I wouldn't like to see him playing too defensively because one of his best assets is those surging runs he likes to make.
I'm not sure if I want Modric or not.
Luka Modric / Signs for Real Madrid
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I wouldn't like to see him playing too defensively because one of his best assets is those surging runs he likes to make.
I'm not sure if I want Modric or not.
Why is he overrated? He is clearly class, a proven PL player and someone that would walk into any team in the PL.
How can you compare the two?
As much as I would love to see Modric in a United shirt , I just can't see it happening tbh. Last season he come out and said he wanted to join Chelsea and if he is to leave Spurs then thats the only place I can see him going.
I don't think he can do Fletcher's role, not competently yet. Whenever he played there last season he had no tactical awareness of what he was doing and pretty much ended up as an attacking midfielder.
I think we paid for that article. food for thought for Levy
That article is nonsense imo.
If the difference between getting and not getting a player who could sort our midfield for years to come is £6M, it makes no sense to baulk. We made £111M profit last year. My fear is that Gill/Fergie actually think that way.
Wages are a different matter, but unless Chelsea or City come in for him, I doubt Modric would demand way over the odds.
Not in favor of him playing too defensively either which is why i said i wouldnt mind him playing the way fletch did. As a proper box to box CM. He can do that role i feel as it doesnt need him to be positionally aware at all times and to hang back to keep things tight defensively.
He's young, he'l learn from playing. If you partner him with Carrick, you can afford him to make a few mistakes. Play him as the holding mid, and his naivety at times can cost the team a lot. With Carrick as insurance behind him, it wouldnt be that much of a concern.
Jones has a good engine, makes good powerful forward runs and has the energy to play at both ends of the pitch.
Am not saying we should convert him into a CM, mind, just that if he's played there, it has to be alongside Carrick, not in place of him.
Is anyone else underwhelmed by a move for Modric? I just dont see him fitting in.
For £20 mill I'd be all for it. For the prices being quoted, I wouldn't bother. I don't think he'd live up to the price tag.
That's his biggest strength - he's Pl proven and a great fit next to Carrick, tho' I reckon he's not as good as some people think.
I wouldnt mind having him ofcourse as he's a quality player but i've believed for a while now that we need a proper all round CM more than a Sneijder or a Modric.
Carrick as the only CM capable of carrying out his defensive duties is worrying, 1 injury and we'd be fecked.
He won't go for anything less than 25 million. Probably more than 30.
My view of Jones is that he's not a good enough footballer to be anything other than a defender. But Fergie seems to think otherwise.
Are you paying for him?
Does it matter if we have £10M more or less in the bank at Christmas, or whether the debt is £400M or £390M.
Chelsea are saturated with midfielders at the moment - Lampard, Mata, Ramires, Miereles, Mikel, Benayoun, Marin, Essien and now Hazard. It might have been a feasible move last summer but I don't see Chelsea being interested this season. If Modric fancies Champions League football then we might be the only outfit in the PL willing to offer him it.
Besides, United aren't exactly a bad alternative destination to Chelsea...we're talking about a bigger club who just so happen to be the most successful in the country. If that's not enough of an attraction for him then he shouldn't be anywhere near a United shirt.
I agree that he could do that role on some occasions, against lesser opposition but I'm really hoping Fergie isn't viewing him as the alternative to Fletcher whilst we wait for him to get fit. Because he simply can't do that role against good teams. The way Fletcher plays has a lot more tactical awareness in it then I think people realise. Also as you said he can't come in as a direct replacement for Carrick.
I'd be happy if we tried to convert Jones in to a midfielder but we still need to have the insurance of another defensively strong midfielder next season.
It's hard to say. I think he's got enough about him to do that box to box role but he'd need a lot of game time there as he has plenty to learn, which with us needing to blood in clev/ando when we can will be tough. He's done a few first time passes that have made me think that whilst he'll never be a playmaker or anything as an enforcer he could have the physicality and energy to hurt teams and a touch of quality to add something on the attack.
As I said though I don't think he'll get the game time he needs there to get enough improvement in.
His price really depends on what Modric says - Spurs could possibly keep him one season when he wants out - but another one when they miss out on C.L ? That's when they HAVE to consider if they can afford to keep him as his value will start to drop fairly quickly. First of all he is 27 in september - and more important - his contract which he still hasn't renewed
So íf Modric now says - he wants to be sold - we could probably get him for around £30 million - (or rather get a big accepted)
So íf Modric now says - he wants to be sold - we could probably get him for around £30 million - (or rather get a big accepted)
The way we play, I think Modric is the perfect signing for us. Scholes and Carrick were our best midfield partnership and with Scholes not being able to play every game, we need someone who can replicate what Scholes does for us.
Modric's passing ability is almost as good as Scholes's is, and he can get the ball out wide to our wingers with minimal fuss, which is something that neither Anderson or Cleverley can do as good as Modric can.
While people are crying out for a defensive minded midfielder like Tiote, in 95% of our games, we don't really need one because we are the ones who keep possession and dictate the game, so winning possession in midfield isn't really what we need in most of our games.
Modric's passing ability is almost as good as Scholes's is, and he can get the ball out wide to our wingers with minimal fuss, which is something that neither Anderson or Cleverley can do as good as Modric can.
While people are crying out for a defensive minded midfielder like Tiote, in 95% of our games, we don't really need one because we are the ones who keep possession and dictate the game, so winning possession in midfield isn't really what we need in most of our games.
I agree with the above post. A midfield of Carrick, Modric and Kagawa with variants of Cleverley, Scholes and Fletcher weighing in would be perfect for controlling the middle of the park
Can't understand how modric's reputation has fallen off so much here.
Last year he was the one everyone wanted to sign while I was against also because of the figures quoted last season.
Last year he was the one everyone wanted to sign while I was against also because of the figures quoted last season.
We don't have to have an out and out defensive midfielder but we need someone who has strong traits there as both someone to come in alongside Carrick and instead when he can't play. Most the best teams keep possession but it doesn;t stop the likes of City, Real, Barca etc all playing with 2 midfieders who are strong defensively.
If Carrick gets injured we have a big problem. Additionally in the tough games we struggle due to a lack of protection from midfield as Carrick is having to do so much work as none of the other guys bar Fletcher give enough protection.
This! If we spend around £30m on Modric, then we might struggle to sign a proper DM due to money constraints. Asamoah would have been a decent option to have but it looks like Juve wrapped that deal up as well.
I agree with those saying we also need a more defensive minded midfielder. I wish we could get both, but if we had to pick one I'd take Modric any day. He is the kind of addition that would take our game to a whole new level.
Personally I'm slightly more excited at the prospect of a Modric transfer saga than I am of Modric himself. That said, I think he'd be excellent alongside Carrick as the fulcrum of our team.
Exactly. Who cares if he signs for £10M, £30M or £50M? The club will not sign him unless they can afford him.
Modric will improve us and that is all i care about.
Modric is still 26, he's Premiership proven, doesn't rely on pace that much, which means we could easily get at least 5-6 years off him at top level and is easily one of the best midfielders in Premiership.
Having in mind we're skint in that department it's easy to get excited with him signing. Especially if the price is <30m.
Having in mind we're skint in that department it's easy to get excited with him signing. Especially if the price is <30m.
These things always matter because they reduce the overall budget for making other improvements to the squad. You need a right back, for example, if you overspend on Modric there's no money to buy, say, Debuchy for £10M.
I see where you're coming from, but clearly the central midfield is a bigger issue than right back, or any area of the squad for that matter.
I agree with you that Modrić is overrated, but that's not to say he wouldn't improve our side.
I'd personally be delighted if we got him.
No we don't.
We need a left back, not right.
I hope you don't get him because he'd fix a key weakness, I'd be happy to see you rely on Scholes playing 50 games.
Evra's still doing the business albeit at a lower level, Rafael is so much hot air.
That's not really how it works mate. If an exception talent becomes available then the club will budget for it, even if it means less money to spend next summer, or the summer after. They don't literally have a pot of gold coins to dole out.
Well I'm sold.
But genuinely, I think he'd be a great signing. Proven in the Premier League, 26 so arguably just entering his peak, and would finally replace Scholes/Giggs as a creative central midfielder.
They have a budget, sure they can stretch it one year but the point remains - long term it costs to overpay.
You've always had a blind spot with Rafael, he's a fantastic young talent and with Smalling around to back him up as well as arguably Jones we don't really need to worry about that position. Cover for a defensively inconsistent Evra is more of a prioriy.
I love Rafael - but I've not yet met a single non-United fan who rates him at all. That's not to say he's shit - far from it. But you can't argue that it's the most up for grabs position in our back 4 - Evra, Rio, Vidic & Rafael/Jones/Smalling. Sure Rafael is just about first choice, but he's a long way from first name on the team-sheet.
Yeah, that's a concern. Scholes' freshness after his retirement was like seeing a new player for much of the second half of the season but he didn't look as sprightly in the last few games. I'd be a bit worried that we'll end up asking him to go to the well too often due to the lack of alternatives if we don't get someone else in.
Blind spot for someone who's played about 25 games in two seasons, shows the positional acumen of a drunken sailor and is a rash tackle away from a pen every match? To think people were telling me he was one of the best RBs in the world 6 months ago! Delusion on here sometimes knows no bounds.
I think Rafael has enormous potential and most of the issues he has are mental rather than technical but I never really thought he was the best RB in the PL, or even close. He just needs games and lots of them and we'll have a very good player. I'm sure of that.