i don't think that's at all a question. he's certainly talented but an unquestionable bust for us. the only real question, to me, is how much can we get back for him? can we get him to play well enough the rest of the season to where our loss on the resale is not . . . obscene?
How much do people think other clubs would spend on him right now? I’d be surprised if we could get more than 15m for him. The problem is the same as it was when we bought him: there is a near unlimited supply of talented wingers that you can talk yourself into buying. Why would you buy a 26 year-old that’s been as shit as Pepe?
Is he that talented though? He does things that seem impressive but aren't that useful. As for the money, that's gone. Nobody is going to pay for him because the clubs where he'd be useful won't pay his salary. So he'll sit on the fringe of the squad for 5 years so we don't "waste" his transfer fee.
I don't have an axe to grind either, but Xhaka launched at least 3 dangerous counter attacks with his poor passing and shielding in the Crystal Palace game. In his spot, as a d-mid in front of the back line, steady is rewarded. Not moments of brilliance. He can be very skilled (his clearance on the 6 on a counter attack, which could have easily been an own goal late against CP), and the through ball you reference, but less is more in his spot. Sort of boring, giving up the occasional yellow card, is what is rewarded in that spot. Basically nothing happens in front of our 18 yard box because the holding mid makes it so. And Xhaka isn't steady.
Some good points there. Curious that when you quoted my post you excised the one critical sentence (theory) about why he tends to opt for the safe pass.
The annoying g thing about Pepe is he’s shows signs of quality but very few I can’t u sweats d how he can score great goals but be so inconsistently bad at times when shooting he’s too slow on the ball. If u watch saka, he gets the ball and knows what he’s doing right away. Pepe always stops and looks back rather than just going right at the fullback it’s infuriating and he doesn’t work hard to win it back either
i would argue that he is. i like his his ball control and, with his strides, he can take the ball down the pitch in a heartbeat. solid ability to pick out the pass/cross/cutback once he gets into dangerous area and decent composure in front of goal. problem, for me, is his strength are, as you said, not that useful for us. cool, he is a good ball carrier who can pick out the right pass once he gets into dangerous areas . . . but you need space to do that and, against the bottom half of the table where they sit back, well, you are not doing a damn thing. he prefers ball to feet so he is not helping with running off the ball into space for passes to find him against teams that attack enough to open some spaces. he is not really someone who drifts into open space like ozil or smith-rowe so he is not helping to relieve pressure against pressing teams. the talent is there. the fit is shit. agree. as much as he is talented, as @Super Llama said, there is a near unlimited supply of talented wingers that you could say the same/similar things about. the buy we made was shit. i want to know how much went into which pockets.
If i were the team I would try and find a suitable fit team to loan him out to. That could help regain some value and potentially find a suitor in the future without wasting minutes on our side.
Hmm. I don't agree with a lot of this. He has one big skill, which is that he's fast with the ball in space. I think his first touch is pretty poor, which is why he can't receive the ball on the run or play one-touch passes. He doesn't create chances for himself or others. He doesn't create chances with high pressure defense. He doesn't create chances with set pieces. He doesn't take a lot of shots, he doesn't make a lot of key passes. Imo, he's the epitome of a "we're not selling jeans" player. Everything about him looks like he should be a great player, but he's just not.
hrm. i do not know that i agree with that. while i agree that he is fast with the ball in space because his strides eats up chunks of ground, i think he is also good at taking on defenders. cannot argue on the positive or negative about the first touch. the problem with him not receiving the ball on the run is because he does not run into space to even get a chance to receive them as he waits for ball to feet. for me, the lack of one-touch play is his tendency to dwell on the ball more than inability. again, these are all qualities i cannot stand - it frustrated me for years with sanchez - but that is more a matter of preference than a lack of ability, no? again, i do not know that i can agree with this. he is, if nothing else, frustrating but if i am not mistaken, he is 2nd on the team in goal involvement, i think? just behind lacazette. now, granted, an argument could be made that he feasted on the euro and, well, that would be accurate. but, even then, it still negates the argument that he neither create chances nor takes shots. i had to look that up because i forgot all about it. but that would make him the very *opposite* of a "we're not selling jeans" player, no? a "we're not selling jeans" player, to my understanding, looks like crap but is effective and plays the game well. your youkillis? or, heck, a kruk.