William Carvalho

[Dr.Faustus]

William Carvalho has always had a great range of passing, but often little work ethic; would seem like a strange buy for Pep as he will not press. If were looking at defensive midfielders from Liga NOS it surprises me we aren't being linked with Danilo Pereira, who is tenacious in the tackle, quicker to cover ground and has just come off the back of a great season.

 

[FFPbegone]

That's because he is. You'll notice how all the Portuguese football experts that are devastated we might be signing him haven't actually come up with any reasons for it.

True, haven't actually heard why he is shit haha.
He is like a tank, reminds me a little of toure the way he goes through the oppositions midfield.

His passing looks great also

 

[Akiva]

Actually don't want to break your heart but Tolmie literally said we were signing him 3 months ago.

To be fair, he hasn't mentioned him since. Also, he posted that on the day Mahmoud Dahoud was confirmed as going to Dortmund (who tolmie had said we were in on for a few days previous) Basically: things change and can do so very quickly.

I personally don't think he's nearly as bad a player as seems to be the prevailing opinion here, but eh.

So is pep just getting his brother a payout then??

Pretty sure Pep is a bit more professional than that.

 

[Wretched Vengeance]

He looks decent in that second video above?

But, lazy and oaf like in the first.

I'll admit, I don't know fuck all about the guy.

What I will say i, I hope he's truly gifted technically as he looks slow and a bit laboured from that first video.

Not sure how to judge him if I am honest from that and what I read about him on here.

 

[BigOscar]

William Carvalho has always had a great range of passing, but often little work ethic; would seem like a strange buy for Pep as he will not press. If were looking at defensive midfielders from Liga NOS it surprises me we aren't being linked with Danilo Pereira, who is tenacious in the tackle, quicker to cover ground and has just come off the back of a great season.

I'd imagine he's not interested in a charge around donkey like Danilo to play in his midfield and is looking for a replacement for Yaya to play that Busquets role. I think people completely misread what sort of player Carvalho is, or could become, in large part because of what he looks like. He's far more Carrick than Kante, but people don't expect that from someone like him

 

[domalino]

True, haven't actually heard why he is shit haha.
He is like a tank, reminds me a little of toure the way he goes through the oppositions midfield.

His passing looks great also

He's not like the old Yaya, he doesn't have the pace or shooting ability to go on those barnstorming runs.

But he's got good positioning, he'll always be available to receive the ball if someone is under pressure, he can ping balls 40 or 50 yards for a winger to run onto or dink a ball over a defensive line. He's strong and has good feet so getting the ball off him is difficult, and he will put in tackles.

The downside is his pace. Beyond a little burst to beat a man over 10 yards he's slow. But as I and others have pointed out, so is Fabregas, Barry and so was Alonso. That position is probably the one place in the pitch where being smart will overcome a lack of pace.

 

[Proy]

I think this was the video that put everyone off this guy...



A little more positive but very average and doesnt offer much going forward...

All that shows is the extremist nature of these YouTube videos.

The first clip is short. I could compile at least 10 where yaya has done things in much the same way.

I could even make Spanish Dave look shit with a clip like that first one. But equally I could make him look like a fucking superstar (which we know he is anyway)

If people are passing judgment on a 10 second video then that is somewhat fickle.

If he's good enough for Pep then hes good enough for me

 

[TRUE BLUE NO1]

Did he have a change in manager at club level last season? Just been looking at earlier season highlights (2015) and he looked lighter on his feet and played with more hunger...Maybe he just needs the right manager to bring out the best in him? Passing seems to be the strength of his game...

 

[Divino da Guia]

If rumours start picking up about this guy, I get the feeling we're going to miss out on Fabinho.....With Yaya rumoured to be signing a new 1yr deal.....no room for both Carvalho and Fabinho in our midfield....

1. Stuart‏ @bloostoo 4m4 minutes ago
   William Carvalho averages 20 more passes per game than Fabinho (with more accuracy), wonder if that would give him the edge in Pep's eyes.
   
   
2. Stuart‏ @bloostoo 3m3 minutes ago
   William makes far fewer tackles than Fabinho, but slightly more interceptions. Fabinho seems more athletic, but it depends what Pep's after.

Can't take seriously stats comparing a midfielder from a physical league as League 1, with a guy playing in the Portuguese league for a team that probably will get 70% of possession in 90% of the games.

But i would not be surprised if he's coming, because i saw a lot of articles in the Italian media linking Fabinho with Juventus.

 

[domalino]

Did he have a change in manager at club level last season? Just been looking at earlier season highlights (2015) and he looked lighter on his feet and played with more hunger...Maybe he just needs the right manager to bring out the best in him? Passing seems to be the strength of his game...

His breakout was under the current Monaco manager, Leonardo Jardim. So very high work rate and pressing was required and probably more like Pep than the current regime under Jorge Jesus.

Under Jardim, he was incredible, became a guy everyone wanted, Sporting demanded £50m, everyone backed away.