If you can think of one case where a top club (genuine CL contender) have trusted an u21 to lead the line on their own come back to me.
Kane was playing lower league.Lewandowski(Dortmund)
Benzema(Lyon and first year at Real)
Higuain
Harry Kane(not competing in the champs league at 21 but he has led the line on his own and they are now better than us)
Adebayor/Van Persie
Lukaku has been playing lone striker since he was like 17
Icardi
Ronaldo was supplemented. Where do Sané, Sterling, De Bruyne and Silva fit in a 3-5-2?You do make a solid point but Ronaldo ( Brazilian ) was the #1 goalscorer at every club at a young age. Mbappe/Jesus would be supplemented like he was. Not saying these guys are as good as Ronaldo was but they aren't far off. I mean Mbappe's numbers match up.
Benzema didn't move to Real until he was 22.Kane was playing lower league.
Lewandowski was playing in Poland afaik and nobody considered BVB serious CL contenders when he was u21.
Van Persie? Was he even first choice for Arsenal at that age?
Lukaku was at Anderlecht, West Brom and Everton, which of these clubs would you consider serious CL contenders?
Benzema you might have a point, if we had a 40-50 goal winger considered one of the best of all time. Lyon weren't Champions League contenders.
Lewandowski was playing at Lech Poznan until he was 22 and was 24/nearly 25 when BVB made the final. Higuain was never Madrid's main man.Benzema didn't move to Real until he was 22.
Adebayor didn't move to Arsenal until 22, and although played a few games for Monaco when they got to the final, wasn't the main man at all (Morientes was)
Van Persie joined Arsenal at 21 and was a winger, didn't become main striker until Henry left a few years later
Higuaín didn't score a CL goal until he was 22, so probably wasn't Reals main man
Icardi plays a midtable side, having moved their aged 20 from a worse midtable side
Yup, pretty much doesn't happen outside of Football Manager. Even Messi, who was a freakish talent, didn't truly become the main man for Barca until he was 21 and even then he had Henry and Eto'o alongside himLewandowski was playing at Lech Poznan until he was 22 and was 24/nearly 25 when BVB made the final. Higuain was never Madrid's main man.
Its a bit of a silly question to ask, as the question assumes the reason the guys he mentioned weren't leading their lines was because they couldn't.Lewandowski(Dortmund)
Benzema(Lyon and first year at Real)
Higuain
Harry Kane(not competing in the champs league at 21 but he has led the line on his own and they are now better than us)
Adebayor/Van Persie
Lukaku has been playing lone striker since he was like 17
Icardi
On the wingsRonaldo was supplemented. Where do Sané, Sterling, De Bruyne and Silva fit in a 3-5-2?
I think it's safe to assume that if two of the greatest of all time couldn't do it, neither can either of those two.Its a bit of a silly question to ask, as the question assumes the reason the guys he mentioned weren't leading their lines was because they couldn't.
On the wings
And who said they should be the main men?Yup, pretty much doesn't happen outside of Football Manager. Even Messi, who was a freakish talent, didn't truly become the main man for Barca until he was 21 and even then he had Henry and Eto'o alongside him
Your red herring is silly. Sane and Sterling Wil play as wingers. Silva and Debryune will play in the middle with a DM.I think it's safe to assume that if two of the greatest of all time couldn't do it, neither can either of those two.
All 4 of them? As wing backs? Great, let's not only get rid of a 30 goal a season guaranteed striker but also fuck over the other 4 of our best 5 players by playing them way out of position, in the process unbalancing the entire team. All for the sake of a shiny new toy. Genius.