A right-back and a striker?

I'll probably get slated for this, but since this seems to be the consensus view of the positions we'd like to see strengthened this summer, I thought I'd go through some of the possibilities. Yes, I'm feeling bored this morning

Right-backs:

Dani Alves. 25-years old, Brazilian, Sevilla.

Strengths - Incredible attacking potency (the best in the world for a fullback); high aerobic capacity; tough competitor; very strong mentality.

Weaknesses - Tactically not too good in the defensive phase; slow attack-defence transitions; on the small side. His attacking style also makes Evra look positively conservative by comparison, though whether that's a weaknesses or not is a matter of opinion.

Likely price - £25m+.

Micah Richards. 19-years old, English, Citeh.

Strengths - An absolute beast of a man, as physically dominant as any defender in the world; extremely quick; excellent in the air; can play at centre-back as well.

Weaknesses - Makes a lot of tactical mistakes; technically nothing special.

Likely price - £20m+.

Lorenzo De Silvestri. 20-years old, Italian, Lazio.

Strengths - Size (around 6ft) and strength; high aerobic capacity; tactically very intelligent and disciplined for his age; technically sound; tough to beat in one-on-ones; aggressive style; capable of playing at LB if required.

Weaknesses - Doesn't make anything like the attacking impact of someone like Alves or Rafinha; needs to improve his crossing; lacks a bit of experience. Italian player often don't seem to travel too well either.

Likely price - £15m.

Rafinha. 22-years old, Brazilian, Schalke.

Strengths - Excellent crosser of the ball; technically very strong; great capability to play short combinations; loves to get forward, and has the aerobic capacity to make a very high number of attacking incorporations in every match.

Weaknesses- Physically quite lightweight; doesn't defend particularly well; seems to lack a bit of pace over the first few yards.

Likely price - £10-12m?

Others?

Have heard very positive things about Gonzalo Castro of Leverkusen. Never watched him play myself though

Amaral of Palmeiras is an interesting one too, very impressive at the last U-20 World Cup. Quite small but very powerful, quick, great stamina, loves to get forward and lots of attacking quality. Reminds me a bit of a young Cicinho, but with better defensive capabilities. I've heard that Sevilla are considering him as a potential long-term replacement for Alves (who also made his name at the U-20 World Cup). Apparently available for under £3m.

Also, Apodi of Cruzeiro looks quite exciting. 21-years old and from what I've seen, possibly the best RB in Brazil at the moment. Lightning quick, great dribbling ability, decent crosser of the ball, and an excellent mentality too. Needs to work a lot on his defensive positioning and bulk up a fair bit, but if he does that I think he has the capability to be a very good player. Definitely wouldn't be too expensive either. Although unless he has the possibility of getting a communitarian passport, I'd imagine that it would probably be impossible to get him a work permit.

Forwards:

Karim Benzema. 20-years old, French, Lyon.

Strengths - Physically complete; can finish expertly with either foot from all ranges; excellent close control; very sharp off-the-ball movement; highly developed football intelligence for someone of his age; plays comfortably across the front line.

Weaknesses - Doesn't head the ball particularly well; has displayed a somewhat questionable attitude at times in the second half of the season.

Likely price - Aulas is unlikely to part with his most prized asset, if he does you're certainly looking at £35m+.

Dimitar Berbatov. 27-years old, Bulgarian, Spurs.

Strengths - Exceptional touch and vision; very creative; excellent physical strength; holds the ball up extremely well; very strong in the air.

Weaknesses - At times appears to lack focus and aggression; low work-rate; not particularly quick; not the most prolific of strikers; showed a very poor attitude earlier in the season. Expensive for someone of his age as well (he'll hit 28 halfway through the season.)

Likely price - £25m+.

Samuel Eto'o. 27-years old, Cameroonian, Barcelona.

Strengths - Lightning quick, which makes him excellent at playing on the counter-attack and getting behind the opposition's defence; good finisher; shoots powerfully with both feet; dribbles the ball well; comfortable operating on the flanks; very competitive personality - pretty much guaranteed to give his all on the pitch.

Weaknesses - Has been plagued by injuries over the past couple of seasons; isn't getting any younger; and there's no doubt that he's been a disruptive influence in the Barca dressing room of late as well. In terms of on the pitch stuff, he can be somewhat selfish in his decision making, and he's not great in the air either.

Likely price - £20m+.

David Villa. 26-years old, Spanish, Valencia.

Strengths - Quick; good finisher; shoots well with both feet from range; makes very sharp off-the-ball runs; comfortable dropping deep or wide and playing inside the penalty box; nice touch; dribbles the ball well; good capacity to improvise; works hard for the team; fiery and determined character.

Weaknesses - He's on the small side and perhaps a bit lightweight; quite weak in the air; tends to dribble the ball too much; a bit selfish at times; can be quite temperamental.

Likely price - £20m or so.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. 24-years old, Dutch, Ajax.

Strengths - Expert finisher; predatory instincts; capable of scoring with both feet and with his head; moves very intelligently inside the penalty box; decent with his back to goal.

Weaknesses - Bit on the slow side; doesn't get involved much in the build-up; not really capable of creating chances for himself - the type of striker who is very much dependent on service from the flanks. Haven't been too impressed with his ability to contest deep balls in the air either.

Likely price - £15-20m.

Lisandro Lopez. 25-years old, Argentine, Porto.

Strengths - Plays with a fantastic level of intensity and desire; exceptional defensive work-rate; very mobile and constantly in motion; shoots powerfully and accurately with both feet and can finish with his head as well; capable of playing anywhere across the front line.

Weaknesses - Lacks a bit of self-confidence; not the most physically or technically gifted of players; not a natural finisher.

Likely price - £13m.

Fernando Cavenaghi. 24-years old, Argentine, Bordeaux.

Strengths - Born goalscorer; two footed; possesses a great long-range shot; technically well rounded; excellent movement around the penalty box.

Weaknesses - Not sure if he's the kind of striker who would succeed in England, given that he's not the strongest or the quickest player around. And he's really been totally off the radar over in Russia prior to his re-emergence in the second half of this season with Bordeaux.

Likely price - £12m?

Others?

Mario Gomez of Stuttgart. Haven't watched him myself, so can't really comment.

Bafetimbi Gomis of St Etienne. See above.

Luis Fabiano is one I believe we've looked at, but it appears that he'll be staying in Seville for another year. Not a big fan myself, although I can't deny that he was in exceptional form this season.

don't let that contract put you off. ;0)

oh, and torres, obviously.

do we really need a right back though? surely wes has done enough to prove his worth there. i doubted him during the season but i accept hes done well, i know he isn't the best at going forward but we dont really need that with ronaldo down that side.

Tough one for me but I'm coming round to thinking that we're going to spend a lot of money on a defender (or two) and a smaller amount on a striker, especially if we keep hold of Ronaldo.

I wouldn't rule out David Suazo. From what I hear he will be made available when Jose steps in.

Since Benzema's out of bounds I'd like to see Utd take a chance on Gomez. I like what I've seen but he'd be expensive and as stated above I think the striker won't be the 'name' a few of us hope it to be.

is good for another year and we just need to keep saha fit.

Berbatov's strengths should certainly include presence, composure, and finishing. He is obviously technically sound, he controls/receives the ball into time and space effortlessly, and he seems able to read the movement of all around him which is absolutely priceless.

You missed out Pandev and Podolski

And let's not forget Danny Simpson eh.

I think as far as the defence goes, you have to look at all of it as a whole and not just one position.

With Pique and supposedly Silvestre going, that just leaves us with ...

Neville, Brown, Rio, Vidic, Evra and maybe Evans if he's recalled. O'Shea is apparently a defender as well, but I can't confirm that.

It's not quite as strong as we think - and if anything it's at left back where we're short - we have three players who can play at RB very well, but only one at LB. As Whalefish says there is definitely a case for a couple of defenders to be added. A decent full back who can play either side would be ideal, e.g. Lahm, Zambrotta - and possibly another up and coming top CB, which is where the supposed interest in Richards comes in.

Striker wise, very simple - make Lyon and Benzema an offer they can't refuse. Do whatever it takes because adding him would move an already great team up another level again.

Originally Posted by Barracuda

I think as far as the defence goes, you have to look at all of it as a whole and not just one position.

With Pique and supposedly Silvestre going, that just leaves us with ...

Neville, Brown, Rio, Vidic, Evra and maybe Evans if he's recalled. O'Shea is apparently a defender as well, but I can't confirm that.

It's not quite as strong as we think - and if anything it's at left back where we're short - we have three players who can play at RB very well, but only one at LB. As Whalefish says there is definitely a case for a couple of defenders to be added. A decent full back who can play either side would be ideal, e.g. Lahm, Zambrotta - and possibly another up and coming top CB, which is where the supposed interest in Richards comes in.

Striker wise, very simple - make Lyon and Benzema an offer they can't refuse. Do whatever it takes because adding him would move an already great team up another level again.

Dont forget the twins!

From what I've heard and seen, Podolski has been very poor for Bayern. I guess that doesn't rule him out totally, but it would certainly be a gamble, I think.

And Pandev is really more of a split striker or attacking midfielder, who likes to play between the lines, no? Tomasso Rocchi is the number nine at Lazio.

I can't believe Apodi has his own YouTube compilation already. You've got to love the internet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJBqcnKefw4

Podolski wouldn't be the first to have personal problems at Bayern. As for Pandev, I read somewhere that Bayern were looking at him. His goal record is roughly 1 in 3 for Lazio from the support striker position which is good. He also has the same ratio for Macedonia. He's over 6ft too (around 185cm)

Anyway, the point for me is that Podolski is likely to do better at Bayern under Klinnsman. Maybe a cheeky bid before that partnership blossoms would be a good idea? We could get him in for pre-season training at the same time as Sosa

I want Mario gomez. he won't be costlier as the other strikers and would fit in well with our younger group of players. he is 22 I think

Originally Posted by Sloane

do we really need a right back though? surely wes has done enough to prove his worth there. i doubted him during the season but i accept hes done well, i know he isn't the best at going forward but we dont really need that with ronaldo down that side.

Wes performed exceptional well this season, no doubt about that. Certainly beyond my expectations. So I wouldn't complain if he's our RB for next season. I do think we could do with bringing in someone with a bit more attacking quality though, even if it's only as an option.

Originally Posted by Serenity Now

I can't believe Apodi has his own YouTube compilation already. You've got to love the internet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJBqcnKefw4

£#%&!ing hell, he loves to shoot!

Originally Posted by Whalefish

Tough one for me but I'm coming round to thinking that we're going to spend a lot of money on a defender (or two) and a smaller amount on a striker, especially if we keep hold of Ronaldo.

I wouldn't rule out David Suazo. From what I hear he will be made available when Jose steps in.

Since Benzema's out of bounds I'd like to see Utd take a chance on Gomez. I like what I've seen but he'd be expensive and as stated above I think the striker won't be the 'name' a few of us hope it to be.

I like Suazo, impressed me alot at Calgiari. Won WPOTY when I signed him for United on FM.

I wouldn't like to rely on Neville and from what I've seen Simpson isn't good enough.

In terms of the former how many players at Neville's age have missed that much football and returned to play at the highest level again?

Gomez would be excellent but he's already dropped a hint that he has no desire to leave his club this Summer, unless it was for Barca.

I'd rather get Forlan back than sign Podolski.

With the strikers, I think it is a choice between Huntelaar and Berbatov.

I wouldn't say Berbatov or Huntelaar are slow. An awful lot seems to be made of this on here, you'd think they were Teddy Sheringham the way some go on.

It'll be interesting to see what Fergie does. I would like to see these deals done as soon as possible, but with the Euros on, I think we'll be waiting until July.

Feed the Hunt and he will score.


United have been in contact with his agent, that's all i'm saying.

gonzalo castro from leverkusen is a amazing right back. versatile as well, could be a good defensive midfielder as well. has loads of qualities and certainly great potential. and ideal play for united.

lahm + vucinic

if not lahm, richards. if not vucinic, gomez.

obviously i'm assuming that ronnie stays and benzema is unavailable.