Topic: Will Kenny or Comoli be scouting any players at the international matches

[Fuzion6]

Think it all depends on where Young thinks he wants to play. If its in the hole like he is doing now for Villa then he will think he will get game time however if a 30m player can't get in to the team then I don't fancy his chances.

If he feels it's LM mainly then he would be foolish not joining us as he would currently walk in to our team.

To be fair mate I can't see him getting into Man U as a support striker...Rooney has the role all sewn up.

[Fordy]

Agree on Rodwell. If Young has serious England aspirations then he should move to a club he will be starting each week. With guys like AJ and Lennon there is some competition in Young's position for England.

Funny how Utd are chasing Rodwell, Adam, Young - Players that know how to beat lower league teams

Signed - Carrick, Rio, Rooney, Valencia all from midtable/lower league PL clubs.

and some on here are complaining about Adam, Cahill, Jose etc but wondering why we struggle against the lower half but how come UTD seem to brush the likes of Blackpoool and West Ham away when even giving them a 2 goal head start.

We lack balance and I for one hope we do sign Adam. Cahill, Young, Jose and 1 Marquee player plus a Wickham(Quality youth player) cause like I say we don't know how to beat the lower league clubs and we need some players that do.

[Roger Federer]

Rio Beckenbauer (Franz Ferdinand)

Great summary, find it hard to disagree with anything.

[Forman]

Young is so much better out wide on the left wing. I can understand him as a player wanting to have a more central role at Villa but if we come in for him again in the summer he'd be stupid not to come with our lack of options out wide. If he played to the standard he is capable of on the wing for us then he'd be one of the first names on the team sheet here.

[itsgunnabebarnes!]

Funny how Utd are chasing Rodwell, Adam, Young - Players that know how to beat lower league teams

Signed - Carrick, Rio, Rooney, Valencia all from midtable/lower league PL clubs.

and some on here are complaining about Adam, Cahill, Jose etc but wondering why we struggle against the lower half but how come UTD seem to brush the likes of Blackpoool and West Ham away when even giving them a 2 goal head start.

We lack balance and I for one hope we do sign Adam. Cahill, Young, Jose and 1 Marquee player plus a Wickham(Quality youth player)

again, you talk alot of sense mate. Is wickham really being looked at? 15m sounds very high for him?.

[w86]

paul_tomkins Paul Tomkins
RT @bensmith_Times Gary Cahill, Jose Enrique, Ashley Young, Mamadou Sakho and Connor Wickham have all been identified as targets by #LFC

RT @bensmith_Times From everything I hear, #LFC have, for the first time in a long time, a very clear transfer strategy for the summer

dont know if it has been posted before .....but atleast now we have an indication of who we are after


sorry been posted before ...

[Fuzion6]

Fordy talking a lot of sense

[Cpt_Reina]

again, you talk alot of sense mate. Is wickham really being looked at? 15m sounds very high for him?.

Everything Ive read suggests he definately is being looked at, he's been watched on many occasions.

As for the fee, its not looking like £15m in one lump sum. People seem to be saying it'd be a fee that'd end up being around £15m after add ons for appearances, cup wins etc.

[No666]

Being Danish and all, I thought I just give my 2-cents here. Jyllands Posten & Politiken are usually quite reliable.
The news is by the way in the paper, not online.
Kjær would be awesome alongside (or as a replacement for - if injury-proneness gets the best of him) Agger.
They complement eachother great in the national team, & just as Agger, Kjær is very good with his feet (and prolly better with his head)!

Thanks, mate. It was a Dane's imprimatur I was after. It would be Kjaer's dream move, wouldn't it?

On another note, Young would be foolish to want the support striker role because Rooney has it sewn up for England. (Same as Joe Cole was stupid to want it.) If he establishes himself on the flank with us would be better for his international future.

[Fordy]

again, you talk alot of sense mate. Is wickham really being looked at? 15m sounds very high for him?.

He signed a new contract and 15m is meant to be his buy out however I think 10m will get him. We have looked at him yes.

I feel Ngog will leave in the summer and will need to be replaced.

[Forman]

Never seen Wickham play but from the sounds of it he's a bit of a wonderkid. The fact that he might have a £15 million buy out clause shows how much Ipswich want to keep hold of him. What kind of a striker is he? Is he a big upgrade on Ngog?

[mjgill85]

For what's it's worth, Carroll says in this month's FourFourTwo that Cahill is the toughest centre back he's faced (so far) in his career.

[Juan Loco]

again, you talk alot of sense mate. Is wickham really being looked at? 15m sounds very high for him?.

It's apparently his buy-out clause. I wouldn't be certain one exists, but at the moment it's the selling clubs letting the figures out there. That's why Cahill is £20m, Young £25m and Wickham £15m. Once the first bids go in we can take a much more realistic guess at what they'll actually cost. It won't be that much, I'm sure.

Funny how Utd are chasing Rodwell, Adam, Young - Players that know how to beat lower league teams

Signed - Carrick, Rio, Rooney, Valencia all from midtable/lower league PL clubs.

and some on here are complaining about Adam, Cahill, Jose etc but wondering why we struggle against the lower half but how come UTD seem to brush the likes of Blackpoool and West Ham away when even giving them a 2 goal head start.

We lack balance and I for one hope we do sign Adam. Cahill, Young, Jose and 1 Marquee player plus a Wickham(Quality youth player) cause like I say we don't know how to beat the lower league clubs and we need some players that do.

Agree with that. Not fussed with the marquee player though. I'm not his greatest fan, but I think Young at his best has at least matched the way Nani's played this season. I would trust he could return to that level. For me it's Young or a marquee player, and I don't think we're likely to get any. I'd bid for Bale if it were up to me, but I don't think we'd get him. If Kenny does want Young then there's a fine balance between chasing the marquee name and making sure that we definitely get him for certain. I'd be happy just getting Young and building the squad to push for the title as long as possible, but with top 4 the priority.

I think we've already got a superstar in Suarez, and within two years we'll have another in Sterling (no pressure lad).

[Fuzion6]

The reserve striker issue is an interesting one. We have one potential reserve striker in Kuyt...but it is clear Kenny doesn't want Ngog as a 4th choice striker. So then you need someone who is happy to be 3rd or 4th choice but can make an impact as a sub or when there is an injury...and if they do well they can start pushing for a first team place. Perfect person for this role is a talented young up and coming stiker like Wickham....but they cost money. You look at the top teams - they have multiple strikers who are above average - MU Berba, Hernandez, Rooney - Chelsea Torres, Drogba, Anelka, Kalou - Madrid Adebayor, Benzema, Higuain - Barca Villa, Messi, Bojan - Milan Zlatan, Pato, Cassano

[w86]

Cahill opens door to transfer: I'm ready for Champions League football

that would defo rule us out for next season

[Juan Loco]

Never seen Wickham play but from the sounds of it he's a bit of a wonderkid. The fact that he might have a £15 million buy out clause shows how much Ipswich want to keep hold of him. What kind of a striker is he? Is he a big upgrade on Ngog?

He plays off the shoulder of the last defender. Very strong, pretty quick but he's not likely to burst past a man, he's comfortable down the flanks, he's got some very decent. He's your typical modern forward. He reminds me of Torres after 2008 in style, but not in attitude. Every since Torres lost that pace to burn a defender 1-vs-1. He's never going to be caught if you play him in on goal, but he can't really beat a player 1-vs-1, so he'll concentrate or shifting the ball until he can have a shot on goal.

[Fordy]

Cahill opens door to transfer: I'm ready for Champions League football

that would defo rule us out for next season

Not really - Think all top players would say that but only 4 team can get to play in it from the PL and only 6 can challenge to get in it.

Just cause we're out of it now doesn't mean we won't be in it within 2 seasons.

Think what he is saying without upsetting Bolton fans(credit to the man) is that I am ready to move to a bigger club - A top 6 club that has a realistic chance of fighting and getting in to the CL.

[jooneyisdagod]

It's apparently his buy-out clause. I wouldn't be certain one exists, but at the moment it's the selling clubs letting the figures out there. That's why Cahill is £20m, Young £25m and Wickham £15m. Once the first bids go in we can take a much more realistic guess at what they'll actually cost. It won't be that much, I'm sure.

Agree with that. Not fussed with the marquee player though. I'm not his greatest fan, but I think Young at his best has at least matched the way Nani's played this season. I would trust he could return to that level. For me it's Young or a marquee player, and I don't think we're likely to get any. I'd bid for Bale if it were up to me, but I don't think we'd get him. If Kenny does want Young then there's a fine balance between chasing the marquee name and making sure that we definitely get him for certain. I'd be happy just getting Young and building the squad to push for the title as long as possible, but with top 4 the priority.

I think we've already got a superstar in Suarez, and within two years we'll have another in Sterling (no pressure lad).

I don't know how good either Cahill or Wickham are.  I've seen very little of them and so I won't say anything about them.

Young on the other hand, I'm not sold on at all.  He's rapid and he's got decent feet but I think there are more talented players out there who would cost only as much.  Young looks like he may got for the late tens or maybe even 20m but I really think that money would be better spent on someone like Sanchez who looks like he could easily be the spark we could do with.  He has the pace and ability we are looking for IMO.  I would have been delighted if the player we were linked was Adam Johnson and not Young but I would much rather Sanchez than either of them since I don't see us playing with a text book wide player. 

We seem to have two up front but one of the strikers seems to drop deep and once the play has progressed, the wide men seem to bomb past the strikers as well.  That really would suit both Young and Johnson but I reckon its tailor made for Sanchez.  In terms of ability on the ball, he is far ahead of the ones mentioned here. 

All that said, if we signed Young, it would still be a step in the right direction.  We haven't had someone with his pace for ages, especially out wide* where we could really use some pace.  Will certainly be an excellent outlet for us. 


I know we had Babel but he barely played and when he did, he flattered to deceive quite often. 
 

[lionel_messias]

I like Shawcross, but Cahill is better than him at everything except heading the ball. Considerably better. Cahill is one of the victims of the Premiership being a closed off league at the top.

I don't think some on here have seen half as much of Cahill as they make out before jumping in with an opinion (based on passport...)

One lad was saying we shouldn't be targeting players like him because of the type of football Bolton play. They've probably played better stuff than we have over the majority of the last 15 months! It's not the Allardyce team any more.

Cahill is very good on the ball. Easily comparable to either Vidic or Ferdinand. He is not Agger good, but then the only centrebacks in the league that are are Luiz and Agger. There's being a ball-playing centreback and then there's being a genuine libero. Agger, Luiz and Pique are the latter but they're a select few. That doesn't mean they're the only centrebacks good on the ball. People have to recognise the difference between being able to step out of defence, pick a pass and even move ahead of play when the situation calls for it, and the ability those 3 have to move out of defence, dribble pass a player or three, do a cryuff turn and then think "let's chip the keeper". United haven't had a centreback like that for as long as I can remember. For all the hype over Rio Beckenbauer (Franz Ferdinand) he was never, ever anything like that. What he does is that he'll move in to space if the opposition offer it, and he'll drop a shoulder to make it. Same as Cahill really.

Cahill doesn't hesitate and wait for the opposition to set its self before stepping forward. He moves forward with the ball and plays it crisply. Occasionally he'll follow the play if the opportuity presents its self. That is what 95% of your ball-playing centrebacks do. If they throw one of these as the cherry on the top of that cake once in a while then that's just brilliant.

He's good in the air in either box, he's aggressive and strong, his tackling when he needs go to ground is very clean, he's got decent pace if he gets turned. He's a very good defender who is improving quite steadily and is now doing so in a team that plays good football and leave themselves open.

The only thing I've seen wrong with him is a few times when Bolton try to play an offside line he is very deep and gives himself too much to do to step-up. I remember him doing it away to Stoke earlier this season. Consequently he has to show that ability to slide tackle a lot more than he should, and it can't always come off. I wouldn't expect him to be the perfect centrehalf though, and his problems are stuff that gets coached rather than anything physical he'll never get over.

Maybe he needs to go to Palermo or Espanyol to get the credit he's due, rather than the out-right skepticism because of his passport.

I would like to quote this excellent post. Not about passports, its about ability. Hopefully Cahill fancies a bit of Dalglish.

[Didi_ram]

Kjaer would be fantastic.
he might have been poor for Wolfsburg as some people say,but then,Wolfsburg have been poor themselves.
Kjaer was a target for us and United among other big teams,and I find it hard to believe that he has deteriorated over the past year.He is good in the air,good with feet,would compliment Agger(condition-Agger isnt crocked).In fact if Comolli and Kenny believe that we need a whole CB shakeup,then I'd think bringing in 2 CBs wouldnt be a bad idea either.That is our weakest link and we need to sort it out before the summer.

[Cpt_Reina]

Wickham's goal from Tuesday can be seen here...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9457322.stm

Nice little header.

Also had another effort chalked off for offside.

[Didi_ram]

I think a player would be foolish not to join us next season just because we wont have UCL football.We are a club financially stable,on the rise,with ambitions,with plans to reach the top again.With top players bought in the winter,and now with improved performances,I think we will be a decent attraction.
Remember Comolli saying a few weeks back that good players' agents were on the phone after the United game telling him how interested their clients would be,in joining us.

[Carlito Roberto]

To those that have seen Wickham play, what sort of striker is he? I know he's tall and good in the air but that's about all I know...

Does he have any pace?
Can he beat players?
Decent touch?

[OneTouchFooty]

Funny how Utd are chasing Rodwell, Adam, Young - Players that know how to beat lower league teams

Signed - Carrick, Rio, Rooney, Valencia all from midtable/lower league PL clubs.

and some on here are complaining about Adam, Cahill, Jose etc but wondering why we struggle against the lower half but how come UTD seem to brush the likes of Blackpoool and West Ham away when even giving them a 2 goal head start.

We lack balance and I for one hope we do sign Adam. Cahill, Young, Jose and 1 Marquee player plus a Wickham(Quality youth player) cause like I say we don't know how to beat the lower league clubs and we need some players that do.

Even at the time, players like Rooney, Ferdinand, Carrick even Valencia are a class above the likes of Adam, Jarvis and Young which we are sniffing around though.

[Fuzion6]

With regards the Birtish based players, I think Kenny could be a real help in attracting these players to the club. Just look at how Babel still talks about conversations he had with Kenny...and Ryan is from Holland. I really think Kenny is an outstanding man manager and a legend in most people's eyes...he knows what it is like playing at the top level and I really think Kenny could sway the likes of Cahill, Young, Wickham and Adam to choosing us ahead of others

[Discipline]

Liverpool eyeing Paris Saint-Germain's Mamadou Sakho - report
Versatile centre-back is reportedly on the Reds' radar, with a potential move thought to be a possibility if the chase for Bolton’s Gary Cahill fails to materialise
Find the best odds and bet on Ligue 1. Liverpool are believed to be interested in signing Paris St Germain defender Mamadou Sakho.

The 21-year-old has put in strong performances for the French club, and has captained his nation at several youth levels. The centre-back has also represented his country's senior national team.

Now The Mirror reports that Reds boss Kenny Dalglish will look to sign the Frenchman if the chase for Bolton Wanderers defender Gary Cahill proves fruitless.

Sakho, who can also play as a left-back, has in the past been linked with a move to Arsenal.
http://www.goal.com/en/news/11/transfer-zone/2011/04/14/2441048/liverpool-eyeing-paris-saint-germains-mamadou-sakho-report

It's goal.com but they're citing The Mirror. 

[DanA]

From the limited times I've seen Sakho he seems like a bit of a tool. He's still young and most young players seem that way to me but he's got a bit of the Balotelli about him.

I think the CB's I'd like the most are M.Richards, Cahill, Vertonghen & Subotic. Like all four of them for different reasons. Any one of them would be nice.

[Suarez7]

Here at Amsterdam we haven one great defender.
He's name is Jan Vertonghen. He is a winner and haven a world class pass.
If I was Comoli I will visit Ajax again and take a look at him.
He is also Belgium International.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9v9bb2aXC4

[Passmaster Molby]

I would like us to approach Birmingham for Roger Johnson in the summer - think the lad is a proper defender, a leader on the pitch and would be a great replacement for Carragher long term.

[rob1408]

Here at Amsterdam we haven one great defender.
He's name is Jan Vertonghen. He is a winner and haven a world class pass.
If I was Comoli I will visit Ajax again and take a look at him.
He is also Belgium International.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9v9bb2aXC4

He's been linked with Arsenal on a monthly basis.  I've seen him a few times for Ajax, looks a good player, he also scores quite a few goals for a central defender.

[imnofreak]

paul_tomkins Paul Tomkins
RT @bensmith_Times Gary Cahill, Jose Enrique, Ashley Young, Mamadou Sakho and Connor Wickham have all been identified as targets by #LFC

RT @bensmith_Times From everything I hear, #LFC have, for the first time in a long time, a very clear transfer strategy for the summer

dont know if it has been posted before .....but atleast now we have an indication of who we are after


sorry been posted before ...

I'd like to add another winger/inside forward to that list. I saw us linked with Vargas and Perotti somewhere, but don't remember the source.
That said, Suarez and Young behind Carroll would do nicely!.

[Discipline]

I miss the rumours w. Alexis Sanchez and Hazard. 

[Gmol]

I don't know how good either Cahill or Wickham are.  I've seen very little of them and so I won't say anything about them.

Young on the other hand, I'm not sold on at all.  He's rapid and he's got decent feet but I think there are more talented players out there who would cost only as much.  Young looks like he may got for the late tens or maybe even 20m but I really think that money would be better spent on someone like Sanchez who looks like he could easily be the spark we could do with.  He has the pace and ability we are looking for IMO.  I would have been delighted if the player we were linked was Adam Johnson and not Young but I would much rather Sanchez than either of them since I don't see us playing with a text book wide player.  

We seem to have two up front but one of the strikers seems to drop deep and once the play has progressed, the wide men seem to bomb past the strikers as well.  That really would suit both Young and Johnson but I reckon its tailor made for Sanchez.  In terms of ability on the ball, he is far ahead of the ones mentioned here. 

All that said, if we signed Young, it would still be a step in the right direction.  We haven't had someone with his pace for ages, especially out wide* where we could really use some pace.  Will certainly be an excellent outlet for us. 


I know we had Babel but he barely played and when he did, he flattered to deceive quite often.

Young is probably going to go for less than 15m while Sanchez will be closer to 30m. Also City would not sell us Johnson, Young is only available because he is coming to the end of his contract

[campioni]

It's apparently his buy-out clause. I wouldn't be certain one exists, but at the moment it's the selling clubs letting the figures out there. That's why Cahill is £20m, Young £25m and Wickham £15m. Once the first bids go in we can take a much more realistic guess at what they'll actually cost. It won't be that much, I'm sure.

Exactly. This is only the start of it. The selling clubs are setting down a marker for the players they know are on other clubs wanted lists. They will set their price high and hope to spark a bidding war. We will have to negotiate with them to get them down to a more realistic price, which i'm confident we will do.

My worry about Cahill is that its likely he will have his pick of clubs this summer and he will walk into pretty much any starting eleven. I'd love us to sign him but i'm not sure we'll be able to compete with both manchester clubs.

[Amin]

I miss the rumours w. Alexis Sanchez and Hazard. 

The more quiet it is the better. 

[rappcats]

The more quiet it is the better. 

smokescreen ?

[88_RED]

Honestly..I don't buy the into feeling that Torres has suddenly lost everything that made him a good striker, upon joining Chelsea.  I think a combination of Hodgson, and playing with Drogba, Anelka, and having no player that can really directly put him through on goal (clearly is greatest strength) and of course multiple injuries, have led to it looking like a decline (Of course the injuries take toll, as does age, but not as much as it appears).  He may never reach the level he did in his first season with us, but I think he still has it in his closet.   

And I never said I wanted a dream team.  Rather, just a player that plays against the mold.  The player that can spot a sneaky pass.  Using Carroll is important to this (or will be in the future) as he will draw defenders towards him (if we play as I'm expecting we play) but that one (just one) player whose movement and vision is consistently good enough to get through a defence is the most important peice in my opinion.   Like you said, we need the mindset, but without that player it's not going to change.   The other factor is the lower teams impression of us. With Torres in our side, they pretty much parked the bus so as to not get found out by his acceleration.   That made it even more difficult to break down.   But we can't change that straight away.  We can change what we have, and I feel that bit of consistent magic is what we need.
 
And if you look at the pl winners recently.  You look at Nani this year, Ronaldo before, Lampard and Drogba last year for Chelsea, all were not only capable of being that person but were pivotal in their team's triumph. In my opinion, we've now got one in Suarez.

edit: And I agree with you about Aqua.  If he's not willing to come here for the forseeable future (i.e. the remainder of his contract), then there's no point keeping him, as it's detrimental for a side still bulding, if the player leaves after a season.  If he's willing to come back for 3ish years then I'll welcome him back with open arms

Don't we already have this player in Suarez??

[Red Cez]

From the limited times I've seen Sakho he seems like a bit of a tool. He's still young and most young players seem that way to me but he's got a bit of the Balotelli about him.

Don't think he's anywhere near as highly strung as Balotelli. Sakho is definitely temperamental but that tends to only really relate to his off the pitch behaviour. On the pitch he's always been a driving force for PSG on the times I've watched him.

I think a better comparison in terms of behaviour would be players like Gallas, G.Neville (hate to say it) or or our own JC. Outspoken off the field but utterly driven born winners on the pitch.

[Discipline]

The more quiet it is the better. 

I guess.

[Caffeine]

I agree with most things Fordy has said over the lat few pages. Especially the examples of Utd buying players from lower down the league, very good.

Also Juan Loco's summary of Cahill was excellent.