Brilliant when he came on. Most definitely at the wrong club, not unlike Lemar in that sense.
Joao Felix
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I think if City, Liverpool, United, PSG, Real or Barca got him, he'd be flourishing even more right now. Going to play under Simeone in a defensive system is obviously the wrong choice.
So, so wasted at a club like this and under a coach like this.
As others have said, he could be a star for Liverpool, City, Psg, Barca, Real...or us
As others have said, he could be a star for Liverpool, City, Psg, Barca, Real...or us
Talented player but not made for the premier league.
So why did Griezmann do very well?
Different kinds of players maybe???
Signed a seven year contract, bought for a 120 million, and coming off the bench against Leipzig.
What is a player made for the premier league?
He looked good today sure but don't forget he was crap all season
He’s a very different player to Griezmann in fairness
I am not sure how the fee and the contract have anything to do with him coming off the bench today?
No thats not how things are done here .
On here players are judged purely on what they did in the last 20 mins that people watched them play in .
So true
You would think with that financial commitment that he would be trusted to win a one off in thr CL. I might be thinking too highly
Should have joined City when he had his chance but huge transfer fee with Benfica / Atleti / Mendes involved is so suspicious that I'd expect him to move soon anyway.
facts
Impressive
Player of the month in La Liga. Seems like he’s starting to come good
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there was never any real doubt that he would. that lad is the business
He's fantastic. People expecting a teenager straight from Portugal to turn around a defensive side that scored few in just his first season were expecting too much. Yes, I know the fee was large but that's not how it works. The kid's got the goods.
why not?
Quoting me 6 months later
Mega player. Even when he’s not scoring or assisting he looks an absolute menace. Easily the most exciting player in Spain this season.
Turns out there was a class player in there after all....
I don't understand why everyone is in a rush to judge young players making big moves abroad - over and over again we see that they need time to bed in. I suspect this is a relic of transfers 10+ years ago, when teams would buy the best players regardless of age or resale value. Nowadays, all clubs understand that it's more efficient to buy young players yet fans lag behind in terms of their expectations for new acquisitions to hit the ground running. Off the top of my head, just last year young players who were dismissed after slow starts by many include Felix, De Jong, De Ligt, and Pulisic.
Anyone who watched Felix during his first season at Benfica understood that he was a hugely raw prospect who'd inevitably need time to adjust, but whose ceiling was as high as just about any young player in Europe. I'm glad to see he's starting to hit those heights; for me he's neck and neck with David Silva as the best players in La Liga so far this season.
Anyone who watched Felix during his first season at Benfica understood that he was a hugely raw prospect who'd inevitably need time to adjust, but whose ceiling was as high as just about any young player in Europe. I'm glad to see he's starting to hit those heights; for me he's neck and neck with David Silva as the best players in La Liga so far this season.
Everytime i watch him his 1st touch always sticks out as class.
I think spite plays a huge role in all that. People want to see those players fail nowadays. There's just so much negativity among football fans right now. It's probably because social media grants the pricks so much lime light and people project their behavior on the clubs they support. And it's likely also a counter reaction to the huge hype that surrounds young players in the modern era. Many people can't wait to throw you a "told you so" into the face.
Additionally, I think many underestimate how complex football has become. You don't just join a new team with a different playing approach and instantly learn how to position yourself, when to press, when to drop back, etc., all the while learning a new language.
Very insightful post and I totally agree - the era of social media in particular has served to highlight the most reactionary positions. I also think you're spot on with regards to the complexity of the modern game - off-ball positioning and awareness has never been more important.
An exciting player who's starting to prove why there was so much hype about him, but I still think Atletico massively overpaid for him. $130M is a lot of money for a gamble he may reach really high levels and prove his worth but any less than worldclass and we are talking about a bad transfer here.
Avoids answering the questionQuoting me 6 months later
99% would be overpaid with 130m, but Atheltico at least got 100+ for Griezman at the same time, so it was " worth the gamble " in my opinion. They also got 80m from Bayern for Hernandez.
No matter where you get the money or if you just sell a bunch of players for a huge fee, if you pay 130M for a teenager with less than one season you either unearth a gem or youre going to be severely criticized.
Same case as Barca when they lost Neymar, they spent a similar amount for Dembele. The problem with those transfers is that if the player end ups being anything else from a superstar then its a failure. You dont pay that much for a good player, nor a very good player, you pay that much for a worldclass one. As you say 99% would be overpaid with that fee.
Well, if you invest the money in proven players, you get less years out of them.
Also, I think it's a common misconception that established players are more likely to be a success than great talents. Look at Coutinho, Hazard and Griezmann. Undoubtedly world class players who failed after taking the next step. It's the way it is, a switching of clubs always poses a risk. But young players have more time to adapt to the new environment and often they have an easier time learning new things. If you invest big money, it makes sense investing it in prospects.
Not saying it doesn't make sense to sign proven players, mind. But you have to do it differently and at the right point in time, see Bayern and Liverpool.
For people like me, who don't watch La Liga.
He kinda reminds me of Kaka in the way he moves and pass the ball, although less physical but more technical.
I agree, every transfer is a risk. You never really know for sure if the player is going to work at your team. Of course there are some factors that can suggest if a player will or won't adapt but nothings warranted.
Signing young players definitely has that advantage you mention of them having more time to adapt but it also their value can go down hill real fast if things dont work out. Since his value is estimated more on potential rather than their current level.
Im not against spending big money on promising young players, but with Joao Felix my point is that he had less than one year experience in a development league so 130M seems definitely a like a lot of money at the time. Of course it may end being a bargain if he turns out to be a Ballon dOr candidate.
I think Atletico wanted to anticipate him becoming a consolidated player and risk that other clubs enter the race for him. With the market precovid many teams were spending big money on young players. Not 100M+ money but 60-70M which is also a lot. I think it will depend on how things work out for those clubs, if thing go well we'll continue to see this kind of gambles by others clubs if things dont work out I doubt clubs will continue.
So far only Barcelona had that "paying worldclass fee for youngsters" approach with Dembele and it doesnt look good.
The price was ridiculous but he is a very talented player, beautiful to watch and is starting to back it up with goals and assists now too.
Still very young, could be one of the best 10's if he keeps it up.
Still very young, could be one of the best 10's if he keeps it up.
It's obviously a huge risk, no doubt. And Joao Felix is probably the most extreme example given that Mbappe, Dembele and Havertz (who are probably the three other highly expensive talents from the top of my memory) had proven more at the time of their moves. However, aren't you paying for potential, too, when you sign someone like Hazard? Sure, he has proven that he can be a top 5 player in the world but just because he showed it for Chelsea doesn't mean he can replicate that for Madrid. I don't think there are any guarantees.
I observed that at my own club, obviously on a far smaller scale with players in our budget. But in the last 5 years or so the players who failed or look like they're failing are the ones you didn't really expect to do so. We signed lots of young players and lots of experienced players and the percentage of disappointments is probably roughly the same. And I have the feeling this is the case for many clubs.
I mean, look at Dembele. His story is somewhat similar to Hazard's. He was signed for an insane amount of money and had bad luck with injuries (many blaming it on his lifestyle). Dembele is in his third (?) year at Barcelona and he's still not written off, although he did terrible so far. He even looked like he could finally have his break through season before the current injury. Yes, he's out again but if he wants he can make another attempt next year, the year after that and so forth. Now look at Hazard. He's in his second season and time is already running out for him as he's approaching his 30s. The leeway for him is way smaller than it ever was for Dembele.
So I see where you're coming from but I believe signing established players gives you only a illusion of security, they fail just as often as youngsters and have less time to correct that.
I get your point, if Madrid want to sell Hazard right now how much do you think the could get? I know Hazard is almost 30 and had a terrible last season and has not looked better in this one but I think they could still get 60M at least for him. With Dembele as years go by it seems more and more than he'll end up in a medium-low table club, of course he can still turn it around but the odds are against him.
For me the best balance is to sign 22-23 year old players, those have played for at least 3-4 seasons and still got time on their side. While teenagers are to much a risk because they don't have enough historial to back them up and 28-29 year old players are close to starting to decline so if they dont make an instant impact they most likely will never.