Would you rather have these two players or 2 others just to cover #6? We’d all like to have a clean sweep of midfielders but that isn’t happening. Well, I doubt it anyway.
Those aren’t the only two choices though, are they?
To be fair it would only cost around £1m to replace one of the worst midfielders in the league. FSG are tight fuckers but I’m sure they could stretch for that.
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Spot on.
Unironically though, yes.
What is a specialist? Players have traits and abilities that lend themselves to playing roles. The lad is 20 years old and so is a mile from being fully developed in any role so I dont buy the idea that buying him with a view to do that role, one he’s played and has the traits to perform, puts him on any more a learning curve than buying him and asking to do anything else.
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Players that have actually played the role to a decent level would be a start.
Gravenberch never has. Him being 20 and having lots of developing to do is true, but not exactly a convincing argument for signing him when there are plenty of young #6s available that are already playing to a high standard.
No but if we close the window doing better than Jude and Gravybaby then I’ll be surprised.
I know it’s no way to think about players really but my overwhelming thought whenever we’re linked with Gravenberch is just how much better Curtis Jones was than him when we played Ajax a couple of years ago.
Like I say, doesn’t mean much really and if he signed I’d be excited to see what he can do but in that one singular game Jones was MILES above him.
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This seems a really limited perspective given how fine tuned the tactics at the elite club level are these days and the variety of different approaches different sides use. So how far does this go? Not buying Nunez because he played most of his football in Europe a front 2 in a team who didnt press, or buying him because regardless of what his role was on his previous side he has all the traits required to play in our front 3? What about replacing Bobby? Few players play like him so we’re limited to only looking at players who played the same role at the current club regardless of what strengths and traits they have?
Yeah, there was so much hype around Gravenberch at that time.
Perr Schuurs too. I thought he was awful but most seemed to think he was the second coming of Van Dijk. He’s at Torino now.
I’d say most (all?) players that have left Ajax in recent years have failed to live up to their hype.
Gravenberch has played a number of games as a DM according to Transfermarket.
Not on his own
Maybe we’ll look to move to more of a 4231 system next season. Double pivot of Bellingham and Gravenberch sounds decent on paper, and could be a way to get four of Mo, Darwin, Diaz, Gakpo and Jota on the pitch at the same time, while Elliott and Fabio can play #10 as well…
According to Abendzeitung, the coaching staff is of the opinion that Gravenberch needs to improve his defensive aspects a lot, especially ball recoveries, tactical discipline, and his workrate.
Gravenberch joined Bayern in the summer and been a huge flop for them so far.
Would be a real strange transfer imo.
It isn’t a limited perspective, just less of a gamble. I’m not writing Gravenberch off as a possible number 6, but there are seemingly many better options available.
And as much of a fan as I am of Nunez, that signing hasn’t worked out yet. He’s currently being shifted to the left to accomodate a player who is also trying to learn a new role. The signings of Carvalho, Gakpo and Nunez have hardly been part of a coherent masterplan.
Don’t think so, that sounds too offensive to build. Bellingham is playing a very dynamic role right now and Gravenberch isn’t even playing for Bayern.
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I asked around and this was the answer:
> Gravenberch has sometimes played at 6 when Alvarez was injured/suspended. For example, can remember a match against Cambuur in which he did fantastic. It often worked out well against lesser opponents, but prefer to see him as a left attacking midfielder.
Hope this helps.
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Not all. De Ligt (Juve/Bayern) and de Jong (Barcelona) are doing fine.
Don’t forget Ziyech (Chelsea), Klaassen (Everton) & Antony (Utd) all brilliant signings.
Donny has had an underwhelming time of late though I’ll admit.
Neither hit the heights expected of them though, which was the point. People were going on as if they were already two of the best players in the world, and they still aren’t at that level 4 years on.