Yes he could definitely play there & is very suited to it. I also think that he has plenty of growing as a player to do - his attacking ability at RB wasn't spectacular but he did show that he could attack with intent. Though it might be far off - I'd like him to possibly play next to pogba one day - be a player that could really make that centre of midfield solid; having TFM & Pogba their would be like having two tanks/engines in that midfield. I believe he can initiate runs when he needs to & possibly pick some decent passes too.
I think the issue is that Palace are struggling and a manager will always turn to experienced players to get the team out of a mess. They can't really afford to start developing younger players that belong to another team because they will have mistakes in their game that they can't afford right now.
Is he actually struggling though? When he was playing he was consistently praised by their fans and called one of their best players.
This is what I think too - loans turn sour quickly as soon as they need to fight for something be that fighting against relegation or fighting for promotion. It's not a really a good way of reading the players ability. The reason we don't play mctominay pr tuenzebe freely is because we are competing for things & can't afford to take risks - it's their lack of experience rather than their abilities as a player.
Considering Kyle Walker has made a career of it makes me think you can get away with just being an athlete.
I think he's got a very rare quality, a desire to tackle. He's very good at it as well.
Cheera mate. Yeah sounds bad for him.
I hope this thread gets bumped in years to come as to show his world class progression so every future poster can wonder what the context of this was.
No "pretty much", he's been on the bench every game.
Yeah I knew that, just didn’t want someone to reply with the clever ‘he wasn’t on the bench v Man Utd’ even though it’s because he was ineligible.
Wrong thread.
I was on about the Chelsea players having hot water bottles on the bench. His positioning is the big question. The other doubt I had over him was his passing, but I caught a couple of Crystal Palace matches earlier in the season and it seemed that he'd improved that aspect massively. So now if he sorts out his positioning he could really go on to be anything he damn well wants. But it's also the thing that could potentially hold him back and he'll never reach the top.
I don't think a two man central midfield of Pogba and TFM would be suitable. However a three man midfield of TFM in with Pogba and Matic could potentially be devastating. Let TFM play the 'Kante' role next to Matic, using his athleticism, speed and power to just roam around and destroy everything, creating counter-attacks and whatnot.
Isn’t he injured now himself with a hamstring pull?
Depends how long he is out for but we could still give him plenty of games even with Valencia fit.
Yeah, but tbh i don't think any expected Palace to struggle so much when he was sent out on loan. It certainly wasn't as clear cut as Sunderland and Januzaj. In hindsight Burnley would have been a good shout! The thing is, it all depends on who wants your player on loan.
Burnley or Bournemouth might have been decent loans for him.
If he is getting regular game time at CP he shouldn't be recalled.
