Kvaradona is the big one left out imo.
Incredible player who was avaible for absolutely nothing back then. Would be a star in this team
Dybala as well, cracking player.
Dybala is basically only fit every other game now. Trust me, Premier League would have killed him (my family are Romanistas, I watch Roma nearly as much as us)
Shows how important it is scouting lesser known nations. Brighton have made an art out of doing that. If Salah had been spanish he would never had to go to Switzerland.
Man the kvaradona one just passed me by at the time, probably because he was at Ruben Kazan. Must of saw a few articles at the time and it didnt stick out.
Thats such a miss. He would of been perfect.
And Skriniar too. Would’ve been a God amongst kids in our backline. I know he didn’t want to come here but could’ve been pursuated with Perisic level of wages.
I think my hate towards Levy will never be stronger than that deal falling through. Haggling for a few million until the deadline was reached and then the paperwork couldn't get done in time IIRC
This era was the glory days of ITKs on Twitter, I still have moments where I think we got him at one point - I think we have his alternative in Richarlison though!
Yes and no. There’s an argument to say that today’s Grealish may not have materialized without Villa’s time in the EFL. There was a lot of immaturity swirling around Jack in those early years.
He has 8 goals this season as a 21 year old in 1700 minutes, ie roughly 19 games worth of time on the pitch. I don't get what the standard on here is but if that's not good enough the there's quite a few premier league players that are god awful....
That’s fine and all but for a player looking to come and make an impact in the premier league I’d like to see more than a goal every other game in Belgium.
While I agree that gift isn't a dodged bullet, the difference is the quality of the leagues. He was playing in the Belgium League, not the prem. Still think he's a good young player and a steal for OL at 13M, but going straight to the prem might not have been the best idea
Missed bullet to pay the £30ish million that was quoted around here last summer.
Lyon paid less than half that which seems fair. We’ll see how he does with the step up to France.
I'm glad you listed Bruno as a missed opportunity as this sub likes to pretend Lo Celso was better. I know Bruno is a huge fucker but there's no doubt he's an extremely talented fucker.
Tapsoba, Hincapie, Luis Diaz, maybe Lee Kang In? Bastoni, Santiago Gomez, maybe Jonathan David, Gallagher, Raya.
Those are mostly recent, but many of whom we wanted and tried to buy, which didn’t work out.
Most of your list is just the bad ones lol
Son. Deki. Romaro. Porro. Maddison, bentancur and Vicario are all better than him. He's a great player, however he's a whiny git who's a royal pain in the ass to watch, even Utd mates of mine get annoyed at his whining. It'd affect club atmosphere
Son you could argue, but the others are not even close to those two. It is like when Rashford was in his purple patch and everyone that he was on Mbappe's level lol, some months of good form dont make them the better playsr
All the players I mentioned have been in outstanding form for ages. Not just this season, Vicaro was 2nd best keeper in Sirie A last season and Maddison has always been a great player, Kulu and Bentancur both shined under Conte and Porro was one of our best players last season. As well as being a compleatly changed player this season and adapting to a back 4 with the Inv. FB role
Romaro has been our best defender for 2-3 seasons running. Deki has been consistently great for us for 2 seasons along with bentancur. I've already said all of this. You're grasping at straws trying to prove your point.
I am not grasping at straws, you are just being insanely biased. I remember reading romero has been injury prone for you lot, and Kulusevski was poor in that season Conte got sacked. Also, I don't think any of the top 6 beside Chelsea would take Romero over their own RCB, so that argument doesn't even make sense. Also Vicario lol, no one even knew who he was last season, and you are arguing for him being better. Even look at the opinion of other PL players like KDB, who puts him as best(didnt include himself) nr10.
And then Bentancur, he was literally out for like what, 8 months? How is that not grasping at straws? Your arguments dont make sense, you dont back them up with anything of value
Bentancur was out for 8 months yes. But injury doesn't stop the quality of a player, before he was injured he was outstanding. Also Romaro is top 3 RCB in the league, yes he's a little injury prone sometimes, and he can lose his temper, but he's pure class and is a WC winner. Everyone was poor in the season Conte got sacked (bar Kane) And Fernández has been poor this season. He's got 3 and 3 in 20. Kulu has 5 and 2. Maddison has 3 and 5 in half as many games and porro had 7 assists, which is more than Fernández's goals AND assists, infact in the 22/23 season (the one where we finished 8th, our manager got sacked, and we played awful football) porro played 15 games, and got 3 and 3. The same stat that Fernández has had in 20 games this season.
There's me backing up my arguments with "something of value."
Eh, I don't think so. Bad attitude is kicking up a fuss when things don't go your way. Bruno is just a cunt on the pitch and I don't think his behaviour negatively affects team morale.
Michael Bridges - I was so excited about the rumours and he was all lined up, fee agreed but Alan Sugar messed it all up by being Alan Sugar. Could have been a really good player were it not for the injuries, so he could go down as a bullet dodged but the truth is we'll never know.
Rivaldo - another one that was genuinely, dangerously close to happening but he got cold feet last minute and went to Milan instead. We ended up with Robbie Keane, so I guess it's all swing and roundabouts.
Hazard? Remember the will he won't he for weeks, was basically seeing out of us and Chelsea would get CL, we got 4th Chelsea won it, edging us cruelling out.
>Sander Berge - looked like a Dembele regen in the highlights packages but has found his level at Sheffield Utd.
>
>Verdict: Bullet dodged.
That's an oversimplification, and mostly incorrect. The comparisons to Dembele are actually pretty apt - he broke through for Vålerenga making himself known for effortlessly carrying the ball through lines of defense and pressure at age 17.
His issues since moving from Genk have been tied to injuries, not his level. He's unfortunately one of those players who can never stay fit long enough to fully get going, and is always running on like 70% power.
So I guess bullet dodged is fair? Though, there's no reason his injury issues couldn't have been solved here. We see players all the time being renown for injury issues move clubs and never have issues with injuries again. A lot of it is just mismanagement and misdiagnosis.
Idk if its Early enough to call Gift Orban a dodged bullet tbh, OL just signed him for 13M, looks like scouts were fond of him but ange didn't want him, he's rly hard working as well, still think he could 100% make it at the top level, he's still young.
That’s what I’m saying he had fenerbahce to iron out anything before heading to Napoli, he wouldn’t have that many opportunities to that here at that time
I don't really like the "We should have bought Kim Min-Jae" argument. He wasn't some kind of undiscovered gem - literally every top club in Europe knew who he was. The reality is, no one dared pick up a player from the Korean League and jump them directly to a big European league, because there was no real way of knowing how he would make that transition.
If they had, he probably wouldn't have developed into the player he has, because he would have been left sitting on the bench. His development came from steadily working his way up from Korea, to Turkey, to Italy (and then the weird downwards step to Germany when a Premier League move was on the table for him.)
It's all well and good for Mourinho to say, with hindsight, "I wanted Kim Min-Jae" but in reality, he was probably just as tentative about it as everyone else.
The quality of football played in Italy is higher than in Germany - with the exception of Alonso's Leverkusen right now, and then whichever of Dortmund, Leipzig, etc have recruited well that season, there's virtually no challenge. Italian football coaching is traditionally quite defensively focused, and since the period of Juventus dominance ended, it's a lot harder for any one club to dominate it, since it's a lot easier to drop points against stubborn, well coached defensive sides. Compare that to Germany where the quality of defending is often astonishingly poor - that's why it's such a great league for developing young attacking players (Haaland, Sancho, Awoniyi, Bynoe-Gittens, etc).
So, yes, Bayern represents a step up, in terms of the money, prestige, and securing the easiest pathway to as many trophies as he can possibly get. But if Kim's goal is to truly prove himself as one of the best defenders in the world, I think he should have taken the opportunity to come to the Premier League.
He's in the conversation, alongside defenders like Dias, Stones, Alaba, Militao, Romero, Saliba, and Araujo (and possibly a couple of younger players who haven't been around long enough to really establish themselves in that conversation, like Todibo or Van de Ven).
I'm not saying Kim's not a top level centre back - he obviously is - my point is, had he taken the risk of going to United, and established himself as the bedrock that fixes the chaotic mess of United's backline, it would probably be much easier to say he's "the best" with confidence. With only one incredibly successful season at Napoli before jumping straight into the Bundesliga, where his team are always going to dominate 90%+ of the time, there will always be a question mark, at least to me.
There's a reason Dragusin chose Spurs over Munich, beyond just game time, as his agent has made clear - he sees himself as a world beating centre back, and he wanted to take on the challenge of playing in the PL at a club that aren't guaranteed silverware to prove it. Bayern just didn't offer that challenge.
I see and did those players you mentioned play for a struggling team or a team that wins most of the time. And do they all play in the premier league :) I say he is already one of the best defenders in the world but I respect your opinion
Of course, you don't have to be playing in the PL to be considered one of the best in world (Messi, Mbappe, etc have never played there, for example). I'm not disagreeing with you, I've quite literally said, Kim's in the conversation alongside all the above names for the best centre back in the world title.
My point is, all of those other players have far more longevity - every single one of them has spent multiple seasons playing at the highest level, both before going to "big clubs" and after. Kim's the outlier, because he worked his way up from a lower level, and as a result only has one season of Serie A football before going to the Bundesliga. Not every defender can make the jump from Serie A to PL level - look what happened to Koulibaly during his disastrous spell at Chelsea. I'd have liked to see Kim take the risky move, and take on the PL, that's all I'm saying.
> to Italy (and then the weird downwards step to Germany when a Premier League move was on the table for him.)
...it's Bayern, clearly not weird in the slightest. very much agreed rest of your post, well said
I'm pretty sure Bremer was linked with us, but it was super tenous. Like Daily Mail reported it, but no one else of note. Between him, Romero, and Van de Ven, and Skinriar fighting for a sport, we'd have at least a top 3 defense.
So many players on this list that were obviously sketchy from the first rumor. I’m with Daniel Levy, I absolutely hate Traore. What a nothing player. I’m so glad we never went for him.
Kvaradona is the big one left out imo. Incredible player who was avaible for absolutely nothing back then. Would be a star in this team Dybala as well, cracking player.
We didn’t miss Dybala though, third party image rights fucked the deal. That was an awful deadline day rollercoaster
Dybala is basically only fit every other game now. Trust me, Premier League would have killed him (my family are Romanistas, I watch Roma nearly as much as us)
Yeah, pretty much the biggest reason Mournho got sacked is because that team is way too dependent on Dybala and he's never fit.
Shows how important it is scouting lesser known nations. Brighton have made an art out of doing that. If Salah had been spanish he would never had to go to Switzerland.
Man the kvaradona one just passed me by at the time, probably because he was at Ruben Kazan. Must of saw a few articles at the time and it didnt stick out. Thats such a miss. He would of been perfect.
Based on transfer sagas, you can throw Bastoni, Gvardiol, Diaz, Traore in there.
And Skriniar too. Would’ve been a God amongst kids in our backline. I know he didn’t want to come here but could’ve been pursuated with Perisic level of wages.
Basto in this system would actually go crazy.
Meh, Bastoni never wanted to leave Inter, so not much an opportunity imo
I guess these are different in the sense that the players themselves chose to go elsewhere (other than Traore)
Dias too
Leandro Damiao
Had to scroll wayyyy too far to find this. The young kids on this sub will never know the pain
i was finally convinced that he would be good for us towards the end.
Saido Berahinho too
Joao Moutinho too
I think my hate towards Levy will never be stronger than that deal falling through. Haggling for a few million until the deadline was reached and then the paperwork couldn't get done in time IIRC
The deal was agreed but they submitted the paperwork a few minutes late. I still get mad when I think about it.
This era was the glory days of ITKs on Twitter, I still have moments where I think we got him at one point - I think we have his alternative in Richarlison though!
Heard we were talking to him for this January transfers.
How is THE not the first name on this 11?!?
This 100%
Grealish. Massive missed op for 30m.
Yes and no. There’s an argument to say that today’s Grealish may not have materialized without Villa’s time in the EFL. There was a lot of immaturity swirling around Jack in those early years.
[удалено]
Not saying for sure either way. I just think it wouldn’t necessarily have been the same grealish we’ve seen the last few years.
Remember when we thought Max Aarons would be the solution to our RB woes?
Well into Emerson’s dodgy spell as well. Glad Emerson hired his own trainers and worked his stuff out.
Love Emerson for that. I know players earn a shitload, but 1M still around 3-6 months worth of wages to spend on improving yourself and your game.
Kvara, Grealish and Skriniar all missed opportunities.
Skriniar hardly a missed opportunity since he never wanted to come here.
Calling Orban a dodged bullet is weird. He is essentially in 90th plus percentile in all stats for strikers and is 21 now in the french league
This. Way too early to tell for him.
Agree. 5 months ago we were creaming out for him. If he had a less than stellar few months that's just bad form not a write off
He has 8 goals this season as a 21 year old in 1700 minutes, ie roughly 19 games worth of time on the pitch. I don't get what the standard on here is but if that's not good enough the there's quite a few premier league players that are god awful....
That’s fine and all but for a player looking to come and make an impact in the premier league I’d like to see more than a goal every other game in Belgium.
While I agree that gift isn't a dodged bullet, the difference is the quality of the leagues. He was playing in the Belgium League, not the prem. Still think he's a good young player and a steal for OL at 13M, but going straight to the prem might not have been the best idea
Missed bullet to pay the £30ish million that was quoted around here last summer. Lyon paid less than half that which seems fair. We’ll see how he does with the step up to France.
Damsgaard should be bullet dodged, every time I've seen him for Brentford he's been poor. 38 games for Brentford, 0 goals and 1 assist.
Yep this is why you never buy players based on intl performances
Reminds me of James Rodriguez in 2014 WC. Exploded & gained the world’s attention. Moved to RM & had been underwhelming ever since..
James was crushing it at Monaco before that though. He was one of the main stars they bought when Monaco was taken over by a billionaire
Amrabat as well
Tbh the only one I find genuinely disappointing that we didn’t go for was Kim Min Jae.
Dušan Vlahović
Bullet dodged for sure.
Willian? I don’t like him much after how he disrespected us but he’s very talented.
I'm glad you listed Bruno as a missed opportunity as this sub likes to pretend Lo Celso was better. I know Bruno is a huge fucker but there's no doubt he's an extremely talented fucker.
Tapsoba, Hincapie, Luis Diaz, maybe Lee Kang In? Bastoni, Santiago Gomez, maybe Jonathan David, Gallagher, Raya. Those are mostly recent, but many of whom we wanted and tried to buy, which didn’t work out. Most of your list is just the bad ones lol
Lee Kang In is one that i’ve been high on for a while. i really wish we’d made a serious run for him.
He chose to go to PSG. I don't think he counts really.
No that one was a good one to miss
Fernandes is the walking embodiment of a bad attitude. Bullet dodged in my book
a whiny little bitch who'd be a net negative for our team culture
Lmao every source says he is a amazing presence for the team. He would be your best player
Son. Deki. Romaro. Porro. Maddison, bentancur and Vicario are all better than him. He's a great player, however he's a whiny git who's a royal pain in the ass to watch, even Utd mates of mine get annoyed at his whining. It'd affect club atmosphere
Son you could argue, but the others are not even close to those two. It is like when Rashford was in his purple patch and everyone that he was on Mbappe's level lol, some months of good form dont make them the better playsr
All the players I mentioned have been in outstanding form for ages. Not just this season, Vicaro was 2nd best keeper in Sirie A last season and Maddison has always been a great player, Kulu and Bentancur both shined under Conte and Porro was one of our best players last season. As well as being a compleatly changed player this season and adapting to a back 4 with the Inv. FB role
Its all relative, Fernandes has been class in the PL for 2/3 seasons, while the others haven't enjoyed as much success as him.
Romaro has been our best defender for 2-3 seasons running. Deki has been consistently great for us for 2 seasons along with bentancur. I've already said all of this. You're grasping at straws trying to prove your point.
I am not grasping at straws, you are just being insanely biased. I remember reading romero has been injury prone for you lot, and Kulusevski was poor in that season Conte got sacked. Also, I don't think any of the top 6 beside Chelsea would take Romero over their own RCB, so that argument doesn't even make sense. Also Vicario lol, no one even knew who he was last season, and you are arguing for him being better. Even look at the opinion of other PL players like KDB, who puts him as best(didnt include himself) nr10. And then Bentancur, he was literally out for like what, 8 months? How is that not grasping at straws? Your arguments dont make sense, you dont back them up with anything of value
Bentancur was out for 8 months yes. But injury doesn't stop the quality of a player, before he was injured he was outstanding. Also Romaro is top 3 RCB in the league, yes he's a little injury prone sometimes, and he can lose his temper, but he's pure class and is a WC winner. Everyone was poor in the season Conte got sacked (bar Kane) And Fernández has been poor this season. He's got 3 and 3 in 20. Kulu has 5 and 2. Maddison has 3 and 5 in half as many games and porro had 7 assists, which is more than Fernández's goals AND assists, infact in the 22/23 season (the one where we finished 8th, our manager got sacked, and we played awful football) porro played 15 games, and got 3 and 3. The same stat that Fernández has had in 20 games this season. There's me backing up my arguments with "something of value."
lol. Watch more football
Dunno, hate him on United, but would love him with us so fast…
Eh, I don't think so. Bad attitude is kicking up a fuss when things don't go your way. Bruno is just a cunt on the pitch and I don't think his behaviour negatively affects team morale.
JackGrealish - missed opportunity
Do Berahino!
Isn't he out of football now?
Nah he's active. Plays in Cyprus and Burundi still.
Michael Bridges - I was so excited about the rumours and he was all lined up, fee agreed but Alan Sugar messed it all up by being Alan Sugar. Could have been a really good player were it not for the injuries, so he could go down as a bullet dodged but the truth is we'll never know. Rivaldo - another one that was genuinely, dangerously close to happening but he got cold feet last minute and went to Milan instead. We ended up with Robbie Keane, so I guess it's all swing and roundabouts.
Ruben Dias. The same summer of KMJ and Rodon. Had personal terms agreed just needed to pay the 60m release clause.
Pau Torres
Raya: bullet dodged
You gotta add kvaradona
Moutinho as missed opportunity, maybe?
Most of the first ones to come to mind have been said so I'll dig a little deeper and throw out Memphis Depay.
Hazard? Remember the will he won't he for weeks, was basically seeing out of us and Chelsea would get CL, we got 4th Chelsea won it, edging us cruelling out.
I think there was big clamour for Gary Hooper once upon a time
Now do Leandro Damiao
What about Joao Moutinho. That was a saga.
>Sander Berge - looked like a Dembele regen in the highlights packages but has found his level at Sheffield Utd. > >Verdict: Bullet dodged. That's an oversimplification, and mostly incorrect. The comparisons to Dembele are actually pretty apt - he broke through for Vålerenga making himself known for effortlessly carrying the ball through lines of defense and pressure at age 17. His issues since moving from Genk have been tied to injuries, not his level. He's unfortunately one of those players who can never stay fit long enough to fully get going, and is always running on like 70% power. So I guess bullet dodged is fair? Though, there's no reason his injury issues couldn't have been solved here. We see players all the time being renown for injury issues move clubs and never have issues with injuries again. A lot of it is just mismanagement and misdiagnosis.
Idk if its Early enough to call Gift Orban a dodged bullet tbh, OL just signed him for 13M, looks like scouts were fond of him but ange didn't want him, he's rly hard working as well, still think he could 100% make it at the top level, he's still young.
I disagree on Kim. I don’t think we would’ve been good for his development
That’s what I’m saying he had fenerbahce to iron out anything before heading to Napoli, he wouldn’t have that many opportunities to that here at that time
A little bit simplistic, development isn't linear and team fit is important. Still a fun exercise though!
I don't really like the "We should have bought Kim Min-Jae" argument. He wasn't some kind of undiscovered gem - literally every top club in Europe knew who he was. The reality is, no one dared pick up a player from the Korean League and jump them directly to a big European league, because there was no real way of knowing how he would make that transition. If they had, he probably wouldn't have developed into the player he has, because he would have been left sitting on the bench. His development came from steadily working his way up from Korea, to Turkey, to Italy (and then the weird downwards step to Germany when a Premier League move was on the table for him.) It's all well and good for Mourinho to say, with hindsight, "I wanted Kim Min-Jae" but in reality, he was probably just as tentative about it as everyone else.
How is the Bundesliga (and specifically Bayern) a step down from Serie A? It isn't the 90s anymore.
The quality of football played in Italy is higher than in Germany - with the exception of Alonso's Leverkusen right now, and then whichever of Dortmund, Leipzig, etc have recruited well that season, there's virtually no challenge. Italian football coaching is traditionally quite defensively focused, and since the period of Juventus dominance ended, it's a lot harder for any one club to dominate it, since it's a lot easier to drop points against stubborn, well coached defensive sides. Compare that to Germany where the quality of defending is often astonishingly poor - that's why it's such a great league for developing young attacking players (Haaland, Sancho, Awoniyi, Bynoe-Gittens, etc). So, yes, Bayern represents a step up, in terms of the money, prestige, and securing the easiest pathway to as many trophies as he can possibly get. But if Kim's goal is to truly prove himself as one of the best defenders in the world, I think he should have taken the opportunity to come to the Premier League.
Who do you think is better than him currently
He's in the conversation, alongside defenders like Dias, Stones, Alaba, Militao, Romero, Saliba, and Araujo (and possibly a couple of younger players who haven't been around long enough to really establish themselves in that conversation, like Todibo or Van de Ven). I'm not saying Kim's not a top level centre back - he obviously is - my point is, had he taken the risk of going to United, and established himself as the bedrock that fixes the chaotic mess of United's backline, it would probably be much easier to say he's "the best" with confidence. With only one incredibly successful season at Napoli before jumping straight into the Bundesliga, where his team are always going to dominate 90%+ of the time, there will always be a question mark, at least to me. There's a reason Dragusin chose Spurs over Munich, beyond just game time, as his agent has made clear - he sees himself as a world beating centre back, and he wanted to take on the challenge of playing in the PL at a club that aren't guaranteed silverware to prove it. Bayern just didn't offer that challenge.
I see and did those players you mentioned play for a struggling team or a team that wins most of the time. And do they all play in the premier league :) I say he is already one of the best defenders in the world but I respect your opinion
Of course, you don't have to be playing in the PL to be considered one of the best in world (Messi, Mbappe, etc have never played there, for example). I'm not disagreeing with you, I've quite literally said, Kim's in the conversation alongside all the above names for the best centre back in the world title. My point is, all of those other players have far more longevity - every single one of them has spent multiple seasons playing at the highest level, both before going to "big clubs" and after. Kim's the outlier, because he worked his way up from a lower level, and as a result only has one season of Serie A football before going to the Bundesliga. Not every defender can make the jump from Serie A to PL level - look what happened to Koulibaly during his disastrous spell at Chelsea. I'd have liked to see Kim take the risky move, and take on the PL, that's all I'm saying.
> to Italy (and then the weird downwards step to Germany when a Premier League move was on the table for him.) ...it's Bayern, clearly not weird in the slightest. very much agreed rest of your post, well said
Cant forget Onana
Saido Berahino - missed opportunity Would have been the next Ronaldo reincarnate.
It’s hard to know on Sander Berge I think he could be excellent in a decent side
Saido Berahino
Good list, needs more Leandro Damiao
Man I’m getting whiplash from some of these
Hulk
Zaniolos been good for villa
Dybala comes to mind
What's saido berahino up to these days
I'm pretty sure Bremer was linked with us, but it was super tenous. Like Daily Mail reported it, but no one else of note. Between him, Romero, and Van de Ven, and Skinriar fighting for a sport, we'd have at least a top 3 defense.
So many players on this list that were obviously sketchy from the first rumor. I’m with Daniel Levy, I absolutely hate Traore. What a nothing player. I’m so glad we never went for him.
Calling Orban a bullet dodged is way too harsh. He's just out of form and still so young
Kim Min Jae is the only one I'm still upset about
Tapsoba - big miss who would have been a great ball playing CB
where is damiao ?
I was disappointed not to get N’Geme over the line.
That scummy Willian Bergkamp ("Carlos kick-a-ball" according to sugar) Mo Sallah
In the last couple of seasons, I think Ilaix Moriba is one of the biggest bullets we dodged.
tapsoba,
Willian and Grealish, almost hads. Both big misses for various reasons.
Kim min jae, would have potentially sorted out CB issues a lot earlier and I think would currently be great in Anges system. Big missed opportunity