Álex Baena

[MaVilla]

15 minutes ago, Pongo Waring said:

 

Raphinha and Baena please.......

[DaoDeMings]

11 hours ago, Tom13 said:

Is he more like De Bruyne or David Silva? Very different playmakers.

Depends which role he plays in really. He's played in a variety of roles at Villareal. Generally, more similar to De Bruyne in that he operates all over the pitch, and has the range of passing and quick feet to play deep or in and around the box. He's a bit more nimble than De Bruyne though, hence the David Silva reference

[DaoDeMings]

3 minutes ago, DaoDeMings said:

Depends which role he plays in really. He's played in a variety of roles at Villareal. Generally, more similar to De Bruyne in that he operates all over the pitch, and has the range of passing and quick feet to play deep or in and around the box. He's a bit more nimble than De Bruyne though, hence the David Silva reference

As someone mentioned above, most accurate comparison might be Odegaard

[Steero113]

14 hours ago, Pongo Waring said:

Christ alive what has Pep done to Jack. 

[thunderball]

17 hours ago, Steero113 said:

Christ alive what has Pep done to Jack. 

Strange but Jack blew it. Could have been right up there: best team, best team mates, playing with DeBruyne every day as your role model. He looks half the player he was when he left here, something went very wrong: the hype and opportunity went to his head, yes he got his trophies but it hasn’t been through personal achievement more as a hanger on. Such a shame.

[CVByrne]

On 16/05/2024 at 23:41, Awol said:

Thought all season that we needed our own version of Odegaard in midfield. Turns out this lad is better! 

You often see this type of skew when you have a top playing in a weaker side. Everything goes through them so they are on the ball more than they would be at a top club and as such get more chances to make key passes and assist. 

[sne]

35 minutes ago, thunderball said:

Strange but Jack blew it. Could have been right up there: best team, best team mates, playing with DeBruyne every day as your role model. He looks half the player he was when he left here, something went very wrong: the hype and opportunity went to his head, yes he got his trophies but it hasn’t been through personal achievement more as a hanger on. Such a shame.

So did the booze and the hippy crack. Even with a personal nutritionist, private oxygen tent, sauna and ice bath I'm convinced he'd a longer career at top level if he partied less and with more moderation.

[thunderball]

4 minutes ago, sne said:

So did the booze and the hippy crack. Even with a personal nutritionist, private oxygen tent, sauna and ice bath I'm convinced he'd a longer career at top level if he partied less and with more moderation.

That’s likely the bigger part of it. On his welcome video, all he was excited about was meeting “Phil”, the same Phil who was sent home while on international duty not really taking life and opportunity very seriously.

[MaVilla]

Just now, thunderball said:

That’s likely the bigger part of it. On his welcome video, all he was excited about was meeting “Phil”, the same Phil who was sent home while on international duty not really taking life and opportunity very seriously.

"Little Phil".........as Grealish calls him.....

[thunderball]

…back on topic, Baena looks quality, a lot of money but if he influences like Torres, can only be good.

A prolonged campaign needs rotation of our key players, and we struggled with fatigue and injuries. Baena, Luiz, Buendia and Tielemans should give us options.