I'll take a conservative view and say that he's not worth anywhere near 20 million. Yet. He has the potential to be a player of that pricetag. You're paying for the potential. I would be very surprised if he does anything outstanding for Liverpool next season, he will continue to develop nicely though. He's not as dynamic or complete as Michael Bridges was when we sold him, and he doesn't run a game. He's no Gerrard, not even close. At first, he'll appear to put in a lot of graft, yet do nothing tangible.
He's hit something like 70-odd appearances in the first team in a very average side and frequently shone, but he had a mid-season trough recently where he looked totally ineffectual. The good news to come out of that run was that he never stopped trying, so he's got a decent temperament (although the extent to which that level of drive was to do with playing for his hometown team is to be seen).
He's a bit of an enigma. He does seem to have a sound footballing brain, and a decent level of technical ability. He sees himself as central midfield, but he's better drifting onto the right flank. He can put in a very decent cross. He has a decent shot. He's a box-to-box player. He's a great player for Eng U21s. Yet at other times he drifts out of the game, over-relies on simple passes and runs around like a headless chicken. Sometimes he huffs and puffs in a match yet doesn't seem to apply it to create end product. He simply doesn't shoot enough, or tackle. He's not a fast winger.
That sounds terrible. He's not. Just be prepared for some shockingly un-20-million-esque performances. If Liverpool sort out his playing position, and train him up there, then he could be excellent. The Liverpool staff seem to think so. At the moment he's been shoved into various positions and roles for Sunlun and England, and once he gets settled and stops trying to do everything averagely, then he could flourish.
He's hit something like 70-odd appearances in the first team in a very average side and frequently shone, but he had a mid-season trough recently where he looked totally ineffectual. The good news to come out of that run was that he never stopped trying, so he's got a decent temperament (although the extent to which that level of drive was to do with playing for his hometown team is to be seen).
He's a bit of an enigma. He does seem to have a sound footballing brain, and a decent level of technical ability. He sees himself as central midfield, but he's better drifting onto the right flank. He can put in a very decent cross. He has a decent shot. He's a box-to-box player. He's a great player for Eng U21s. Yet at other times he drifts out of the game, over-relies on simple passes and runs around like a headless chicken. Sometimes he huffs and puffs in a match yet doesn't seem to apply it to create end product. He simply doesn't shoot enough, or tackle. He's not a fast winger.
That sounds terrible. He's not. Just be prepared for some shockingly un-20-million-esque performances. If Liverpool sort out his playing position, and train him up there, then he could be excellent. The Liverpool staff seem to think so. At the moment he's been shoved into various positions and roles for Sunlun and England, and once he gets settled and stops trying to do everything averagely, then he could flourish.
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