Houssem Aouar

Dax777 said:
Upgrade on Gundo? The disrespect on this site just never stops.
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I think he would be an upgrade. Not straight away, but I think there's a limit to how much Gundogan can improve in the 6 role. He will never be faster, never be aggressive in the tackle. He can improve other parts of his game so he doesn't need to make covering tackles or get stuck in, but eventually there will be a moment when he's found wanting.

Aouar has a Bernardo/Foden-esque natural aggression, he snaps at people, he's fast and covers ground, he goes into tackles with the kind of aggression you need when it's one of those occassions where the man has to come down regardless of if the tackle ends up being legal or not.

But on top of all that, he's an incredible 8, he has wonderful passing range, goal threat and control.

I really like Gundo - partly because I think he gets unfair amounts of stick - but I think there is a limiting factor to him at 6 and honestly I'm not a huge fan of him as an 8 - most of his invisible/bad games for us are when he's replacing KDB or Silva.


I'm glad he looks like staying, but if we buy someone like Rodri this season I don't see any game where he'd play unless there's injuries. That's presumably one of the reasons he's not signed yet.
 
Tevez City said:
If you compare their numbers here https://www.whoscored.com/PlayerComparison

There is not big difference.
apart from age
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I like Aouar. Perhaps not as much as others. @domalino saying he is an "upgrade but not straight away" is appropriate. I think on the eye test, Gundogan is currently a superior player. Even statistically (which I agree isn't determinative) Gundogan is better. Aouar will be stepping up to a higher level, he'd need to make fewer mistakes, have a little less freedom than he currently does, and play against more resolute defenses who consistently sit back rather than play straight up.

Too many underestimate this difference. It's the very foundation of Mahrez's struggle here. He isn't seeing the same kind of space he was seeing at Leicester.

However, I'd disagree on a minor point with Domalino. I think Aouar just like Gundogan will be best as a 6 here. I'm not certain (barring meteoric improvement) that he will be any more successful as an 8 in our squad.

Also, considering Pep's identification of height and defending of set pieces as City's biggest problem, i think height will garner serious consideration this window.

So Rodrigo over Aouar, Maguire over Aiderwereld, and so on and so forth.
 
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