Matthijs de Ligt

He plays in a high line for Ajax & The Netherlands and had no trouble up against Leroy 1v1 in the Germany/Holland match a few months back.

Mbappe tried a few times in the France/Netherlands game to knock it past him and gas him, with no luck.

He's not slow at all, and if you can deal with Mbappé you're more than fast and agile enough. I think the fact he's 6'4'' and absolutely massive makes his speed deceptive.

Good points. He's also physically strong, so, in that respect, he's much more akin to Otamendi than Stones or Laporte. Indeed, it's hard to see him being outmuscled in the manner Falcao outmuscled Stones.

I'd like him, as I think we could then offload Otamendi and Kompany, from the playing squad, but I imagine he'll be prohibitively expensive and available at a time when our immediate priorities require addressing. As I said earlier, I think it will fall to Barcelona, that lot, and maybe even Liverpool to fight over his signature.
 
Sorry, you never know on here...
Don’t be sorry, I was on the wind up to some degree. I don’t think he’s as good as some people make out.

I do think he’s got flaws though, especially in terms of body positioning and getting caught flat footed 1vs1 on occasion when I’ve watched him (albeit only on TV). He appears to be an “all or nothing” defender from the little I’ve seen, much like Otamendi when he first came lunging at anything that moved albeit at least de Ligt stays on his feet. Maybe I’m not giving him as much credit as he deserves but I just think he’s not quite there, at this moment in time there’s not a chance he could replace Stones or especially Laporte.
 
We've bought plenty of players who are third choice - Danilo, Gundogan, Mahrez in the current squad alone. None of them have the same right to play as the people they back up because they're nowhere near as good.

So that entire sentiment is very obviously fictitious.

My days, you're basing your whole argument on hindsight. Ridiculous.

Mahrez was not bought to be 3rd choice. Its been proven that way as the season has gone on due to him not settling as well as we all expected. At the start he was in the team. Hes not the standard of Leroy and Sterling at present. Who is?
Gundogan was wanted by all Europe's top clubs when he chose us. Further bad injuries and the emergence of Bernardo has pushed him out the picture now. He didn't expect to be 3rd choice.
Danilo was signed after Dani Alves fucked us off at the last minute he was an option we couldn't turn down as Chelsea wanted him too. Was Dani Alves gona be 3rd choice that season then? Walker had a superb first season and kept him out. He didn't sign to sit on the bench though as he is now showing.

So no, they weren't "3rd choice" signings at the time. So your happy ranking system is clearly fictitious.
 
Mahrez was not bought to be 3rd choice.

Not bought to be 3rd choice but no question he was not 1st choice in the market, he was a fallback alternative when Alexis was not available


Its been proven that way as the season has gone on due to him not settling as well as we all expected. At the start he was in the team. Hes not the standard of Leroy and Sterling at present. Who is?

He has struggled to settle which frustrates many fans but there is certainly a good rationale to allow for additional patience - even in the current makeup of the squad, everything did not click straight away in the first year under Pep


Gundogan was wanted by all Europe's top clubs when he chose us. Further bad injuries and the emergence of Bernardo has pushed him out the picture now. He didn't expect to be 3rd choice.

This is inaccurate, his injury history dropped his market value & the number of top clubs pursuing him. Perhaps not expecting to be 3rd choice but I don't believe even Pep saw him as 1st choice - rather as a key player in the rotation. I do think there's probably a bit too much emphasis placed on who the starting XI is when Pep likes a solid rotation


Danilo was signed after Dani Alves fucked us off at the last minute he was an option we couldn't turn down as Chelsea wanted him too. Was Dani Alves gona be 3rd choice that season then? Walker had a superb first season and kept him out. He didn't sign to sit on the bench though as he is now showing.

Danilo was signed for his versatility in being able to play either fullback position, centerback or even as DM - not really a true alternative to Alves but agree that he was expressly purchased for depth
 
This is an interesting one. If the rumours about Otamendi are true (and Pep did confirm he is unhappy) then we are potentially down two senior centre backs next season ( I assume Vinny will be offered a contract but will have restricted playing time). Obviously Stones and Laporte are first choice but are Garcia and Sandler ready to step up. What about Aradadabioyo ?

Personally I think that between the five options mentioned above we probably have plenty of cover for 2 centre back spots. Like many others on here I’d much rather the club concentrate on the full back and DM positions where we have greater need.
 
Not bought to be 3rd choice but no question he was not 1st choice in the market, he was a fallback alternative when Alexis was not available




He has struggled to settle which frustrates many fans but there is certainly a good rationale to allow for additional patience - even in the current makeup of the squad, everything did not click straight away in the first year under Pep




This is inaccurate, his injury history dropped his market value & the number of top clubs pursuing him. Perhaps not expecting to be 3rd choice but I don't believe even Pep saw him as 1st choice - rather as a key player in the rotation. I do think there's probably a bit too much emphasis placed on who the starting XI is when Pep likes a solid rotation




Danilo was signed for his versatility in being able to play either fullback position, centerback or even as DM - not really a true alternative to Alves but agree that he was expressly purchased for depth

Two things:
Mahrez. Yes, he was bought to play. We paid 60m. Hes our record signing.
Gundogan. Yes, it is very accurate. He had 1 year left on his Dortmund deal, hence the price of only 25m and we beat a host of clubs to sign him. Pep's first signing. A lot was hoped of him at the start.
 
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Two things:
Mahrez. Yes, he was bought to play. We paid 60m. Hes our record signing.
Gundogan. Yes, it is very accurate. He had 1 year left on his Dortmund deal, hence the price of only 25m and we beat a host of clubs to sign him. Pep's first signing. A lot was hoped of him at the start.

Mahrez might be the record signing but he was not 1st choice, I believe that was the point the OP had made referring to shifting priorities in the market

Gundogan was an early signing for Pep but was not a coveted player in the market and a far cry from the interest he generated a few years earlier before the injuries began. Let's not look over the fact that City bought him when he was even still injured.
 
Mahrez might be the record signing but he was not 1st choice, I believe that was the point the OP had made referring to shifting priorities in the market

Gundogan was an early signing for Pep but was not a coveted player in the market and a far cry from the interest he generated a few years earlier before the injuries began. Let's not look over the fact that City bought him when he was even still injured.
So wheres de ligt going then? Seems like he’s def moving, and if the prevailing thought is he’d only go to a top club where he’s a guaranteed starter, I’m not seeing many options. City have their current group as discussed. Barca already have Pique, Umtitti, Langlet and just signed that young guy from France. PSG have Silva, Marquinhos, Kehrer and Kimpebe. Juve are loaded at CB. I guess you could argue Real, but is De ligt unseating Ramos right away?? Point being I don’t know that we can just say “oh he’d have to share time at City, no way then.” and pretend he walks into the starting lineup at any other huge club.
 

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