Blue's Red Devil Transfer Wish List

The dust is settling on United's mad dash to third place. Now our team is finally taking a much-deserved breather before the Europa League, and beyond that the 20-21 Premier League Season. With Champions League now looming, and Ole’s firm statement (evidenced by the lack of squad rotation) that the team lacks quality in squad depth, I think it is now the time to talk transfers.

Transfer Season is the most wonderful time of the year where all of us arm chair managers put pencil to paper and scribble out a wish list to Santa for Deadline Day Morning. I too, have decided to go ahead and make a list for who I would have in and out of the club with a few stipulations.

1.) The net spend cannot exceed 150m USD, as this seems to be the budget that the board sets each season. There will likely be about 23m USD in wiggle room due to the extra money coming in from CL qualification, so I can be forgiven for going slightly over. I use USD as that is how the Glazers are likely looking at these deals.

2.) Valuations are based on what is available from Transfermarkt. I think realistically some players will vary in pricing depending on where they go (i.e. English players have premium pricing in the PL).

3.) The primary goal is to add quality in depth after getting a true RW. It seems our Starting XI is competitive enough to take on most any team when fully fit, but there are a few key players who do not have a direct replacement if they need a rest or are injured.

EDIT: I have added some players to the Sell list and targeted Donny Van De Beek over Jack Grealish.

Get In:

Jadon Sancho – 129m USD valuation

What more needs to be said. He’s English, young, and one of the top rising stars in the world of football. A marquee signing that instantly adds a huge threat to the United attack. If we can afford him, we should get him. United have no true RW either, so Sancho makes for an obvious target. Greenwood remains the RW or Striker substitute, and a great one at that.

Milan Skriniar – 53m USD valuation

Skriniar would be a hard player to get Inter Milan to part with, but I think Manchester United still need a top quality CB. To be fair, Maguire and Lindelof have made a solid Premier League partnership. I just do not think they have what it takes to propel United through the Champions League. After a RW, I believe this is where we need to spend dollars. If we cannot get Inter to part with the excellent 24-year-old Slovakian, perhaps Inter could part with the 28-year-old De Vrij. Another excellent CB who was getting minutes for the Dutch National Team before Van Dijk and De Ligt took the starting places.

UPDATE: Donny Van De Beek – 49m USD valuation

I originally had Jack Grealish in this slot, but after having some discussions with other supporters I think United should be more aspirational in the signing of a depth Number 10. Van De Beek has been sublime for Ajax, demonstrating great technical ability and composure on the ball. The 23-year-old Dutchman demonstrates a natural understanding of the game, and has no trouble slotting in at the Number 8 role as well. This is an important signing as there is no Number 10 currently on the squad that can satisfactorily fill in for Bruno Fernandes. Donny Van De Beek would immediately add great quality to the United bench and should be a top target in my opinion.

Alejandro Grimaldo - 31m USD valuation

Looking at the United roster, I realized that we only have one left-footed fullback in Luke Shaw. Brandon Williams can fill in at Left-Back, but he was originally a Right-Back competing with Ethan Laird on the youth squad. I think competition in the LB position, and some real depth there, could be vital for our squad as we push for some silverware in the 20-21 season. The 24-year-old Spaniard has really impressed me in his time as SL Benfica's starting LB, with many fans saying that he deserves a call up for the Spanish National Team to challenge Alba.

Teun Koopmeiners - 17m USD valuation

Primarily a depth signing, the 22 year old has been very good for AZ Alkmaar in the Eriedivisie. He just recently captained the team to a second place finish in the Dutch league. Koopmeiners specializes in long balls from deep midfield and has quite an accurate freekick technique. On top of his vision and passing range, the Dutchman has been filling in at Left Centerback for a good part of AZ's season and has demonstrated a great understanding of defensive positioning and tackling technique. Koopmeiners could add some low cost, high quality depth to our defensive midfield position. A position which is only occupied by the aging Matic and challenged by the more box-to-box focused McTominay.

Odion Ighalo – 5m USD valuation

I think getting Ighalo into the squad permanently would be a great squad depth signing. Obviously not the most exciting or talented person in this list, Ighalo would be a true bench player. I see him only starting in matches in lower league FA Cup ties, but Ighalo has shown that he is a decent sub even in big games with his hold up play. The main issue is whether or not Ighalo would be willing to take the pay cut from the Chinese Super League to spend most of his time on United's bench.

Gross Spend - 284m USD

Get Out:

Phil Jones – 7.5m USD valuation

A great meme player, but I think we would rather win trophies than memes.

Eric Bailly – 20m USD valuation

I really do rate Bailly and hate to put him on the out list, but he spends far too long injured. Let’s send him to Inter for one of their Centerbacks, or let him go back to La Liga.

Andreas Pereira – 17.5m USD valuation

One of the most disliked players on my Out list, he just lacks the quick decision making skills required to play in the Premier League. Pereira is quite technically gifted, so perhaps a switch back La Liga or Serie A would be a good move for him.

Alexis Sanchez – 17.5m USD valuation

Definitely the most disliked player on this list. Inter want him, let them have him. He could go for free for all I care, but he has a 17.5m USD value so lets try to get some money.

Juan Mata – 10m USD valuation

I love Juan, I do. Just not enough to keep him on the squad if we can never play him. If we are not going to play him, or make him a coach, let’s clear some space for new talent.

Jesse Lingard – 20m USD valuation

I have always been a big fan and supporter of Lingard. We all know he has gone through an incredibly tough year personally, and it seems to have really distracted from his game. He does put in a lot of effort whenever he is on the pitch and has a great engine, but it is just not enough to make it worth keeping him in the squad to me. I say, Lingard goes to a club with less pressure and gets his head back in the game. Best wishes.

Diogo Dalot – 20m USD valuation

United has had some bad luck with fullbacks going back to the end of the Fergie years. Thankfully, Luke Shaw has improved massively and Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been a revelation. We even have excellent youngsters coming up in Ethan Laird, Brandon Williams, and the occasional cameo by Timothy Fosu-Mensah. Therefore, I think it is time to part ways with Diogo Dalot. While I do think Dalot is a good player, and talented going forward, he clearly has not earned OGS's confidence.

Marcos Rojo - 9m USD valuation

I forgot that Rojo is still a United player. If you are that forgettable, you are not a United player.

Chris Smalling - 17.5m USD valuation

Smalling has actually been pretty solid for AS Roma during his loan stint. I do not think he could replicate his current level of performances in the Premier League, and I think it is time for him to move on while we look for better defenders.

Gross Revenue - 139m USD

20-21 Starting XI

Ones to Watch:

This list is for current United players who I think are worth keeping and have something to prove in 20-21.

Ethan Laird:

Originally the young fullback with the most promise, injuries have kept Ethan Laird sidelined this season while Brandon Williams went into the limelight. The 18 year old academy player will be hungry for minutes at RB to prove he has what it takes to wear the shirt for the first team.

Daniel James:

James had a lot of us quite excited at the beginning of the season scoring goals in a few of the early matches. Since then, James has not looked the same player and has struggled to get first team minutes since the restart. I think coming in as a rotation player on his more natural LW position, rather than as the defacto RW, will give him some chances to gain confidence and come into his own.

Fred & McTominay:

If Fred and McTominay had not made their renown partnership while Pogba was injured and Matric was off pace, our season may have ended in November. When they got their rhythm going, these two seemed to disrupt every play the opposition would make. The main issue is that Fred is a bit lacking in forward creativity and McTominay struggles being the standalone Defensive Midfielder on the pitch. Neither of these players have been able to establish the same report with the other deep-lying midfielders they could be paired with, but hopefully that comes with time in the upcoming season.

David De Gea:

A couple of years ago I would have gone to war for De Gea, planting his flag as the best goalkeeper in the world. We have all seen the tiny mistakes, the lapses in concentration, and his xG conceded being precisely average for a Premier League keeper this season. That being said, De Gea is one of ours. He struggled his first couple of seasons with us, took a lot of stick, and improved massively. I have complete faith De Gea has the mentality to turn his form around. We will have to see how it goes, for now De Gea is a big question mark for many fans.

Brass Tacks:

Looks I come in slightly under the net spend cap, at a net spend of 145m USD for the 20-21 season. Again, this is just purely based on market values, who knows if any of our players will sell on for their supposed market value.

United have a lot of questions heading into the 20-21 Season, but it finally looks like we are nearing the end of the rebuild. Coming off of a third place finish, back in Champions League football, and perhaps the best shot at some real silverware since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

What do you think? Who would you add to the list or take off? Let me know in the comments, and thanks for reading.

Glory Glory