It will happen for sure. From all the confirmation and sources... I have not seen such consensius about not-yet-confirmed player ever before.
So... okay. This transfer leaves me bit mixed. There are some big positives and some things that make me worried.
+ he is still very young (22) and has significant amount of playing time under his belt (equivalent of more than 100 full games).
+ seems to be quick and with fast feet.
+ has been good for 2,5 seasons now there (unlike 0,5 like Janssen)
+ we need competition for AM spots, as Mou seems to prefer to use 2 pacey wingers at the same time. And we have exactly 2 in Son and Moura. Latter's output is very average, so I think he absolutely needs some competition and alternative. Sure. DM is the weakest position, but in terms of more traditional wingers, we are not too well stocked, I admit.
- from the few videos (don't claim to be expert or know his style well!!) the goals/assists are coming often from situations where he has given time and room by defenders (some times after heavier touches than I would have liked to see). Both of those things will be in small supply from PL defenders.
- there has been an army of attacking players coming in last years from Eredivise who have flopped - Janssen, Klassen, van Wolfswinkle, Siem de Jong, Clasie, Depay). It makes me bit worried. Duch teams don't have deep pockets either, so if he does not work out here, selling him back will mean 50% of fee lost
I currently see more positives than negatives about him actually. 30 mil is not cosmic either (specially given we seem to squeeze out ~20 mil from Eriksen).Though with our new tactics to use more traditional wingers it raises a question - Eriksen leaves but we have still have Lo Celso, Alli, Lamela who seem best suited to play nr 10 place. For now Lo Celso seems to play deeper, but I still tend to think best would be to get a good DM next to Ndombele and have Lo Celso higher in the long term. So in summer we might consider offloading/upgrading on Lamela/Alli.
So... okay. This transfer leaves me bit mixed. There are some big positives and some things that make me worried.
+ he is still very young (22) and has significant amount of playing time under his belt (equivalent of more than 100 full games).
+ seems to be quick and with fast feet.
+ has been good for 2,5 seasons now there (unlike 0,5 like Janssen)
+ we need competition for AM spots, as Mou seems to prefer to use 2 pacey wingers at the same time. And we have exactly 2 in Son and Moura. Latter's output is very average, so I think he absolutely needs some competition and alternative. Sure. DM is the weakest position, but in terms of more traditional wingers, we are not too well stocked, I admit.
- from the few videos (don't claim to be expert or know his style well!!) the goals/assists are coming often from situations where he has given time and room by defenders (some times after heavier touches than I would have liked to see). Both of those things will be in small supply from PL defenders.
- there has been an army of attacking players coming in last years from Eredivise who have flopped - Janssen, Klassen, van Wolfswinkle, Siem de Jong, Clasie, Depay). It makes me bit worried. Duch teams don't have deep pockets either, so if he does not work out here, selling him back will mean 50% of fee lost
I currently see more positives than negatives about him actually. 30 mil is not cosmic either (specially given we seem to squeeze out ~20 mil from Eriksen).Though with our new tactics to use more traditional wingers it raises a question - Eriksen leaves but we have still have Lo Celso, Alli, Lamela who seem best suited to play nr 10 place. For now Lo Celso seems to play deeper, but I still tend to think best would be to get a good DM next to Ndombele and have Lo Celso higher in the long term. So in summer we might consider offloading/upgrading on Lamela/Alli.
