Put him in a box and ship back to Madrid.

Hasn't done enough for me. Don't think we should buy him. Loftus-Cheek can take his position rotating with Barkley.

I don’t think we’ll buy him at the end of the season. 

He’s a talented player no question but he’s not what we need if we want to progress. 

Still don’t quite understand what it is he’s meant to do when he plays.

Seems to just coast through matches without doing anything that makes you take notice.

Almost completely ineffectual in the final third.

Doesn't offer anything whatsoever bang average.

He just pirouettes in the middle of the field. A totally pointless footballer.

If we end up p/x him for the pittance Real Madrid give us for Hazard we are screwed.

This system is not good for him. 2 in a middle with kante he would be spectacular as you can see clearly he is hard worker, quick and skillful. Can tackle too. I would even be tempted to play him in jorginhos position. 

He is certainly not worth 50 mill. 

i like him

22 minutes ago, Gentian said:

This system is not good for him. 2 in a middle with kante he would be spectacular as you can see clearly he is hard worker, quick and skillful. Can tackle too. I would even be tempted to play him in jorginhos position. 

I would also play him in Jorginhos spot.  Jorginho has shown time and again this season his lack of defensive football and work rate.  He just sprays the ball from side to side and backwards.  I get it, he recycles possession and gets a lot of touches, but he can easily be marked and when put under loads of pressure he folds.  Kovacic Barkley and Kante sounds more dangerous to me.  

He’s a very average footballer IMO. He’s not even on RLC’s level, if he was fit then I don’t think he’d be in the team. It’s clear as day why he’s no where near Madrid’s first XI. He’s a tidy player but certainly nothing spectacular.

Like I said previously, as good as a squad/bench player you are gonna get but should not be a starter.

Also think he suffers from playing along side Jorginho and Kante, makes his averageness stand out even more. 

Hes better than Jorginho, id stick him in that role, can dribble a bit, and can tackle. 

Does he ever finish a game?

4 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

Does he ever finish a game?

0 goals suggests finishing is not his strong suit.

Just now, axman2526 said:

0 goals suggests finishing is not his strong suit.

I fail to see what all the fuss is about...is it because he's a RM player that we're supposed in be in awe of him? An average player that hasn't ripped up any trees...in fact he's blocking the path for others more deserving...

In a 4-2-3-1 I can see how he’d be good in one of the two sitting roles, like Matic used to play.

If there was 4 attacking player ahead of him actually capable of opening up defences I think he’d look pretty good marshalling a midfield.

But in our team and system he’s got to offer something in attack and his tally of zero goals tells its own story about his influence in the final third.

7 hours ago, Ernie_blue said:

Does he ever finish a game?

He's still recovering from an injury. I have no doubt Ruben would have been starting games now if not for his injuries. He was just starting to establish himself too. I don't want to see us buy Kova permanently though. We already have Ruben and possibly Mount too. That money could be better spent elsewhere like on a creative,  goal scoring mid. I would like to see Bruno Fernandes of Sporting Lisbon and bin Barkley. 

Edited January 20, 20197 yr by enigma

15 hours ago, TheChelsRVA said:

I would also play him in Jorginhos spot.  Jorginho has shown time and again this season his lack of defensive football and work rate.  He just sprays the ball from side to side and backwards.  I get it, he recycles possession and gets a lot of touches, but he can easily be marked and when put under loads of pressure he folds.  Kovacic Barkley and Kante sounds more dangerous to me.  

Possible and I thought about this or kante in holding role, and kovacic and Barkley. Agree kova hasn’t done enough that’s noteworthy, but would maintain  the system - and specifically Jorginho-  is to blame. I can barely watch him now, as it’s just painful. It/he seems to knock everything else out of shape and clip the other players’ wings. Unfair to call kovacic  average. Simply not the case. As someone else said, he can dribble, tackle, pass. I’d add he really is technically gifted, and he’s young. I don’t understand the constant kovacic/barkley rotation. Seems they could complement one another quite well.

5 hours ago, Dean said:

Possible and I thought about this or kante in holding role, and kovacic and Barkley. Agree kova hasn’t done enough that’s noteworthy, but would maintain  the system - and specifically Jorginho-  is to blame. I can barely watch him now, as it’s just painful. It/he seems to knock everything else out of shape and clip the other players’ wings. Unfair to call kovacic  average. Simply not the case. As someone else said, he can dribble, tackle, pass. I’d add he really is technically gifted, and he’s young. I don’t understand the constant kovacic/barkley rotation. Seems they could complement one another quite well.

So how would Kovacic likely cope with being closed down bringing the ball out of defence?

It might work yet I ask as we don't play the long ball out.

31 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

So how would Kovacic likely cope with being closed down bringing the ball out of defence?

It might work yet I ask as we don't play the long ball out.

I’d say well, it may even be a core strength  insofar as he’s really calm on the ball, good in tight spaces - “press-resistant” in modern parlance... ? 

7 minutes ago, Dean said:

I’d say well, it may even be a core strength  insofar as he’s really calm on the ball, good in tight spaces - “press-resistant” in modern parlance... ? 

Makes you wonder why Sarri has not tried it.

I remember reading earlier in the season that he is supposed to be the air apparent to modric at Madrid for Real Madrid and Croatia...utter bollox. Not fit to lace modric's boots.

10 minutes ago, The Brit said:

I remember reading earlier in the season that he is supposed to be the air apparent to modric at Madrid for Real Madrid and Croatia...utter bollox. Not fit to lace modric's boots.

He has regressed a little as we have as a team. I thought he started well. 

That said he doesn't seem to be a guy who takes the game by the scruff of the neck. For example you would expect he to be the guy with the runs into the box not Kante (not that Barkley does this either). Injuries and our form aside we'll need more from him to finish top 4.