Scored some nice goals in the academy.
Álvaro Fernandez | 2023/24 Performances
- Thread starter MyOnlySolskjaer
- Start date
Oh yeah I agree at his current level and with who is in front of him then no. But I just think his skill set suits being central, or at least can be adapted. Plus it would develop his game too. Regular game time would be needed elsewhere though.
Did he sign a new deal with us?
If Burnley will give him games then that would be a good move as Erik will give Malacia plenty of time to prove himself
Feels like squad planning wise loaning to Burnley is the best move. Malacia gets another season to prove himself, whilst Fernandez (who is 3.5 years younger) gets a chance to strengthen his case on a side that plays relatively good football in the PL.
Man Fernandez is fecking amazing going forward if it wasn’t for his suspect defending
Hope he develops well during his loan move. There's something I like about this little guy, I think he is one of the players who might make it here in future.
Yeah I feel like there’s more cohesion now with those they think are ready, and those they see potential with and others not so much. You can see the hierarchy from starter, to reserve then those with potential next in line. Plus I think Malacia has potential to improve.
Shaw out injured for weeks / months.
His time to step in?
His time to step in?
If it wasn’t Arsenal up after Forest I’d start hun vs Forest.
However I think we’ll need a rethink now. Probably Martinez LB.
However I think we’ll need a rethink now. Probably Martinez LB.
I would agree. Lindelof coming in at LCB. Alvaro could be getting minutes though which is exciting.
He's not ready at all, if we rely on him then we're in trouble.
What makes you say that?
We wont rely on him but he's there for cover.
At his age, he needs to be out on loan. Start Dalot LB and have Martinez as cover, it's not going to do Fernandez any good being sat on our bench until January.
Starting Martinez at LB is not a good idea.
Also about loan, he's 20, why not give him a shot if all of our LBs are injured.
In any case its probably going to be Dalot at LB anyway until either Shaw or Malacia (where is he) come back.
Starting Martinez at LB will have the same effect as Rashford at CF. He probably can do it, but it will disrupt the balance of the team. Not to mention that he isn't anywhere close to top fitness level so I'd expect him to get beaten quite easily by fast wingers.
Exactly that.
Dalot will play there. He may make the bench.
I swear some will have players out on loan eternally if it was up to them. He is twenty and may have some flaws but we are the same club that played the Da Silva twins at around the same age in deep CL runs and PL title wins.
We are in trouble relying on Shaw so there's that.
Sometimes these breaks are just what players need to break through. I hope he starts against Forrest.
Yeah, it's quite odd. Apparently Diallo, Mainoo, Hannibal, Fernandez all need additional loans before they can contribute. Despite the fact they all play in positions we are crying out for support in!
Not sure where you got Mainoo needed a loan from, what I’ve gotten from Ten Hag interviews is it’s very likely he’d be a regular in the squad if not for the injury. Diallo did nothing in the preseason friendlies, Fernandez is behind 3 other players and Hannibal isn’t ready for top flight football, so loans are the best options for them.
I think hes ready to contribute when we have the ball and are going forward but he will cost us defensively. Best idea to delay the loan/sale and use him from the bench, mostly when we're in a comfortable position and limit the amount of time hes playing where 1 mistake leading to a goal will cost us points.
Think Martinez will get beat by fast wingers, so would Fernandez, he doesn't have the pace or positioning skills to play LB, I'd say he'll move centrally as his career goes on. We'll play Dalot there anyway.
Starting Martinez at LB would provide more balance to the team than Fernandez at LB, especially when we push up the pitch.
How come he lacks that given he's a LB?
That's a horrible assessment, his attacking abilities are where he excels and he is very good technically, overlapping and making crosses, CB would be his worst position.
He's quicker than Martinez. Agree his positioning and acceleration still need work though.
How's that so? I think the "inverted fullback joining midfield" goes out of the window for the next few days anyway. So we will be playing traditional 4231 with fullbacks staying wide. Makes no sense to me to move Martinez around. I'd rather play Lindelof LB than Martinez.
In home games against the likes of Forest he could be a massive asset for us. He’s amazing technically and a great crosser of the ball. As others have said, defensively he needs work but I guess playing games at the highest level will improve that side of his game quickly!
Not every player has the positional sense, even Shaw has lacked it in the past.
Where have I argued his attacking abilities aren't his strongest attributes? I haven't. I said his defensive position and pace isn't what's needed of a modern day full back, so like Martinez, he'd also get outpaced by wingers, like I saw when I watched him plenty of times for Preston last season.
Compared to the modern day full back, I think he still lacks the right pace, especially as he cannot make up for it in positional sense.
Well that's if we went with the 433, 4231 one of the DM would have to cover Fernandez as he went forward, which would have worked better if we had Fred.
I do think we'll go with Dalot for now, he's been used there a few times.
I think we'd do the box midfield thing where Fernandez mostly tucks in at DM when we're attacking with only the occasional overlap as the space opens up. I'd quite like to see it too but Dalot there makes more sense for now I think given our struggles.
Dalot is no better defensively and Fernandez offers more going forward and by tucking into midfield. The only thing Dalot has over him is experience at this level
I've got it from countless comments on here. Diallo doing nothing in meaningless preseason friendlies being a reason to chuck him back out on loan is exactly the issue. It's mental. Our current right wing options are Antony (who I like but is obviously struggling and should in no way be an undisputed starter), Pellistri, and Sancho who's a left winger. The position is there for the taking. Diallo is regarded as a big prospect, was bought for big money, is 21, and is coming off the back of an excellent and productive loan. This is a really obvious opportune moment to integrate him into the first team.
Hannibal is in a similar situation, albeit his loan wasn't as conclusively successful. There is nothing unusual about the best youth players becoming part of the first team squad to fill in as and when necessary. Loads of people on here seem increasingly terrified by it for some reason.
With Fernandez, our two left backs are out injured. We are severely depleted in his position so it stands to reason that he's in contention.
I thought Fernandez looked promising in pre-season, personally.
Would love to see this lad given a chance under the circumstances. Would rather him over Dalot at LB.
Should be given a chance at LB, considering the difficult fitness situation we are in. Both left backs from last season injured.
Don't understand why we are looking at LB's when there's a perfectly good young one in this guy to give a chance to. Really don't get the line of thinking, why aren't we giving almost any young players a chance, he got player of the season on loan. Granted it wasn't at a Premier League club but what more can you do to show you should at least be given a chance? If i'm him, given the reports tonight, i'm looking for a way out immediately, it's just crazy considering we only gotta wait a couple months for Shaw and we still need a new signing in Midfield and Attack