Chapter 5: Chapter 5: I Go Shopping For Player's...
At the time, deciding to play such a progressive and attacking style of football felt like a great idea, and while I don't regret it, the team I had wasn't exactly built for such a fast-paced, high-intensity playstyle and thus, I found myself struggling to decide what positions need strengthening.
I decided a good starting point was picking what player didn't need replacing or selling, starting with the obvious in Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Players who, if they performed, would decide whether or not we'd get a top-four finish.
Other than that, pretty much every player on the team was either too old or not good enough. For example, Rafael Varane, who, while good, was too old and not mobile enough for the football style, I wanted to play the same with David De Gea, who would never be able to play with the ball like a modern goalkeeper had to.
After that, some players were already leaving the club, such as Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, and Edison Cavani; following that were a few definite sales, such as Andreas Pereira and James Garner, who already had deals agreed with Fulham and Everton, respectively giving us about eighteen million pounds in income of which thirteen and a half would be added to my budget.
Then there were players such as Harry Maguire, Fred, Anthony Elanga, Anthony Martial, and Dean Henderson, who I'd look to get rid of as they either didn't fit in my system or just weren't good enough.
After that were the squad players like Scott Mctominay, Victor Lindelof, and Matej Kovar, who, while not good enough to start, would be good to have in case of injuries or for lower league cup matches.
With that out of the way, I began to see what positions were most essential to buy for, with the goalkeeper being by far the most important if I was to play the way I wanted to. Thankfully, I knew the future and thus knew of a goalkeeper who would soon sign on a free to join Inter Milan, a player for whom we'd later spend fifty-odd million pounds bringing in after a stellar season in both the Champions League and Seri A.
Not only would hijacking this move save me from having to spend my budget bringing in a different goalkeeper, but it would also give me a player who was perfect for the style of football I wanted to play. Thus, he was the first name in my transfer plans, convincing John Murtough and Richard Arnold to take a chance on a player returning from a drug ban. Even if the charges were accepted to be accidental, it would not be easy, but the fact it would be a free transfer would probably be enough to get the deal over the line.
Following that, I'd need a progressive center back, unafraid of pressure and capable of building out from the back, and there was only one player on my mind who would be able to handle adapting to the premier league as well as the pressure that came with being the head of Manchester United's backline, and that was Lisandro Martinez, one of the few successful transfers in the post-Alex Ferguson era Lisandro Martinez not only had the ability to play for Manchester United but also the mentality having an almost Keane and Vidic like mentality that boosted the entire team when it came to defending.
While he would probably cost around fifty million pounds if we offered Donny Van De Beek in a swap deal, we could knock five to ten million off the price tag and slightly lower the wage bill.
Following a center-back, I decided that a defensive midfielder would be crucial, considering we had no natural number six with Nemanja Matic leaving. Both Fred and Mctominay were far too lax in their defensive duties to be used here. In modern football, a number six is arguably the most critical position, as they provide cover for your defense and act as a link between the attack and defense.
Fortunately, the rest of football has yet to realize how vital a good number six is and, thus, won't charge as much as they would for a defender or striker. In the club right now, we have Kobbie Mainoo, who at the moment was just an imposing player in the under 21's team and isn't yet physical enough for the premier league, even if I think he could do a job.
So I had a few options in my head, such as Joao Palhinha, Douglas Luiz, and even Casemiro, who I knew would become available in a few months; however, at the moment, I only really needed a placeholder until Kobbie Mainoo became ready for consistent first team football so Everton's Amadou Onana was the perfect candidate, okay at retaining the ball as well as being defensively solid however his most important quality being his physicality being very strong and having great stamina, being valued at around thirty million pounds with James Garner already leaving to join Everton I saw no problem with us managing to get Amadou into the club.
Finally, I got to what would probably be the most crucial signing concerning the future: a striker. With Anthony Martial hopefully leaving the club and Ronaldo being old, it was essential that we not only bring up a backup striker but also start preparing to let Ronaldo leave the club. Having a young striker who can learn as much as he can from Ronaldo before allowing him to move on was vital.
Fortunately, I could put my future knowledge to good use; with my understanding that in a year, we would sign Rasmus Hojlund for close to seventy million pounds, I thought I'd get a headstart by getting him. At the same time, he was still at SK Strum Graz; knowing that Atlanta only paid around twenty million for him, he was perfect as that would use up pretty much all my remaining budget while bringing in a player who I knew had potential and was a boyhood Manchester United fan.
I spent a few minutes looking over my transfer list, happy with what I saw. With any luck, we'll be able to sell a few players so that we can bring in some more, but for now, I was pretty happy with what players we could bring in.
I fell back on my bed, my head spinning with potential transfers. It took me a while, but eventually, sleep did manage to claim me...
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