Why bother starting him against Rotherham a few days ago if he's not in our plans .. surely you give that game time to a player who is, plus you run the risk(albeit small) of injuring a player you want to sell.
Amazing that Mason and Carrol are being kept and Bentaleb and Pritchard are told to get out.
Good news for us Anti-bentalebs he's been left behind and Poch has told him he isn't part of his first team plans for this season
Good news for us Anti-bentalebs he's been left behind and Poch has told him he isn't part of his first team plans for this season
As a player or a person?
Source?Contrary to what some people might like to think the lad is out with a knee injury with no current return date, there is no evidence that Poch wants him out of the club
If he's not injured then a loan to Benfica is probably a great option
I don't want to see him go, but with opportunities likely limited, perhaps a loan is the best option for all.
Why will opportunities be limited?
Surely he'd start the season as Dembele's primary understudy. Which means he'd start the season in the team (re MD's suspension). Dembele is also historically quite injury prone, and also our oldest outfield player.
To me that's a perfect platform for a 21 year old to be sitting in.
Whatever we might think (and I would have liked him to stay) it is now pretty clear that he is surplus to requirements.
It's sad. Unless Poch has real confidence in Wink or Onomah, I think it's going to cost us £20m to bring in a replacement as good.
It's pointless being a good player if you can't or won't do what the manager or team require. If we want to progress as a team and a club we need players who put the team 1st and their ego on the back burner.