Matthijs de Ligt

Mike D said:
That depends doesn't it ? If the General does going either in a part ex or just straight transfer we have to replace and this chap fits the bill perfectly.
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He fits the bill of replacing Stones or Laporte for me, not Kompany or Otamendi.

If either of those two go, we are looking for an occasional starter imo, maybe an older player not a young70 mil player.
 
Dax777 said:
He is a better tackler than John. He tackles like a young Vinny or Vidic. A bit of a bully tackler. And he is very good in the air. As an overall footballer, I think John's better. Both of our guys are.

But he is big, 19, and a bully. So understandably, there is lots of hype.

Personally, I don't think improvement at CB, even if achievable, pushes the needle of our overall improvement much.
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Even if it is achieveable, it's expensive & we have Silva & Fernandinho coming to the end of their careers plus Aguero a year or so away & we have 4 central defenders & two fantastic young prospects coming through.
 
I'm With Stupid said:
The point was that we play a difficult system and it takes some CBs longer than others to learn it. Some never learn it (but then bizarrely get given a new contract).
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I understood, that was part of my point. Laporte from an earlier age was given a tremendous amount of responsibility at a demanding club & fanbase while being tested by the best attackers & offenses in the world. Stones, by contrast developed with much less pressure I'd argue and only stands to reason it might take a player of this profile longer to adapt.

Of course, I think Stones is playing fine and remains a vital player
 
Imo we already have stones and laporte, a cb pairing that given a good run (which i think will happen next season) will cement itself as one of the best in football

The money available this season should be spent to get the player wants to replace Fernan and possible an additional striker
 
I like the player & will be happy if we sign him, but do we really needs him ?

How many CBs does any club need ?

We already have 5 when we only needs 4.

Fernandinho can cover there, and he always do well.

And we spent +30m on Danilo to cover RB, LB. He might be trained to be 5th/6th choice CB. ( Remember Kolarov and how well he played there)
 
Tevez City said:
I like the player & will be happy if we sign him, but do we really needs him ?

How many CBs does any club need ?

We already have 5 when we only needs 4.

Fernandinho can cover there, and he always do well.

And we spent +30m on Danilo to cover RB, LB. He might be trained to be 5th/6th choice CB. ( Remember Kolarov and how well he played there)
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It's widely reported that Ota will leave in the summer and as yet Kompanys contract also expires this summer.. that would leave us with Stones, Laporte and Mangala...
 
signing him would be a big statement. the born leader we are trying to find in john. his build and natural strength are very impressive.
 
Neville Kneville said:
He fits the bill of replacing Stones or Laporte for me, not Kompany or Otamendi.

If either of those two go, we are looking for an occasional starter imo, maybe an older player not a young70 mil player.
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I disagree with this. I think De Ligt is a natural leader, which means he can replace Otamendi or Kompany in the way that Stones, Laporte can't.

You watch the way he's carried that Ajax side and he's their talismanic leader, the Puyol/Kompany/Terry/Ramos figure. He organises and controls his teammates, he scores big goals (Spurs, Juventus, Feyenoord in the cup semi), he's calm when everyone else is panicking, he takes on responsibility to stop the oppositions big players - in the Juve game he was virtually tackling through his own players to stop Ronaldo at times.

I don't think he'll sign for us, but I think the difference between him and all the other big, young CB signings recently - Pavard, Kehrer, Stones, Laporte, Hernandez - none of them have been leaders like De Ligt is.
 
domalino said:
I disagree with this. I think De Ligt is a natural leader, which means he can replace Otamendi or Kompany in the way that Stones, Laporte can't.

You watch the way he's carried that Ajax side and he's their talismanic leader, the Puyol/Kompany/Terry/Ramos figure. He organises and controls his teammates, he scores big goals (Spurs, Juventus, Feyenoord in the cup semi), he's calm when everyone else is panicking, he takes on responsibility to stop the oppositions big players - in the Juve game he was virtually tackling through his own players to stop Ronaldo at times.

I don't think he'll sign for us, but I think the difference between him and all the other big, young CB signings recently - Pavard, Kehrer, Stones, Laporte, Hernandez - none of them have been leaders like De Ligt is.
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If he is a natural leader who can replace Kompany or Otamendi, then he is effectively replacing Stones or Laporte, as he will be the player picked, not the 3rd or 4th choice.

So we will spend 70 mil or more on a cb, to start.

Not our priority imo.
 
Neville Kneville said:
If he is a natural leader who can replace Kompany or Otamendi, then he is effectively replacing Stones or Laporte, as he will be the player picked, not the 3rd or 4th choice.

So we will spend 70 mil or more on a cb, to start.

Not our priority imo.
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I think Pep's lost faith in Stones, personally.

3 years under Pep and he's still not established himself as a first choice player.
 
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