Is this the most pointless contract clause going? Unless he managed to be injured for four years straight this was always going to be due about two months in.
Anyway, not that I believe there’s an ounce of truth to it but if there was a £40m offer on the table for him I think it’d need serious consideration. I honestly think we could cope without replacing him for the second half of the season if we can get Chiesa fit and keep Danns around.
A summer exit seems more realistic but clubs with £40m to spend are few and far between outside of the premier league so I expect it’ll a “creative” deal that sees him move on.
In the unlikely event that he were to be sold, he would absolutely need to be replaced for the latter half of the season. It’s not just about getting Chiesa fit, which is a big if on itself, but Jota isn’t exactly robust. As for Danns, he’s got fewer than 10 appearances for the first team and none this term.
Nunez as a player isn’t much appreciated, but his availability is certainly a plus.
Honestly, ever since I started that whole discussion around his stats, his defending from the front seems to have gotten worse, to the point where I think Arne, who once praised him for it, was talking about how he wasn’t effective enough at that.
I’m convinced I should never defend players again, or their form might start plummeting off a cliff.
Pure energy and trying to be everywhere doesn’t make you a quality pressing player. And that’s one aspect of the game. Our best pressers from the front are the likes of Jota, Szobo and Diaz.
That Leicester game, against one of the leagues worst teams, he was pretty abject. One chance aside he was barely involved. Should be bullying the likes of Coady and Vestergaard but didn’t lay a glove on them.
Would love him to turn it around but think if we’re all honest he doesn’t look like he fits here.
I would argue (here I go again) that he did earlier in the season, but it’s quite possible that the hits to his confidence are just killing him. I think Salah made a reference to it in an interview about how he (Salah) knows Núñez isn’t the most well-liked of players, so the players are quite obviously aware of what the general sentiment around them are (also see Alexander-Arnold’s celebration in the West Ham game). He still seems to be pretty well-liked in the team though, and if this is the worst of his form then I think we’d be happy as fans to take that. Of course, if this is his new normal then it’s probably best that he moves on, especially for him since the sentiment would not improve.
That said, I have to wonder if his being benched recently is also to do with taking him out of the firing line for while, just train and hopefully rediscover some form when he does get back onto the pitch.
I think it’s probably to avoid him getting a fifth yellow and therefore suspended during one of the busiest times of the year.
The fact our £85m striker has twice as many yellow cards as league goals at the half way point of the season is quite telling. It’s not even like he’s missing big chances anymore.
By comparison Jota has as many goals in the four sub appearances since returning from injury, totalling less than 90 minutes, as Nunez has all season.
He’s simply very little threat, be it confidence, the system or a bit of both at the root cause. Ultimately it doesn’t matter what it is, it’s not enough.
In retrospect, a bad buy. Sheeyat appens. Unlike certain state-owned franchises however, we can’t afford to just brush off such signings. That’s why the focus is on Hughes now. He’s certainly not giving us much recruitment data to analyse though. He must like a quiet life with no pressure from his employers. Sounds a great life if you can get it.
He gets chants everytime he does anything - far more so than many other players who don’t seem to struggle for confidence if the fans “aren’t behind them”. It’s his oor form and finishing that are pulling him down not the fans who have been so supportive; especially considering his fee and how long he has had here.
Match-going fans ≠ internet “fans”. My point was that the players do know what gets talked about them online and in the media, they’re not immune to that.
He didn’t start working until July 1st. Slot was on board before then. There’s been very little evidence of his abilities since then. The first team squad is virtually unchanged since last season apart from player exits. Oh and Chiesa of course.