Personally, I think he’s already one of the top 10-15 midfielders in world football. It just happens that 4 of our midfielders are in that category too. But I can’t think of many midfielders in world football who can effortlessly switch their style of play week in week out, and excel in every role like him. Bernardo possibly could though.
He could play in this City squad right now though, no problem, he’d get game time. I don’t think you would see much of a difference if he replaced Bernardo, Gundo, Rodri or KDB, for a game here or there and did their role. He has the highest average rating in the Bundesliga this season, 14th in Europe and 10th in Europe for MOTMs.
The big things for me though, that would match us well, is he is excellent at the short passing game. He seems to constantly be moving into space and wanting the ball, which is the exact thing required when playing Tiki Taka football (I know Pep says that we don’t play that, but our philosophy comes from that concept). He’s currently number 1 in the Bundesliga in passing index. He’s also very impressive when teams play the low block against Dortmund, he’s in the top 5 players for big chances created and in the top 10 for passes in the final third. Add that to his defensive abilities, he’s second for tackling.
His development has been so rapid, which suggests he’s a fast learner. You look at where he’s at in his ability, at 19, as a midfielder, it’s a very rare thing. Let Pep get hold of him and we could be talking about a different level of player in 2 seasons. But right now, I think he’d still have a place in our team, maybe not the very best 11, but he’d certainly be in there with the 12-15 players with the most minutes. For me, he’s a must.
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