I think he is a better player than people are making out on here. You do not go through the development ranks at Barcelona and be around as long as he was without having something. In the end they clearly thought he was not going to make the 1st team there and needed to clear the decks. It was rumoured when we signed him that there was a sell on clause so Barcelona must have thought he would develop beyond a £7m player.
Quote from: old man villa fan on August 18, 2016, 10:44:05 AMI think he is a better player than people are making out on here. You do not go through the development ranks at Barcelona and be around as long as he was without having something. In the end they clearly thought he was not going to make the 1st team there and needed to clear the decks. It was rumoured when we signed him that there was a sell on clause so Barcelona must have thought he would develop beyond a £7m player. He could be better than Messi, but that's no use if he doesn't want to play for us. Remember the old adage: you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him cross it to Gestede for him to bury it with a bullet header.
A ball greedy overpaid player who's not a team player. Won't be missed, didn't see what all the fuss was about when he comes on we lose our shape and he loses the ball trying to look good taking on several players when a simple pass to a teamate would suffice.
Well he has displayed an uncanny ability to make it look as though the ball is attached to his boots by invisible string and run very fast in a straight line with blinkers on. He might actually be better off in another sport.
The difficulty with him is that we have seen so little. What is obvious is that no manager trusts him as the managers he has played for none have had him in the team. We were at Sunderland and he did that run and pass for the goal in one the few bright moments last year but it was like watching a kid who has never been coached in his life. He never tracks a runner and whoever he is playing with is constantly shouting at him to get in position. Who knows what he can be, it would be good to find out but I am not sure he will be a sustained run in any team at the minute never mind ours. No-one has come in for him for him, we hear the wages are an issue but who really knows.