The Love Song of T. Jordan Pefok: Siebatcheu at Borussia Mönchengladbach

I had forgotten they qualified for the CL but I do remember Bocanegra played for them a decade ago.

 

Rennes is trying to sell/get rid of Jordan this summer.

https://translate.google.com/transl...ses-vers-la-sortie-107398&prev=search&pto=aue

 

They better be reasonable with the price, interest in non-scoring strikers is at an all-time low.

 

Theoson likely to be transferred out of Rennes, per this article. Not part of 28-man roster for upcoming friendly.

https://translate.google.com/transl...heu-contre-angers/1157068&prev=search&pto=aue

 

Rumor that Young Boys in Switzerland are interested, but I don't think that would be a great move for Theoson. Looks more like speculation.

https://www.butfootballclub.fr/ligu...une-piste-a-letranger-pour-jordan-siebatcheu/

 

That would be a demotion.

 

Yea, when you flop at the club you’re at you usually have to take a demotion.

 

Not sure I agree. Getting 5 games worth of minutes in Ligue 1 seems worse than starting for the Swiss champions. It's not as good as other options, potentially, but who knows what options are actually available to him? That article says that he got rejected by Nimes in the January window, and they almost got relegated.

The big downside with Young Boys is that they need to go through 3 qualifying rounds to make the CL group stage. If they qualified for that (or the Europa group stage), it would be a no-doubt move for me. He needs a career resurrection, and he's not getting that if he isn't playing.

 

He should take a loan or transfer to a decent Ligue 2 side that has trouble scoring and see if he can get his mojo back at a level where he's already proven his ability.

It worked for him when he was at Reims. He couldn't buy a Ligue 2 goal, or even PT, in 2017-18 so at XMas he moved to a low-scoring D3 side that was marooned in mid-table and proceeded to score 10 in 15 games as they got promoted. Back at Reims for 2018-19 he scores 17 in 35 as Reims won Ligue 2 by a whopping 15 points and he got a big-money move to Rennes.

If it works again, he will rebound to Ligue 1 starter, which is a much higher level than Switzerland, Champions or not.

 

eh I think its best to avoid teams that cant score...better go to a team that puts a lot of goals in, imo.

 

I have no basis for this at all, but it would be cool to see him move to say Montreal under Henry. Selfishly it would put him on the USMNT radar, but also give him the opportunity to rebuild some confidence, learn from a legendary striker, and all while still playing in a predominantly French speaking city.

Montreal isn't like other MLS clubs either. With Saputo owning Bologna if he were to perform a move back to Europe could materialize rather quickly based on his performances. I have no idea right now whether Jordy could be an impact player in the MLS, because his confidence seems shot, but it would be a neat move to follow.

Unlikely to happen tho.

 

The word "decent" in "decent side that can't score" was there for a reason. A decent side whose strikers are shooting blanks is a side that is creating chances at that level. The logic is that he takes a step back to make a step up: drop to Ligue 2 and start scoring again and get his mojo back. If Theoson can't score in Ligue 2 he's not going to be able to score in Switzerland either, but if he can there's a much better upside.

 

He should come to MLS. I think he’d be a good fit for a lot of clubs.

 

I generally hate "he should come to MLS" posts after a player struggles for the first time, but this is a well thought out scenario with many clear positives to it.

 

I see what you did there

 

Rennes' season has started without any appearances from Jordan yet. Word has it the team is trying to sell him. Hope he finds a new club soon.

 

Jordan has been demoted to Rennes' reserves, per twitter. He hasn't played in any preseason games, and they haven't been able to sell him yet. Problem is they want the same amount of money they paid for him, and no one is offering that. (They paid $9.9 million in July 2018, which looks like a ridiculous overpayment in hindsight.) His contract goes to July 2023, so he could be entering a Bobby Wood-like scenario. Hopefully it doesn't end up like that.

 

They need to loan him somewhere if they want to recoup any of that fee.

 

atlanta united ftw!

 

I like the idea of this, but obviously it’s unlikely to happen.

What do you guys think a club would pay for him right now? Around $3 million?

 

I'd be surprised if it was that much, because the level of team interested in signing him is the level probably most financially affected by Covid. Like, he's shown that he's a decent Ligue 2 striker - how much has the average Ligue 2 club had their revenues drop in the past 6 months?

So if we're talking MLS, China, yeah, maybe $3 million. But lower division France, I think the fee drops to a wage-covered loan and maybe a €1.5 million option to buy.

 

His link to the USA is tenuous: he was born in DC but moved to France as a small child. He doesn't speak English (has declined interviews in English for that reason) and he's refused call-ups to friendlies for the USA (last time, the France one under Sarachan).

I doubt he has much interest in representing the USA at this point, or in coming to MLS at any point. Going to the lower levels in France makes more sense for him.

 

He told me earlier this year (In French via an interpreter) he wants to play for the USMNT. He would accept a call-up and then later told me again a few week after the interview.

It’s just not clear if he’s good enough

 

When he was banging em in left and right in the second league he was pretty firmly against playing for us, yeah? Or simply that he was open about wanting to play for France.

Either way...how the mighty have fallen!

 

You've been bugging his agent's phones?

Seriously though, that's about right but I think you're being too optimistic about Rennes' situation. With his ongoing lack of PT and lack of production when he does play, I can't see MLS or China stumping up $3 million or getting close to it. The best Rennes can hope for from there is a loan with 50% of his wages covered and an option to buy for $2 million plus add-ons.

As for France, the TV money isn't great and next to non-existent in Ligue 2 to begin with, and the French league has a very tough financial licensing requirements which are, shock & horror, actually enforced. He transferred for 10 million and signed a five-year deal, so he's on about two million a year for another three seasons. Pre-COVID, no more than 3-4 Ligue 2 sides were capable of covering the usual 50% of his wages. Now, it'd be more like a third of the wages, and if those clubs aren't looking, Rennes are going to be forced further down the table and with diminishing coverage of his wages. A "wage-covered loan" could mean his wages being 100% covered by Rennes.

If I'm in their shoes, and especially if his problem is lost confidence, I'd bite the bullet and find the best "let's get your mojo back" location for him at whatever % of his wages I can get and look to flog him on next August. He's going to be on the wage bill for another season anyway, just get him away from the place and see what happens.