Who should I keep… Valencia or Shaw?

[fergusg]

I would like to jump on the Paul Pogba bandwagon, which means that I need to swap him for one of the three Man United players that are already in my squad, namely:
• Antonio Valencia
• Luke Shaw
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic

I have two free transfers to use and £1m in the bank.

Assuming that it’s a no-brainer to retain the services of Ibrahimovic, I’d need to dispose of Valencia or Shaw and replace one of them with a £4.5m defender... whilst also replacing Deulofeu with Pogba.

Therefore, my question is this… who’s the better Man United defender, Valencia or Shaw? Who would you keep if you were in my situation?

I need to make this decision very quickly, due to the imminent price rise to Pogba.

FYI – Here’s my squad for your perusal:

GW2.PNG

[blahblah]

I'm not sure Pogba is worth losing one of them. I thing that the three you have could prove to be must-haves this season.

[Razorback]

I've been thinking about this myself & as things stand it's 50/50 between the two.

Shaw feels like the safer choice though...

[gallus]

I'm not sure Pogba is worth losing one of them. I thing that the three you have could prove to be must-haves this season.

this, they are both better picks than Pogba.

[Gambit]

as good as Pogba is, there is every chance they will both outscore him.

How many clean sheets do you think United will get this year? didn't they get 15 last year, or was it 18? Will Pogba get enough goals/assists to match the clean sheets, taking into account that both Shaw and Valencia will pick up a few assists and maybe the odd goal.

I would keep both and ignore Pogba, but if you are dead set to get rid of one then it's a toss of a coin - both first choice, both bombing forward.

maybe Shaw is the safer pick but over the course of the season I would fancy Valencia to edge the assists/goals, although Shaw has the advantage of playing on the same side as Martial.

[blahblah]

Apologies for the woeful typing, above.

The point is that there will be Mids who score similar\more points than Pogba, and some will be cheaper; but few Defs are going to get anywhere near Valencia and Shaw: they are part of probably the highest scoring defence and they are integral to their attacks....

[Razorback]

One of Pogba, Mkhitaryan or Martial could become essential picks this season, if that happens then the OP's question is very relevant (assuming Ibrah holds on to his must have status )...

[blahblah]

I have enough to ponder in the here and now

My point is that you have to consider Shaw\Valencia & Midblob vs One of the above & Defblob. I don't see Defblob getting anywhere near them, and plenty of Midblobs getting near the three above.

If Jose changes things around\about and bans Shaw and Valencia from attacking then that could well change, but until then they are definitely a hold, imho. It won't be long before they are close to 6m, and then too expensive to get back in?

[Razorback]

A bit of forward planning is good thing .

[The Libero]

as good as Pogba is, there is every chance they will both outscore him.

How many clean sheets do you think United will get this year? didn't they get 15 last year, or was it 18? Will Pogba get enough goals/assists to match the clean sheets, taking into account that both Shaw and Valencia will pick up a few assists and maybe the odd goal.

I would keep both and ignore Pogba, but if you are dead set to get rid of one then it's a toss of a coin - both first choice, both bombing forward.

maybe Shaw is the safer pick but over the course of the season I would fancy Valencia to edge the assists/goals, although Shaw has the advantage of playing on the same side as Martial.

Pogba got 8 goals and 12 assists last year in Serie A; the year before he got 8 and 3 and the year before he got 7 and 7. Those aren't bad records if he replicates them over here, and given his reputation as the most expensive player I wouldn't be surprised if there's a bandwagon if say in the next few weeks he has a game where he scores a couple and assists a couple. We saw this happen last year with De Bruyne where people held off him at first then there was a clamour to get him in.

But I agree that in terms of value for money Shaw and Valencia at 5.5 look much better and at Pogba's price point you could look at Eriksen, Alli or Firmino or for cheaper, Coutinho, Tadic who might not be too far behind Pogba. I guess the gamble on Pogba is based on the idea United could storm away to the league with Pogba the driving force which will separate him from his competitors...but at the moment with United I think their defenders are premiums but priced at 5.5 so I would say the best United option are two defenders or De Gea plus Zlatan.

[blahblah]

But not actually selling one of them now?

WE can worry about about:
Who to bring in for Kun when he breaks?
Which of the (non MU, lol) top end mids are going to be the one(s) to get?
Coleman (when fit) vs Baines?
Who fills the 3rd Forward spot? I'm on a watching brief here, and is probably my main issue.
Should I "design" a kit for them?

[Owsler]

Shaw was lucky to get the penalty points. Valencia looks like he'll get attacking points very soon. Valencia for me.

[cesc408]

Hull next. Worth keeping both for now

[HungryHungrySuarez]

is valencia 100% safe when darmain is back?

[wizardoffire]

I think Valencia is above Darmian in the pecking order, get the impression that Jose doesnt like Darmian

[ZeroRemorse]

But not actually selling one of them now?

WE can worry about about:
Who to bring in for Kun when he breaks?
Which of the (non MU, lol) top end mids are going to be the one(s) to get?
Coleman (when fit) vs Baines?
Who fills the 3rd Forward spot? I'm on a watching brief here, and is probably my main issue.
Should I "design" a kit for them?

Using the EPL stats site, I looked through all the 3rd slot forwards and Benteke clearly stands out with the highest goals per match. 0.43 above Lukaku, Giroud and Negredo. Albeit Gray hasn't had enough time in the EPL to get a good read on him yet. But Benteke is hard to ignore and I've picked him up as my 3rd choice.

[CarlosTheFinger]

I chose Shaw over Valencia because of Darmian. Shaw doesn't seem to have any real competition. Cue Ashley Young appearing at left-back against Hull.

[fred1266]

I chose Shaw over Valencia because of Darmian. Shaw doesn't seem to have any real competition. Cue Ashley Young appearing at left-back against Hull.

Rojo

[CarlosTheFinger]

I chose Shaw over Valencia because of Darmian. Shaw doesn't seem to have any real competition. Cue Ashley Young appearing at left-back against Hull.

Rojo

Oh yeah. Forgot about him. Hopefully Jose does too.

[SuperGrover]

is valencia 100% safe when darmain is back?

Darmian is healthy and available. Rojo is too. Both are rumored on their way out. Don't see anyone replacing either Shaw or Valencia unless there are injuries.

[blahblah]

Ditto, they are the only players who provide genuine width, imho.

[Resonare]

Went with Shaw because he's the only one who provides width and crosses on the left-side as United have no left-footed wingers and Mata looked to be on his way out.

[n92DJ20js!jx]

Imo Valencia, better attacking potential and hopefully not a rotation risk.

[breakfastbutty]

Picked Valencia, but not without a twinge of regret (especially as Shaw has done better with the points haul so far)

[Weisenwolf]

I chose Valencia

[HungryHungrySuarez]

much of a muchness i think, although Shaw's 'assist' (i.e. being kicked) has boosted him to a likely price rise this week. Something to bear in mind, given that if he does well again at the weekend he could go up another .1 which would be a free earner for you if you then still wanted to jump to valencia.

[Weisenwolf]

much of a muchness i think, although Shaw's 'assist' (i.e. being kicked) has boosted him to a likely price rise this week. Something to bear in mind, given that if he does well again at the weekend he could go up another .1 which would be a free earner for you if you then still wanted to jump to valencia.

If United keep another clean sheet Valencia may be purchased above Shaw as he will be cheaper and he could rise too next week.

[Joccki_10]

Shaw injured "yellow flagged" again? What's going on there...

[Gambit]

he's been playing with an injury apparently (groin strain), due to have a scan this week.

[Joccki_10]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/luke-shaw-henr ... rn-1583204

So apparently Shaw isn't injured, but not 100% match fit...