News: The rebuild goes on... - The summer 2020 transfer thread

Why United (and a host of other clubs) are interested in Bellingham.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...ster-united-jude-bellingham-transfer-17897399

 

Partey, Zakaria and Soumare are similar in the terms of CMs they are: the difference between them is their age, and obviously the fact they are in different stages in their career (and development, especially in Soumare's case).
Would absolutely welcome either one of them at the club. A physical and athletic 6/8 type is precisely the type I'd favor in terms of a midfield addition at this juncture. All 3 also appear to be available at reasonable prices to boot as well. But considering what we currently have in our midfield, a player like those 3 would round it out very, very well.

 

We can not say with any certitude whether Partey won't leave Atleti or not. Virtually nothing has changed from last season when he was ready to leave and was believe to favor a move to England, despite being a regular in a very successful Atleti side. The reason why he didn't leave then was because no one, amazingly enough, formally made an approach for him.
His contract with Atleti is the same, evidenced by his release clause which has remained unchanged. And based on his continued excellent play this season, there are sure to be suitors for him this time around. There are already reports of Arteta and Arsenal being very interested in bringing him in.
While there are no guarantees of course, but we really should make an approach and gauge his interest in coming to United. Worst comes to worst, he's not interested and the club moves on to an alternative.
That said, if the club's interest in Zakaria proved to be legit, then that has to be good as it shows they are on the right track in terms of their CM target.

 

Speaking of Partey, watching him over both legs vs Pool, he really was sensational, especially in terms of his defensive work and workrate. But the numbers clearly back that up. Hard to believe he'd go another summer without a couple of clubs trying to pry him away from Madrid.

37 – Against Liverpool Thomas Partey regained possession a total of 37 times over the two legs – more than any other player from either team. His 37 possession regains made up 20.1% of Atlético's total possessions over the two games.

Alpha. pic.twitter.com/js7iM3FlBv

— UtdArena (@UtdArena) March 13, 2020

 

The time to buy a top of the line (or potentially top of the line) CB has passed. With more pressing needs on the table at this time, can't see us spending big on a CB, despite the repeated rumors about Koulibaly for instance.
Guys like Upamecano or Konate (and even Koulibaly to a lesser extent) would be great additions but we're good right now at CB, even if Jones and Rojo leave this summer as expected.
We're looking at a quartet of Maguire, Lindelöf, Bailly and Tuanzebe right now. Even with the last 2 constant injury risks, not sure where that leaves room for another CB.
Whatever money we do have available for the upcoming window, I want to see it spent on a RW/RWF, a holding mid and probably on making Ighalo permanent also. We'll probably be tapped out after that in all likelihood to afford someone like Upamecano.

 

#mufc and Liverpool are both interested in Borussia Mönchengladbach defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria. He will leave Gladbach this summer if they don’t qualify for the Champions League. #muzone [Sport Bild] pic.twitter.com/YwvPGlN2Xp

— United Zone (@ManUnitedZone_) March 18, 2020

Bild confirming to an extent, Sky Germany's previous report here. Gladbach are determined to keep, so it would stand to reason that CL qualification would be imperative for them to do so (currently sitting 4th and final CL place in the Buli table at this time).
Pool's interest unfortunately is not totally unexpected. Guessing they'll be looking to refresh the squad as much as they can to truly stay competitive (this group has been on a 3yr run after all). So they'd be an obstacle to deal with: would def be much easier if we are able to offer CL ourselves.

 

#mufc are, for certain, in the market for a holding midfielder #mulive [the athletic]

— utdreport (@utdreport) March 19, 2020

According to The Athletic at least (so it may carry some weight). At the end of the day, what the club does in midfield rests, as it's always been the case really, on what happens with Pogba.
If Pogba stays, the odds are very good we'll be going for a holding mid (with Grealish no longer on the agenda). Conversely, if Pogs goes, I imagine that the focus on a player to replace him and that brings us back to Grealish. Although, I have nothing against Grealish and believe he'd a solid addition to our squad, definitely believe also that a top holding mid is paramount and should be the focus no matter what. TBD though and we can only hope that the report above proves factual.
Not sure that Bellingham will happen either, with rumors apparently indicating that he's determined to join Dortmund. Which honestly makes all the sense in the world for a kid like him, given their recent record with young talent in recent years.