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Player João Palhinha

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If he opts for Sporting then fair fooks...

CL footy and a home-club return despite an inevitable pay-cut.... Gotta respect that.



Class act..... Always welcome at WHL. :adesalute:
 
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If he goes back to Sporting that great - not getting any younger, got a family, home comforts and all that. If he stays then thats equally great in my book. Personality and application is frequently overlooked in team sports and hes got it in spades.
 
Inferno said:
I’m not gutted at all he prefers Sporting. Still thinks Alex Scott is the better option + Gray and Bergvall could still become elite midfielders.

I still remember how Gray-Bergvall outplayed Dortmund in January, it was a sign for the future
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One game and that’s a sign of the future?? These two lads have potential but miles away from being players that can be regulars and impact games on a regular basis. I have my doubts that they’ll ever be regulars but I’d like to see them in a team that’s not always pissing into the wind.
 
nicoclaesen said:
One game and that’s a sign of the future?? These two lads have potential but miles away from being players that can be regulars and impact games on a regular basis. I have my doubts that they’ll ever be regulars but I’d like to see them in a team that’s not always pissing into the wind.
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I agree with this ^ Gray-Bergvall remains years away from being first choices at any seriously competitive club. It’s one of the very clear things RDZ did, take the younger players out of the eye of the storm and protect their development. One / both need to be on loan next season, along with Souza - who seems also to have been protected.
 
Inferno said:
I’m not gutted at all he prefers Sporting. Still thinks Alex Scott is the better option + Gray and Bergvall could still become elite midfielders.

I still remember how Gray-Bergvall outplayed Dortmund in January, it was a sign for the future
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I do think that Gray and Bergvall will become an elite partnership and I also like Scott but if he not too similar to what we already have?
He's not really a destroyer like JP, is he?
 
If he's worth keeping I'm sure De Zerbi will have his say and we'll try to sign him for less than the 20-30m touted. Obviously the best thing to do would be to go and find a better player who's 25 and suits the system better, but we could well make a mess of that as well. Were I to bet on it it I'd lean toward thinking we don't keep him.
 
I like him but can see it playing out like an average second season. Think we can do better in the long run too but the loan was a positive one overall.

I like the idea of him scoring the winner against Everton as an iconic final moment that makes him immortal in the club's history and a cult hero to remember.
 
CaptainCabinets said:
I like him but can see it playing out like an average second season. Think we can do better in the long run too but the loan was a positive one overall.

I like the idea of him scoring the winner against Everton as an iconic final moment that makes him immortal in the club's history and a cult hero to remember.
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Yeah my concern with him is it will be diminishing returns. As his final big move he'd probably want a 3 year deal on decent wages and if his quality drops we're kinda stuck with him.

He's been a great loan and after the goal on Sunday he's my player of the season but next season I think De Zerbi will want us to be a lot more progressive qnd risky in possession which isn't really Palhinha's game.

For me another loan would be ideal but otherwise I think we'd be better off looking to buy our own long term solution in that position.
 
Timberwolf said:
Yeah my concern with him is it will be diminishing returns. As his final big move he'd probably want a 3 year deal on decent wages and if his quality drops we're kinda stuck with him.

He's been a great loan and after the goal on Sunday he's my player of the season but next season I think De Zerbi will want us to be a lot more progressive qnd risky in possession which isn't really Palhinha's game.

For me another loan would be ideal but otherwise I think we'd be better off looking to buy our own long term solution in that position.
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Better a year too soon than a year too late.

ENIC hasn't changed, so we'l always be on a budget. Having an aging player who isn't producing clogging up the wage bill in 0.5-1.5 seasons won't be good.

He's had some great moments, but we were also -6 GD while he was on the pitch this season...so its not like he was killing it.
 
Between tel and palihna we’ve given them kane for about 20mill.
peace tea GIF by Cerkl
 
Don Pedro said:
Palhinha is a cult hero this season and rightly a fan's favourite. We'd have been relegated without his presence the last few weeks. Big game player with some big goals. I'll be forever grateful to him! The passion he showed when he scored yesterday and at the full time whistle gave me goosebumps. He gets it.

However, and this will be an unpopular opinion, I don't think we should make his loan deal permanent. He's been perfect these few weeks where we played a short term approach of just aiming to win duals and turn every game into a battle. In these few games where we weren't obsessed with trying to keep the ball or play out, we could play direct and relied heavily on our midfield players to become ball winners. Palhinha is one of the best ball winners in the league!

But if RDZ is starting his proper project then I don't see how or where Palhinha fits in. His ball progression is very poor for a number 6 and I don't think we can accommodate him as one of the 8s. Do you sign him and pay him over 150k a week to be a squad player who comes in for some games? I don't think you do. I'd rather see us go all out to get Alex Scott. It only makes sense to keep Palhinha if you think he can be a regular starter next season. If we are serious about getting away from relegation and aiming for europe next season, then I don't see how we can make this perm.

I know RDZ has said he wants to keep him and all that but RDZ is ruthless. He knew he needed him these few weeks to stay up. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes back on that word. Unless I'm missing something I don't see where he fits in. If we had Europe and extra games then I'd get keeping him. But you can't be paying someone nearly 200k a week if they aren't going to be a regular starter. And I guarantee you RDZ will want a ball playing 6 and I don't see him accommodating Palhinha as an 8 if we wants his teams to be dominating the ball next season.
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The counter to this and it’s a big one. RDZ disagrees.

We will 100% spend the summer improving our play and RDZ couldn’t have been clearer. He wants Palhinha back.
 
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