definately leaving barca.
There are many possiblities but I think Ferguson will go for Hargreaves (ovbiously), Bale and maybe one from either Torres or Ribery
I think we would be naive if we said we don’t need a striker as Saha is clearly on the way out and Smudger can’t score 25 goals a season and Ole is more of substitute. So Rossi would be the only option which is a striker too short.
Nani/Ribery are too options but I would think Ribery would prefer Arsenal due to the French connection.
Torres i would like but it just looks like he wont ever come. Huntelaar would be a good option and would be cheaper than Berbatov.
That being said about the potential tranfers - I wonder if I’m the only one who feels like O’Shea is one of the unsung heroes this season - he’s scored crucial goals, played at all different positions and also been a goalie!
No-one seems to have taken into account how much money will be made available to Fergie this summer and this may have a huge bearing on who will arrive. Given the fact that the Glazers have earmarked 25 million pounds per season for transfers and that last summer was probably cost neutral (Carrick in;Van Nistlerooy out+money(12m)for Mikel) I think Fergie will have no more than 40-45m to spend. If we assume Hargreaves will cost 20m that only leaves another 20-25m for his other 2 targets. I think that pretty much eliminates both Berbatov and Torres who would cost that much alone. Fergie will always look for value and that sometimes means buying younger/less proven performers. I think that means Huntelaar and Bale rather than Ribery who would cost 20m and I’m sure is headed to Arsenal. There it is then: In my humble opinion the 3 new players will be Hargreaves,Huntelaar and Bale(the best value for 40-45m.)
Agree with a few of the other comments, we definitely need a striker. Saha cannot be relied on and we need to get rid of him. He’s a Darren Anderton sick note number 2.
Torres and Huntelaar are interesting ideas, but the Atletico captain actually seems committed to his club, a fact which should be respected by all parties. Huntelaar is prolific in the Eredivisie, but who knows what that translates to in England. I suppose as long as Manchester find a striker with the pace and creativity to combine effectively with Rooney and Ronaldo, then all’s well. Injuries aside, this season has shown up some defensive weaknesses that Ferguson would do well to reinforce. Depth in that department, and I mean good, reliable backups and interchangeable starters, cannot be absent if United hope to defend the title next season. I think he goes front to back, acquiring a striker that fits, an attacking winger, and a top quality defender. At this point, it’s better to think about needs, rather than names. Give it a few weeks and enjoy the finale.
-Striker-
i think the biggest concern is to acquire someone with pace. too often this season we would see a two man break with Rooney an Ronaldo. I just feel that if ManU got someone with pace that they’l do fine. Micheal Owen anyone?? i mean, if they can snag him from Newcastle.. and if he can regain his pace.. theres your answer to finishing and pace.. id buy him for cash +Saha and Heinze.. cause they need defenders…Hienze or Evra.. doesn’t matter
other than that, i think Rossi needs to be given a shot, i watched all the highlights from the 2005-6 reserve league on Manutd.com and that kid is quality.. i think he needs to be a part of the fist team this season (either as a second half sub for roone/giggs/ronaldo or other striker or even to start some games…at least league cup games)
-Midfield-
they need someome to replace Keane, and they need to figure out some way to replace Giggs and Scholes (i figure they have at leat one if not two more years of class before they become like Ole, a symbol of former glory.
that being said they still have those two so a DM to allow Carrick and Scholes to get Forward more is important.. considering that Owen Hargreaves is a distinct probability I don’t think they will really be looking for anyone else.. unless they go after Nani
they also have youngesters like Eagles who need to be given a chance… (in other words I’m tired of seeing fletcher haha)
-defense-
i like Hienze but he seems nervous with the ball alot.. Evra gets forward too much.. its really a testament to Rio and Vidic that United have one of the stingiest defenses in the league (behind Chealsea and Liverpool only i think.. and by 3 goals or something..dont quote me haha)
anyhow i think they both need to go..either promot someone from the reseves or get a left back .. but i really think that O’shea will see more time there next season
I think De Rossi, Bale and Tevez will be perfect for United..extra option would be Nilmar, Kerlon and Daniel Alves
I dont think Ribery will come to OT..Quagliarella and Huntelaar or Palladino should be the choice as strikers..I’d like to see Quagliarella, De Rossi, and Dani Alves as the 3 major signings.
I probably should’ve mentioned Tevez as a potential option as well, but I’m not sure whether United would be willing to deal with MSI or not.
Tevez, Nani/Ribery and Hargreaves, with Bale if Southampton don’t come up.
We can all dream
Why wouldn’t they deal with MSI?
They refused to last summer.
I think you might see Sir Alex looking at Jermain Defoe (cheap and English) and possibly Darren Bent (cheaper, now, and English). Reason being as next season I believe you need eight “homegrown” players in Europe (I’m happy to be corrected on this) and with the original homegrown players (giggs, scholes, etc) getting on a bit Fergie is being shrewd and ahead of the game. Which is why he was prepared to pay so much on Carrick and so much on Hargreaves.
Bearing in mind Chelsea and Arsenal would struggle to provide eight Englishmen in their squads, and remembering our situation in the early 90’s when McLair, Giggs etc were considered foreign in Europe.
get nakamura, nolan n parker for our midfield, etoo for striker and bale for lb
Sun states that United may ditch Hargreaves, It is good news. He is too costly and Bayern are increasing his price every month a million.
We need a box-to-box midfielder in the likeness of Gerrard an Essien.
For strikers Darren Bent or Defoe their pace and eye for goal is fantastic and second to none. On defensive midfield i would prefer Owen Hargreaves or De Rossi, left wing Tevez or Nani.
also the starlets like luka modric, nuri sahin
of course, pedersen!
how about xavi and diego n kerlon n the superb brazillian leftback of marcelo? i played eduardo ratinho at RB for football manager n he is good!
What manchester united really need now is an attacking and good defensive midfielder.In fact man.u also need a large squad like liverpool and chelsea if they are to retain the tittle for the next years coming.Nani is a good choice to back up Riggs and Ronaldo.Hagreaves is also a good utility player.Torres is also a good choice but if he is admant to his decision i think Tevez could have be a far better choice.But master of all is good defensive and attacking midfielder with backup for Ronaldo and Giggs that is the reason why man.u loose to milan.Aslo Gamst pederson is also a good choice.But why man.u cannot give a chance to this young boys like Lee martin and E aagle I think they should be inluded in the first team next season with Rossi and Dong.This boys have matured enough. fergie should give them a chance.
Yep, Sahin is a great player, even Lee Catermole but they are too young and definitely future star players. But no rumor about em.
Is a winger more important than a striker? It really all depends on Rossi. Whilst he has been quite prolific at times I’m not sure he is ready to step up and I’m quite sure that Rooney/Saha/Smith aren’t going cut the mustard by themselves, given the ambitions United will surely hold next season. Adding to this is the fact that, when he’s fit, Park is considered to be an important member of the team and Richardson is showing some ability towards the end of the season (his performances earlier in the season were flat out horrible, though).
Given how positive everything seems to be at United I wouldn’t be surprised if United splashed the cash necessary to gain a top quality striker, even after they probably over-pay for Hargreaves (although I doubt Bayern are going to play hardball this time).
But it’s a lot of money to risk. Consider our last two major striking acquisitions (sorry Smith + Saha, I don’t think you’re major), Van Nistlerooy and Rooney. In both those cases United had been scouting the player for well over a year before buying him. Despite the fact that every person who’s scored a goal in the history of football has been linked to United, there’s not really been any striker that United have linked themselves to yet.
As for Bale, he can only be in if Heinze is out.
Everyone must take into account the youngsters on loan eg. Rossi, Pique, Evans, Foster, Martin, Bardsley, not to mention the Brazilian twins plus Dong who I would assume be sent out on loan for a year or two. All of these are potential first team players of the future so what Alex is buying is somebody for now. Central midfield is top priority. With the rumour Bayern have upped their price again this is back in the smoking pot. People mentioned Duscher, Senna etc, I think he’ll stay english if he can. Then he will replace the departing Saha. I reckon he wants Barbi but he has had scouts looking at Huntelaar most of the season. Has given up on Torres, cost too much and Athletico thru and thru. I did hear a rumour he had already offered 10M for Quagliarella, we’ll see. Personally, and this is just me, I think he should mould Rooney to take over from Scholes, has got the skill and the brains and will still get you 15+ goals a season, he’s also the future captain and better to have him in midfield. Finally Giggs stand in. Nani is the obvious choice. Park is loved by all but he’s not a natural winger. Forget Bale, Richards etc. I think he knows his defence if fine for years to come.
I think he will go for:
1. box-to-box midfielder(no idea who)
2. Richards or Bale or both
3. Benni McCarthy (becuase he is a clinical finnisher, and cheap)
Oh how I wish the 3 targets were Kaka, Kaka and Kaka
(and maybe Tevez as well)?
It’s a shame, because I think Saha is good enough to be our main striker, but he’s just too injury prone. Our dream replacement would be Eto’o but that’s just too good to be true. I think we’re going to keep Saha, and get someone like Huntelaar. So my money is on Huntelaar, Nani and Hargreaves. That wouldn’t be a bad summer would it?
I believe Kerlon already signed a pre-season with some spanish club (i might be wrong though).
Well what do you know? Ribery has made a “come and get me” announcement to the big clubs. The first one he mentions is United.
I would like to see Huntelaar, since I don’t think you get a better finisher from his generation. I know he’s unproven, but he’s strong and he can finish with both feet and is excellent in the air…plus he’ll come cheaper than both Torres and Berbatov (maybe 15 mil).
I consider Bale to be a quite likely possibility, since he refused to go to Tottenham in January, because he wouldn’t get challenged enough there. Further, we have Giggs, who knows him from the national side and speaks very highly of him…it always helps with a fellow welshman. Consider the option of buying him and then loaning him back to Southampton for a season…I think it’s possible.
Evra has been critisized for going too much forward - it makes no sense to me. Man United are an attacking side, and that includes full backs going forward and leaving the defending to Vidic and Rio, who are more than capable of doing their job. We open up the games to score more goals than our opponents, and Evra has been brought in to do just that. In our best patch of form this season, Evra was stunning. Do you really want to end up playing like Liverpool, who take no risks??
I love the style of footie, SAF breeds, and it should continue.
As for a third transfer, I think it’s obvious, Hargreaves will be brought in. We may pay too much, but we need his type of player to be able to challenge for CL.
I don’t know if we need a winger just yet…we may. I think that a winger is 4th priority with Hargreaves, Bale and a striker on top of that list. The striker option may even move up higher, if we sell anyone of Smith or Saha.
I dont understand why the idea of purchasing Eto’o is ‘too good to be true’. He is definately on his way out due to various comments he has made about the barca team.
They cant ask for too much money because they dont want the player at Barca next season. I think around 20-25million should be enough. It Would be very good business, as he is goalscorer with lots of pace
Hargreaves or Eto’o?
I know who I will go for 20mill, if I was manager!!
evra is quite alright going forward apart from wasting headers, chances, crosses and passes….but defensively he is a bit lightweight, quite easily brushed aside, tackles aimlessly at times….heinze isn’t any better either! hahaha!
pedersen and nakamura rules!!
Pedersen, yes, another one who I missed in the list.
Hargreaves is not off, Fergie has chased him for almost a full year, he’s not going to be put off by a few mil.
Nani is a good option, Bale too, but apart from those two you guys should also consider Pedersen and Tevez.
One more thing - Hargreaves last season was one of several players Ferguson was looking at in midfield (Diarra, Gattuso, Vieira). This year we could have a similar situation with wingers. Ribery would be top of the list but Nani could easily be #2.
Would Pedersen be on that list as well? Dunno.
Still don’t think that there’s a list of strikers though.
I think a striker shpould be at the top of Fergies list
Saha is too injury prone, I dont think he can handle the demands of playing week in week out
Smith is a hard worker and a great team player but never going to be the 20-30goal a season striker Utd need
Soljskaer is a legend, But way past his best and cannot be considered as a regular starter for utd next season
Rossi is unproven at this level, Although I think he needs more chances next season.
Rooney doesnt like to be isolated up front on his own. He is at his best behind a main striker, where he is given more room to control games and run at players
C’mon fergie go for Berbatov!! Give them Saha plus 10mill
Why compare Eto’o to Hargreaves when they are completely different players in different positions (not even comparing Hargreaves to Carrick which is at least reasonable on the most basic level)
Eto’o is highly unlikely to leave central Europe for Manchester - He might go to London but even thats unlikely
He would add alot to any team, but I just cant see him as a Red devil
David Bentley is a possible option I hadnt thought of before (if Hargreaves isnt allowed to go/priced out of the move by stubborn BM board. But while it would work in the premiership I dont think this would help in CL
Bent and Dafoe - dont make me laugh neither has proved good enough in average teams why would they magically transform in a decent one?
Pederson wont move but would be a good choice
Guys, what about your picks on nolan or parker as our DM? pretty decent players….nuri sahin rules! get van der vaat n diego from the bundesliga!
eto’o vs hargreaves because both i think are going to cost over 20million
And I think Man U can only afford one 20mill plus player
Im just saying i would rather that player be Eto’o.
Its just that i have heard so many rumours about Eto’o going to Liverpool, So why not Man U?
Really don’t understand these criticisms of evra. Heinze, fair enough, has been a shadow of his former self since coming back from injury.
In terms of signings, I’m not going to speculate on who Fergie will sign (my only guess it that Hargreaves will come, and he will surprise us all) but here’s who I’d like to see:
Ribery
Torres
Richards
(suprise us all with the other two, I meant to say)
Ive been listening to the comments made at manchester united lately and from what i can gather fergie is fed up with louis saha and his injuries so he will be out which will leave a space for a new striker to come in i would guess torres as tottenham wont want to give into united again after losing carrick to them not so long ago and the price will be high so torres would be the likely option which could involve cash and saha to see torres heading to olf trafford i think we all know that the hargreaves wil be coming its just been a matter of time and the final target has been giving me some trouble as theres a few canditates like nani nicknamed the new c ronaldo, gareth bale, and maybe frank ribery and i know this might be a shock but i did hear a wisper that united have been talking to barcelonas deco as his contract is coming to an end and it will also be intresting to see where eto is next seson aswell and lets not forget american wonderkid freddy adu this transfer window will be big for united and their going to spend big
United need a striker, a winger/midfielder and a left-back. I think Huntelaar is a bit to ego to be the right player for united. Torres wanted to stay with atletico in January because they were close to the champions league. Now they almost dont have a chance to reach the UEFA cup. I think he will be “easy to get” if Atletico dont reach European football. I think either he or Tevez will come in the summer. Berbatov has been amazing all season but he wont join united after just one season in tottenham. And because West Ham look like they will be relegated I think Tevez could join us. He is playing brilliantly and is used to the english game. He acctually looks like the argentinian Rooney.
In midfield we need Owen Hara. He is the new roy keane. Nani is a great player, but i think we should go for Quaresma. He is a brilliant winger, has great crosses and tecnique, and he shoots like a god.
I agree that Bale will only join us if Soton dont get promoted, but I think we shold sell Gaby and Silvestre, and buy Bale as backup for Evra and Giggs.
An interesting post Ahmed.
Ideally, I would want the following:
1) Gattuso (15-17m)
2) Ribery (8-10m)
3) Torres (25m)
But we don’t have that amount of money unfortunately, so I think the most likely purchases are:
1) Hargreaves (15-17m) - a given as long as Bayern don’t act like a**es
2) Nani (7m) - interesting option or perhaps ricardo quaresma
3) McCarthy/Bent (8m) -
One of these could be a bargain especially Bent since The Addicks are relegated. Could fit in well into our free-flowing fluid system. He was consistenly scoring 15+ league goals at charlton and no disrespect, that is just charlton. At Utd, he could get 25+. Still young as well.
Benni was a player we should have gone for last summer. Perhaps Sir Alex wasnt too sure whether he would adapt to english football. But hell, he has. He may a less likely prospect given the higher fee and that he is older (29ish?)
What needs to be considered is Uniteds plan for next season, because we won the season this year, and maybe Europe could be the focus again.
This whole Hargreaves thing has been pissing me off all season, and to be honest, i would prefer him to stay at bayern and then get him on a free when his contract expires.
Man Utd should get:
Tevez- £12 million
Nani - £7 million
Ribery - £12 million
Diarra - £10 million
Apparently we have 50 mil to spend!!woohoo!*but takes with pinch of salt lol*
Striker:IMO Saha is gone.I reckon we’l’ have Rossi, Rooney, Smith, and Dong on loan with a new striker top priority. Berbatov will stay at Spurs, i don’t think Eto’o will come to Eng(and definately not to Liverpool!). I think SAF will try again for Torres but he’ll stay put so we’ll end up with Bent or Huntelaar.
CM: Despite all these new out pricing rumours i think we have Owen Hargreaves in the bag!He wants to be with us and Fergie has chased him forever, it’ll just be a matter of negotiation and saving BM face. I think we could nab Sidwell on free transfer too as a long term replacement for Scholes.
Winger:Ribery is more likely to go to Arsenal but i’d be chuffed to have him at OT. Nani is our best choice IMO, uber fast with bags of potential and ready to leave Sporting. Not to mention Ronny wants him at OT.
DF: Like already mentioned, only if Southampton don’t get promoted *crosses fingers*
Hargreaves-17 mil(with possible + like Carrick)
Nani-12 mil
Bent-? but might end up cheaper than Huntelaar
and *possibly-hopefully* Bale
what about klaas huntelaar?
[...] the news today (and in yesterday’s article on United’s 3 summer targets), a lot of names popped up as potential [...]
My 3 realistic targets for the summer would be:
1-Nani - An extremely pacey winger that could easily fit into the team and could be changed into a forward of the likes of martins or eto’o. He will also please Ronaldo which means we could see the kind of performances he has been giving this season, every season. I believe it is a waste of tiem going for Torres, as we need a goal scorer, Torres isnt exactly the best for that with 7 goals this season for Athletico Madrid. I think he is a highly over rater player and would much prefer to see a player like Nani at the club. A team with Nani and Ronaldo could potentially be unstoppable.
2-Bale - With Heinze’s recent performances I dont see him having much more of a future at United. He looks too nervous on the ball and makes too many defensive errors. I think Bale would be a good choice as he is young and could be used for the season as a backup for Evra. He also posses good free-kick abilities.
3-Sneijder - He was preferred to Huntelaar on our outing to Ajax, haven’t seen much of him, but if he has attracted the attention of the scouts he’s bound to be good.
I would have said Hargreaves, but due to Fletcher’s Current form, I don’t think we need another holding player. Fletcher has come a long way this season and although there are rumors linking him to other clubs i believe it would be in United’s interests to keep him at the club.
I also think that Arteta would be a good buy, considering his playmaking ability he could be a perfect replacement for scholes and already has experience within the premiership.
I would like to see Fernandes, but do not think it will go through as he is content to stay at Benfica, and i do not think United will target him from the perspective of having 3 Portuguese players in the team.
Eto’o Would be nice, but big name players have big price tags, and i also believe that with Rossi hopefully coming back he will be in the first team. He has played well at Parma, and in my opinion is starting to resemble a future Eric Cantona. He is a possibility, but it is unlikely as with him and being poor targets in the box for headers, we would have to rely on goals coming from a more narrow style of play.
Utd badly need a player like Hargreaves. Someone mentioned Duschler, Senna etc. These guys are just not as good. We need top class and Hargreaves is exactly what we have missed this season and last.
Scholes and Giggs can’t have too much more mileage in them so we will need a creative attacking midfielder in the Scholes mould either this season or definately next. Kaka would do
but is rather unlikely despite he desire to play in the premiership one day.
I’m not sure where Carrick fits in once Hargreaves arrives unless he starts taking more responsibility when going forward to become the Scholes replacement. He is a good passer but apart from the Roma game hardly ever shoots and looks to pass the ball on to a team mate when he should have a crack sometimes.
Hienze will go this summer I think. I’m worried every time he is defending now. He is nowhere near the player he used to be. A shame
Silvestre and/or Brown might go too if we get someone else in.
That would leave us needing both a future (or better than Evra) left back and a future right back. Richards seems decent but not worth the money being talked about last winter yet. Bale could be one for the future but not straight into the first team so would go out on loan. I think Bardsley will be in the squad next year as cover for Neville. Wonder if we could nick Wayne Bridge for left back ? Doubt it.
I’ve not seen enough of Ribery or Nani to say we should definately get one of them, though Nani would be a good company for Ronaldo (if they are mates) and it is very important that we keep hold of Ronnie.
Up front, well it took him a while to settle but based on the form he has shown in the last few months Tevez would fit the new Man Utd style of play very nicely indeed. Fast, very good on the ball and a real team player - would link up beautifully with Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs and Scholes. He needs to learn English though to help him fit in I think.
Whilst Berbatov is a class act he does not fit this new style of play IMO.
Who should go:
Hienze
Silvestre
Saha (who is great when his head is right but it’s not)
Who would I like to see come in:
Bardsley (back from loan)
A quality left back
A winger (Nani/Ribery?)
Hargreaves
Tevez
Who don’t I want:
Nolan and Pedersen are decent players but not Utd first team quality.
Bent - No thanks
Defoe - I used to rate Defoe a lot but he hasn’t really come on. He is quick and agile but wastes a lot of chances (Owen is a better finisher) and only seems to have eyes for goal rather than team mates, which is where Tevez could excel.
sidwell, bentley, nakamura, parker!
I THINK THAT WE SHOULD BUY 3 YOUNG AND TALENTED PLAYERS FROM AJAX I THINK THAT THEY COULD ALL COME FOR 25 MILLION OR LESS AND THAT IS ALL OF THEM IN 1 DEAL. THE PLAYERS ARE WESLEY SNEIJDER, Klaas Jan Huntelaar AND Ryan Babel. AFTER WE CAN SEE HOW MUCH BAYERN WANT FOR HARGREAVES AND I WOULDNT BUY HIM FOR MORE THAN 20 MILLION
frings, palladino of juventus
eduardo ratinho n marcelo
We need to replace ruud, keano and giggs. Obviously saha is a brilliant, pacey target man, but is not a great 1 on 1 finisher like ruud so i would go for the natural ruud replacement-Klaas jan Huntelaar. My first option would be the silky berbatov with premiership experience but this is now unlikely as we won’t have another £25m after spending £20m odd on Hargreaves. Bayern are robbing uss here cos i think gattuso would be a much better keane repalcement-he’s aggreassive and inspirational as a starter point for counter attacks, him or de rossi over hargreaves for me, but we will defo get hargreaves. Now as for Left midfield, Bale could be bought and changed from a left back to a winger-he is very attacking but also strong defensively, much like a wayne bridge who can score beckham like free kicks. If bale is not bought for around £15m, then we should go for pedersen or nani/tevez, they would compliment ronaldo on the other wing and such attacking potency could fire us to another treble next year. Please SAF buy Berbatov/Huntelaar, since torres is no longer an option and bent and defoe are not world class, and eto’o would waste out entire budget; hargreaves/de rossi/gattuso; and a pacy winger who can cross=pedersen, or tevez/nani who double up as strikers!
i agree with eddie’s comment.it will be good for man.u if they can secure the signature of Renato Augusto from flamengo and Huntelaar is also a good finisher like Ruud.To say the fact Man.u need agressive and inspirational midfielder like Hagreaves,Van der vaat,Diego and Quaressma is also good to replace giggs so that man.u wil be back to the form they use to win treble in 1999.This because Man.U will really face competition next season if toress say no S.A.F should go for Tevez at all cost this guy is good.S.A.F should please improve more on Man.U youth.Chance need to be given to player like Lee martin,Rossi,Dong and they should try and snap that guy from flamengo (Renato Augusto )he can be our own kaka’.Gattuso is running out of age but we can sign him,no doubt is the type Man.u need.Some also need to replace Gary Neville.Infact S.A.F. need a powerful squad if he is to t retain the tropy next season.
My ideal targets:
1. Tevez
2. Nani
3. Hagreaves
4. Renato Augusto
5. Bale
Philip Bardsley need to be brought back to the squad.let wait and see what happen then in january again.
HOHOHOHO
evrybody seem to hv forgotten a certain freddy adu.. ive got a feeling he’ll come as an understudy to ronaldo.. along wit hagreaves and either nani or berbatov or ribery or bale… ur choice…
To me, it makes sense to look at the 50 mil budget and infer that 3 signings are the need of the hour. Since Saha is good alongside Wayne, I think a Berbatov or Eto’o would be eating into the budget too much. Also, our Ole and Smith advantage would be reduced if we go in for them. My opinion: Poach Huntelaar and stop worrying about goal scorers. Remember who are the highest goal scoring club in EPL? Next up, I would say it’s a toss up between Nani, Ribery and Bale. All three make sense in their own way. While the last will bolster our weakest link- 4th back man, the first 2 might just add additional zing to the wings. Lastly, Owen Hargreaves. Forget the cost, when he wants to come here the issue is settled. We need a good defensive midfielder for Europe next season and I believe he is the man. He is proven, and his heart is in Old Trafford. What more can you ask for? That said, I feel any 3 or 4 signings made by Sir Alex can only do good to further our claims to the treble next season.
First of all i would luv to see eto’ @ OT, but it’s not gonna happen, barca are definately gonna ask for silly money even though they dont want him and vice versa, also they know some1’s gonna pay that silly money, but it’s not gonna be utd. secondly berbatov aint gonna leave spurs after one season, after settleing down and all. its not all about the football, they consider they consider lifestyle too
, he aint gonna move to manchester after just settleing in london, although i do think the man ooze’s class.
Hargreaves is a done deal, dont need to commenton that.
Don’t rule out Tevez, is pure class, and would fit into utd perfectly.
Love to get micah richards, but it aint gonna happen this season.
huntalaar is a big, big reality, i watch alot of eredivisie and huntelaar is lethal, just what utd need upfront alongside the boy wonder. a top class striker is definatly the #1 priority this summer after a DM. with huntelaar @ utd we wont be going out in CL semi’s because we will have him tucking da ball in da net and not players like smith and fletcher messing up chances, not even hitting the target. Hunterlaar would be delivering and getting the same praise next season as berbatov this season, no doubt if he joins utd.
The main succes of the 94 team was because we had balance and partnerships, upfront cantona, hughes, MF keane, ince, wingers giggs, kanchelskis, CB bruce, pallister.
we got da CB’s and we got one half of the wingers, strikers and midfield is only missing a keane style player.
So i definatly think SAF is thinking and building along those lines. I think we’ll definatly try and sign a superstar forward and we’ll definatly go for nani. Nani could well be on his way to OT. His style is definately what utd need, so we have pace creativity, all across the middle. Add nani to Ronni, scholes, and carrick along with rooney and a possible hunterlaar upfront, utd will defiantly be euro champs next season. We dont have problems scoring with the current squad, with those style of additions, utd will be unstoppable. Those make and break moments which have cost and hurt us so much in europe da last couple of seasons, will be no more.
oh yeah
by the way M.Bent and Defoe, leave it out, we already have strikers of that qulity in smith and Saha.
Maybe McCarthy, cheap and already knows da english game, could well be on.
This is what I think United should get
Tevez or Torres for a striker(i want tevez more so then torres, have been a tevez fan since his days in brasil.)
Owen Hargreaves or Manuel Fernandes(apparently owen is now to expensive and United are looking else where…i doubt Fernandes will be bought by Everton so Fergie should pick him up.)
Nani or Ribery(Oh man i so want Nani at United with Ronaldo…you have no idea…but Ribery would also be a good choice of course…but my choice here is Nani.
yup, fernandes for MU! As well as nakamura, pedersen, nolan and huntelaar!
i think furgesen should and must go in for eto,hagreaves,nani,bebartov and at least a typical central defender.
i feel strongly that we will get nani, it seems obvious to me. he would fit in perfectly with out fast paced attacking play. hargreaves i think is a certain (although i hope SAF doesnt over-pay too much - anyone remember any other midfielders that we overpaid for??? *cough* veron *cough*). i think our defense is solid. am i the only person here who loves both heinze and evra?? i rate them extremely highly. i think bearing that in mind our other target has to be a forward (everyone knows that eto’ would be a dream signing but i dont see it happening) my choice (of some of the more realistic targets ie. no torres, berbatov etc.) is either mccarthy or tevez. mccarthy has shown that hes capable of top top teams by being the second best scorer in the premiership this season and tevez has always been sheer class.
summary my choices
1)nani
2)hargreaves
3)mccarthy or tevez
hands off berbatov he’s tottenhams !
3 targets
-Eto’o - price £27m - David Gill is going to Barcelona for 2 weeks after the FA cup final to speak with him and Barca, to hopefully finalize a deal.
-Hargreaves(done deal - £15m according to sources)
-Nani(nearly completed -£13.5m according to same sources)
All great buys. Over the £50m budget but several players will be sold.
Pique is coming back and will be in the first choice 16.]
Rossi is coming back after a good spell at Parma (10 goals)
Saha will be sold
Silvestre will be sold
Heinze and evra are staying and fighting it out for left back position
Bale, if bought will be put on loan at Sunderland for 1 season to show his ability in the premiership.
Brazilian twin central defenders will be bought.
Solsjkaer will be put on loan at Sunderland for the season and will return to united as a coach.
Richardson is apparently going to Everton for £3m, not sure how reliable this is, but would be happy to see the back of him.
Team for next season:
Van Der Sar/Foster
Neville—————–Ferdinand———Vidic—————Heinze/Evra
Ronaldo—————Carrick/Hargreaves———Hargreaves/Scholes——–Nani/Giggs
Rooney—————————Eto’o
Not sure who will be the two in centre mid. left back is upto who-ever is fitter/ playing better. left med will be swapped a lot. i believe with Nani possibly starting as giggs will work better once opposing teams are tired from chasing Ronaldo and Nani around. If Eto’o does not come, it will be Rooney and Smith. With Rossi on th bench.
WE WILL NOT BUT OWEN, especially not for £9M. anything below £5m and its worth it. He wont be a first choice striker and never will be at United.
Ribery will go to Arsenal or stay in France.
we will not replace Neville in the summer.
Any deals that dont happen at sumemr will happen at winter as we have another £50m for the winter transfer window.
Torres will not come. He is highly over-rated. If we need a goal-scorer, why buy somebody with 7 goals this season, whilst hes captain of his favorite club?
Nani, Eto’o, Hargreaves. Attacking force of Nani, Ronaldo, Eto’o and Rooney….scary? possibly unbeatable.
Will get back with more details once known.
Ruud will be replaced. Have no doubt about it. Shirt 10 will be filled by a striker signing. I believe also that Hargreaves, Nani or Arteta and Bale will be the other targets. With Silvestre most likely to depart to accomodate Bale.
Arteta will not be coming to United as he has recently signed a new contract with Everton.
sign andersson of porto, renato augusto, nuri sahin, and nasri the new zidane!
Truth is we need a strong, commandeering and physically adept midfielder.
We certainly miss players of Keans calibre and thus it wouldnt be a bad idea if we considered players such as Makelele to compliment Rio’s outstanding presence.
Frankly i dont really see what positive effects Hargreaves will impart in the team. Lest not forget that we need to do away with the tired legs of Ole, Smith, Saha, Heinze.
Perhaps Nani and Barbatov can help bring about positive results but i still feel aquiring strikers is not a priority presently. However a top notch striker such as Eto would certainly be welcome.
Ribiero to me, is a MUST BUY, for Man U. Fergie should try to bring this guy over and we will certainly improve our midfield problems.
I would suggest… sign
1) Hargreaves…
2) A striker .. Tevez
3) A winger .. preferably Quaresma or Nani…
Slik1,you don’t know too much, do you? Makelele?!? He’s a great player, but there is no way United will sign a 34-year old guy who is surplus at Chelsea. Tired legs of Smith? H’s 26, and hadn’t played a decent game for almost a year until april. Also, Heinze, Saha(and he’s probably leaving, btw) are both 28 and don’t play that much. And forget Berbatov already, he is not moving this summer, everyone knows that. Get updated, man.
hahahhahahaha
hahahahhahahah
The sun: Man u have signed frank ribery for a udisclosed fee of 25 million.
fergies other target is huntlaar and is considering a bid of 12.5 million
Forget Berbatov and Ribery dudes.
Fergie wants fresh new talent next season.
He’ll go for excellent young guns coming through the ranks in the championship. I reckon he’s going to go for players like Curtis Davies, Gareth Bale, David Nugent, Jason Koumas, West Brom’s Paul Robinson and Diomasy Kamara(add some youth to the team).
We don’t need any more midfielders. That’s our srtong point. But there are so many gaps in defence and up front. Coming with a bit more experience, Torres or Villa are good options. We could really do with a better attack.
I think the top five summer target ideas are Nugent,Bale, Davies, Torres and Villa. Bring in the class championship players!
Forget Berbatov and Ribery dudes!
Fergie wants fresh new talent.
He’ll go for excellent young players coming through the ranks in the championship like Nugent, Bale, Davies, Koumas and Kamara.
We don’t need any midfielders. that’s our strong point.
There are loads of gaps in defence and up front. Coming with more experience, Villa and Torres would be good buys. We could do with a better attack.
I think the top five summer target ideas are Nugent, Bale, Davies, Torres and Villa.
Oh, and heinze, Silvestre, Evra, Brown and Rio are all going in the summer. We need some brilliant new defenders to replace them. eg Bale, Davies, Richards.
Hi ithink Ferg now needs fresh young and even those that can make it on the level of championship as well ,
1-nani
2-Hagreaves
3-Aron Leon from Hotspus
4-Micheal owen if newcastle can agree with man u
the following can make it for United.
Musinguzi Robert from East Africa Uganda,a full suporter of United,
Give me out you views as well,
thanks .
God bless Man united as one team.
and thank you Ferg for make us feel happy all over the World