Rodrigo Hernandez - Atletico confirm deal - p192

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Nobody from the player’s circle has said anything of the sort to Atletico. All parties are somewhat surprised at what has been made public, and deny that it occurred. They do not know the origin of the information but they clarify that today there is nothing. [@mundodeportivo]
 
Watched the 1st half v Barca, he didn't impress in a 2 man defensive midfield if there is any truth in it, hope Pep can weave his magic, not in Fern's class at this stage but who is, wish Ferna could stay good until Tommy Doyle comes through
 
karen7 said:
Nobody from the player’s circle has said anything of the sort to Atletico. All parties are somewhat surprised at what has been made public, and deny that it occurred. They do not know the origin of the information but they clarify that today there is nothing. [@mundodeportivo]
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MD is not really reliable but Ruben Uria basically said the same thing out of Madrid and he has similar if not better credibility than Morena who made the claim yesterday - so either truth to it or the usual avalanche of rumours that are difficult to take seriously yet. Plus, July 1 is still 3 months away
 
karen7 said:
Nobody from the player’s circle has said anything of the sort to Atletico. All parties are somewhat surprised at what has been made public, and deny that it occurred. They do not know the origin of the information but they clarify that today there is nothing. [@mundodeportivo]
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If he was going to do this... I don’t think he’d do it now - this is an action for June not April. I’d be very sceptical that he’d say anything before the season is over even if he does (and it’s a big if) want to join us.
 
nmc said:
If he was going to do this... I don’t think he’d do it now - this is an action for June not April. I’d be very sceptical that he’d say anything before the season is over even if he does (and it’s a big if) want to join us.
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Why not? He has to be open with his club and inform them as soon as the decision is made. The only question is how the press got this info.
 
Andrew___K said:
Why not? He has to be open with his club and inform them as soon as the decision is made. The only question is how the press got this info.
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It’s just not how players go about things.. well not decent ones... if he’s got a release clause he just trigger that at the end of the season - why disrupt things now?
 
nmc said:
It’s just not how players go about things.. well not decent ones... if he’s got a release clause he just trigger that at the end of the season - why disrupt things now?
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Maybe hes been asked to sign an extension with a higher clause and he’s had to tell them he intends to move on, if he has and its not a false rumour.
 
nmc said:
It’s just not how players go about things.. well not decent ones... if he’s got a release clause he just trigger that at the end of the season - why disrupt things now?
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Atletico need to know where they stand as early as possible: Partey has an even lower release clause and could be tempted to move this summer, Saul reportedly wants to change the club/country, so there's a good probability of losing several key mids at once.

Keeping the move in secret doesn't make sense if Rodri wants to leave on good terms. Besides, it could be important for the clubs' future relationship.
 
Been watching him for the last week or so whilst doing other shit (as I did with Jorginho and have basically been proven right about him - so a 100% success rate ;) )

1st thing I'd say is that it's better to watch him playing for Spain or even Villarreal, where he plays more as a 6, than it is for Atletico, where he plays in a midfield 2 in a 442. There's also the style of football differences (Atletico are actually a tough watch tbh). Playing for Atletico he doesn't get the ball when he should, or at least would if he was playing for us.

From what I've seen, the Busquets comparisons are largely fair. Tho obviously Rodri is a long way behind Busquets, particularly prime Busquets, but being so young he clearly has time and room to improve, and Pep is the perfect coach for him. Whilst it'd be wrong to say it's hard not to think he's wasting time at Atletico under Simeone, obviously he can learn alot about the defensive side of the game there, long term he needs a purest like Pep to reach his full potential.

It's hard to talk about him really because he seems to be good at pretty much everything - tho, as already mentioned, he has room to improve. He's very tall yet more mobile than you'd expect someone his height to be. He's a clever passer, and a progressive one when given the chance (Atletico setup not ideal in this regard), defensively, he wins most duels.

The one slight doubt I have is in his ability (or lack hereof) of "course-correcting" his movements. ie. when he commits to a tackle or closing down he can be taken out of the game momentarily if not successful. Might not be explaining it the best I can but Fernandinho, for example, can commit to a tackle but if unsuccessful can immediately nick the ball at a 2nd attempt when the opponent has changed direction. Defensively Rodri might be a bit more Matic than Dinho. Wins a high % of his duels but may not have the ability to attempt as many. Might be abit harsh here as I've only watched about 6 games but whatever. He does seem a very intelligent player so maybe more Carrick than Matic?

Every other DM we have been linked to has at least one really obvious flaw. And even in someone like Ndombele, who is clearly excellent at something in particular (ball carrying), I'm not sure how much we'd benefit given the role of a 6. Neves' shooting ability could be an immense help against parked buses but he has an obvious mobility issue to play on his own in our midfield.
Our needs aren't based on signing the most eye catching player. We already have those. It's about the right fit.

Overall, Rodri is a good player who could probably do a good job straight away rotating with Dinho (who imo could still play a big role for quite a while yet, the lad is a built like a whippet), what I'm more excited about is what he could become.
As a result I think his release fee of £59m is expensive right now but in a few years time could be seen as a superb bit of business even if the market stayed as it is now.
If the club is confident in him we should just pay it and get him in. I hope they're in contact with FIFA about the ban because we can't do shit until they charge us, which has surely got to come soon or next season as they can't think it reasonable to foist it on us a few weeks before the window opens...
 
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nmc said:
If he was going to do this... I don’t think he’d do it now - this is an action for June not April. I’d be very sceptical that he’d say anything before the season is over even if he does (and it’s a big if) want to join us.
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Atleti are out of Europe and the cup, safely on the CL places and out of the title race. Their season is over.
 
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