Transfer Wishlist: Neuer, Milner & Dzeko
United need quality reinforcements for title push
With the English Premier League season drawing to an anti-climatic close, both the staff and players will be looking back at this season knowing that they had missed a great opportunity to lift a 19th top-flight title. While United only lost out to Chelsea by a solitary point, they seldom played the swash-buckling football, which has been the hallmark of most great United teams.
On the basis of this season, United need not make whole-sale changes, but some quality reinforcements are needed.
With Ben Foster on the cusp of leaving for Birmingham City, United should look to replace him with a keeper of genuine quality. A keeper who can potentially take over from Edwin van der Sar and be United’s number 1 custodian for years to come.
I believe that man to be Manuel Neuer. At only 24, he has become a colossal figure for Schalke 04 and will be Germany’s number one choice at the World Cup in South Africa due to an injury to Rene Adler. At 6ft 4 1/2in he cuts a commanding figure, but has lightning fast reflexes and has proven that he can perform at the highest levels, both for club and country. His one-man show against Porto is one of the best goalkeeping performances I’ve ever seen.
The next area that needs sorting out is United’s midfield.
There’s has been a genuine lack of drive from midfield over the last two seasons. Darren Fletcher has improved leaps and is now recognized as top player, but in a number of games his season, it looked like he was the only central midfielder taking the game to the opponents. Michael Carrick has had his worst season yet. Anderson needs to decide if he truly wants to play for Manchester United and then commit to giving 101% in every match. Either shape up or ship out. As far as I’m concerned, we shouldn’t give up on Owen Hargreaves yet, as he has much to prove and is a player who is never fazed by the occasion.
With both Giggs and Scholes heading for their last season, it is imperative to add a midfielder of proven quality.
With over 3oo games in the Premier League and going from strength to strength, I would love to see 24 year-old James Milner in the red of Manchester United. He has incredible workrate, has more guts than Michael Carrick could ever dream of, can do a bit of everything and can take the game to the opponent. He is also versatile and can play anywhere across the middle of the park. Having scored 12 goals this season, he would also add goals from midfield, which we did lack this season.
Many have called for the likes of Modric, Silva, Hamsik or Gourcuff, but Milner would be a perfect fit at United and offer a bit of steeliness too. Besides Modric, the other players would require some time adapting to the prem. A luxury I don’t think we can afford in the midfield department.
Finally, we have lacked sufficient firepower upfront and Wayne Rooney has expressed the need for an additional striker. Looking at the strikers we have, we seem to lack a classic centre forward who can also score goals and the man who has impressed most in that mould over the last two seasons is Wolfsburg’s Ediz Dzeko.
1986 must have been a good year for football, as Dzeko shares the same age as Neuer and Milner. He has scored 65 goals in 87 matches over the last two seasons including a goal against Manchester United and finished this season as the Bundesliga’s top scorer.
At 6ft 3 1/2 in he would provide a considerable focal point upfront and a good foil for Wayne Rooney. He has the physical presence and strength to retain the ball, keep defenders busy and bring others into play. He also is a proven goalscorer, bagging 101 career goals in 218 matches, so almost 1 goal every two matches. Dzeko would also provide a genuine aerial threat and his movement is definitely quicker than Berbatov, especially in the box.
Truth be told, I’d be chuffed if Fergie even just signed 1 of the above-mentioned players, but if by some off-chance United signed more than one of them, I would be absolutely ecstatic.
May 11th, 2010 at 2:33 am
I’ve been saying to all me mates that i want Dzeko and Milner… Its a shame Berbatov doesn’t fancy a nice spell at Wolfsburg… I think we’ll stick with one up though so i can’t imagine Dzeko would wanna be a rotation player. Milner would be quality though and he wouldn’t wanna go Madrid in 3-4 years. I’ve never really seen Neuer i’ve heard of him though. Personally i like a keeper in their late 20′s early 30′s with plenty of International experience VDS is brilliant at gamesmonship… you can’t put a price on that sort of experience.
May 11th, 2010 at 3:13 am
Milner and Dzeko are prove players with unquestionable mentality. Dzeko didn’t look out of his depth against United and seem to relish playing on the big stage. Milner has blossomed in the middle. Ppl say he’s limited, but he can pick a pass and his positional play is great. Possibly quite an underrated expect of his game. gets in the way of many attacks and gets in opponents face. would luv to have him at OT.
May 11th, 2010 at 3:41 am
well its only one day old in transfer specteltion. today we have being heavily linked with hugiun real madrid strike i say he will be coming my is young only 22 years of ages, 2 reason fergie wants to buy young palyers. disavangtes man city probaly get hinm with there money. my dreanm teanm next seaspn.
red knights in galzers out fergie to stay
van der aar
raphea; vidc smalling evra
david silva or joe cole milner flecther nani
up front rooney hugiun not bad teeam people might say why smalling is there well i think rio will be injured start of the season no surpise there and smailling he will impress fergie in per season and he will put for the start of the season and will get better each season. if we dont sing joe cole we will sing david silva
May 11th, 2010 at 3:59 am
Fergie is well aware of the World Cup, so with Rio and Vidic, as well as several other United players on duty, he will want an extra body for cover in defence, thus Chris Smalling.
Silva is a very good player and did well against us in pre-season, but he just strikes me as very small for the premier league. People will point to Zola, but i think Zola had more body strength than David Silva who does look quite frail.
I doubt United will get Higuain, but would be absolutely chuffed. Pipito is a great player and prolific scorer.
May 11th, 2010 at 4:21 am
Milner,Hamsik,Dzeko,Higuin,Defour…In
Berbatov,carrick,Hargreaves,Foster….Out
It’s Rafaels year next year………..
May 11th, 2010 at 5:18 am
Silva, Van Der Vaart, Milner, Hamsik, Dzeko, Defour, Fabiano, Gourcouff, Alexis Sanchez, joe Cole. Some would be a quick fix to enable the youngsters to be slowly bedded in and some would be an investment.
May 11th, 2010 at 5:49 am
I watch a lot of Bundesliga games and, as good as Neuer can be, he is also capable of a few howlers. René Adler is just as brilliant, and, week in/week out, more consistent. Plus I think Bayer Leverkusen will give United a better deal, especially because they’d prefer not to lose him to Bayern München, who also need a goalie. Higuain is very expensive and Benzema, already a despised Prima Dona in the French national team’s dressing room, does not want to leaveMadrid for Manny. I like Dzeko, although he’s also very expensive and not too quick. I am intrigued by Mauro Boselli, who IS quick, 5’11″ and ready, willing and able to bang. We definitely need a hard-man holding midfielder. Lassana Diarra really is quality and expensive. Moussa Sissoko is also superb, but still young. Another alternative is the relegated Hertha Berlin’s Gojko Kacar, a machine of a midfielder with the ticker of Park Ji-Sung. Last, but not least, I’d love to see Eden Hazard or Steven Dufour creating a Belgian contingent in the midfield.
May 11th, 2010 at 6:18 am
United needs a world class finisher who can deliver even when hope is lost,
Dzeko is a perfect match here. Player like Milner can turn game around.
May 11th, 2010 at 10:48 am
i cant believe how good neuer is….he will be much cheaper than Buffon too.
dzeko looks quality too, we lost this year because berbatov couldnt carry the load when rooney was out, so would love to get him in and send berbatov to russia for a while.
milner, modric or silva would all go well in exchange for carrick, anderson and hargreaves
how can the english team even think of considering hargreaves and not joe cole?!
May 11th, 2010 at 12:55 pm
Ivor Irwin
- I agree on Neuer and indicated as much. Adler did do himself favours with his gaffe against England though. Neuer has made more saves 80 compared to Adler’s 56. And is a better distributor of the ball, making twice as many successful passes out to the outfield players, so he offers more than Adler. Also Neuers saves 73% of the shots on target, while Adler saves 61%. Worthy stats.
I’d be happy with either one of them, to be honest. I just believe more in Neuer. Even Hugo Lloris has made some mistakes recently. All keepers do, but by and large he is still a good keeper. As is Akinfeev.
However, I prefer goalkeepers to be tall like VDS. Another reason I prefer Neuer over Akinfeev.
I have not been able to watch Boselli in actual matches. Seems to fit the mould of the type of centre forward we need though. http://www.redforcerising.net/2010/04/28/video-silly-season-rumour-mauro-boselli/
May 11th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Kuszack may be given more chances next season to prove himself. Ivor, I watched the Hertha game recently and was impressed with their midfield, Kacar, Cicero and Raffael all seem to have the skill and pace, then again at the highest level, one never knows…. If we are going to be including the likes of Wellbeck, Macheda, Diouf and Hernandez more,there is no point bringing in a striker who will curtail their progress. Goal scoring mid fielders would be a better option.
May 11th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Force, I see your point, but stats have to be placed in perspective. Drill sergeant Felix Magath’s defences reflect his obsession with shape and definitely punch above their weight, so Neuer has the advantage, to be sure. Bayer Leverkusen’s defence, by comparison, is often sloppy and disorganized. Adler spends a lot of time working hard and screaming at his ‘protectors’. My point is more in terms of what guaranteed classy players cost versus definite bargains. As Elvido says, you never know. I like Kucszak, too. Perhaps Ferguson will sign the French kid we’ve got on trial from the Bulgarian club and keep Kucszak (I’m frightened of anything Bulgarian!). If we sign a delicate luxury item like David Silva or Neymar, the desperate need for a player like Kacar or Sissoko becomes even more urgent.
May 12th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Neuer has been very impresive in that match… like Akinfeev did when he face MU… Neuer n Akinfeev will be a better option than Buffon who is a bit overrated… i prefer Dzeko or Benzema than Higuain or Villa, which i think we need a tall centre forward to heading, since Berbatov’s heading is bullshit… however i think Benzema is faster than Dzeko, make him a more potential to Rooney’s partner… among the young strikers i feel that only Macheda will make it in MU… Diouf n Welbeck will juz b another Campbell, meanwhile Hernandez still unproven… so loan out Macheda for more first team action to replace Berbatov n Owen in the future, bring in Benzema or Dzeko in the starting lineup,Berbatov n Owen at the bench…
May 12th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
C.Ronaldo is a complete player, who has speed, strength, height n good in shooting, dribbling, heading, freekick n penalty. He is much more complete than Rooney n Messi. Rooney himself cannot fill the void left by Ronnie, but Benzema has the potential. Benzema is fast, strong n creative. He would be a good partner for Rooney. In the midfield role i think we need another centre midfield, n bring in a left wing to play the attacking role, since Nani is more comfortable in right flank. Ribery is what we need, who is a world-class winger and a playmaker. Silva can considered as a second-choice.
May 26th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
[...] Not for Steve and not for Wolfsburg’s fans, but because Bosnian stiker Edin Dzeko is on my transfer wishlist. I was and still am hoping that Sir Alex can use his relationship with McClaren to sign one of the [...]