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Reece James

Reading between the lines, Santos looks a likely candidate for a summer sale, especially off the back of a good loan. No-one is going to buy sick note Lavia or James, and Caicedo and Enzo could only be sold for a big loss given how much Eghbali overpaid for both, so that surely leaves players like Andrey, and Ugochukwu too, on the chopping board ?
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Zero chance of that happening. Everything points to him, Estevao & Petrovic being integrated into the first team.

Maresca apparently sees him as a CM. Interested to see who he starts when everyone is fit.

Lavia seems crucial for press resistance, Caicedo is undroppable, Reece is Reece and Enzo is clearly being groomed into being the face of the club. Santos to make a return in Summer too.

5 players that should be starting fighting it out for 2 positions unless Maresca mixes it up.
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Won’t be surprised to see a switch to a 4-3-3

 
Zero chance of that happening. Everything points to him, Estevao & Petrovic being integrated into the first team.

Won’t be surprised to see a switch to a 4-3-3
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I think Estevao is easy enough to integrate, as any of Madueke/Neto/Sancho/Mudryk(ban) could be sold quite easily.

Same with Petrovic, there's no one really blocking his path.

Santos seems to have a lot better/high value individuals in his way. 4-3-3 would be nice, like the Chelsea of old but where does Maresca put Palmer then? Doesn't seem to like him out wide.

 
Maresca apparently sees him as a CM. Interested to see who he starts when everyone is fit.

Lavia seems crucial for press resistance, Caicedo is undroppable, Reece is Reece and Enzo is clearly being groomed into being the face of the club. Santos to make a return in Summer too.

5 players that should be starting fighting it out for 2 positions unless Maresca mixes it up.
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Of course he does. God forbid you play a fullback at fullback.

 
Zero chance of that happening. Everything points to him, Estevao & Petrovic being integrated into the first team.

Won’t be surprised to see a switch to a 4-3-3
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I admire your faith in BlueCo !

 
Of course he does. God forbid you play a fullback at fullback.
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Might be in the minority but I think the switch to the middle of the park will do him a lot of good in the long run. The last few games he has played at RB he has struggled to keep up with the opposition winger when he has been beaten with pace. Kimmich at a point was the best RB on the planet, he transitioned to CM and has been brilliant in that role for Bayern.

 
Might be in the minority but I think the switch to the middle of the park will do him a lot of good in the long run. The last few games he has played at RB he has struggled to keep up with the opposition winger when he has been beaten with pace. Kimmich at a point was the best RB on the planet, he transitioned to CM and has been brilliant in that role for Bayern.
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Our midfielders need to cover a lot of ground in this system, I would argue this is worse for someone as injury prone as Reece. I also just don't think he offers more than any of our other midfielders in that position.

He's still our best right back regardless so should be playing there.

 
Might be in the minority but I think the switch to the middle of the park will do him a lot of good in the long run. The last few games he has played at RB he has struggled to keep up with the opposition winger when he has been beaten with pace. Kimmich at a point was the best RB on the planet, he transitioned to CM and has been brilliant in that role for Bayern.
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He didn't transition to CM, he just went back to his natural position. Kimmich was first and foremost a CM, Pep just did his Pep thing and played people elsewhere.

James is the best RB on the planet, his best attribute is his delivery from wide. Not sure why we'd want to take that from him..

 
Reece has now been fit and in the squad for 10 consecutive games. Long may it continue, by far the best player we have.
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I Know he's been a bit quiet of late, but surely that still has to be Cole Palmer?

 
I Know he's been a bit quiet of late, but surely that still has to be Cole Palmer?
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Hard to compare an attacker with a defender but give me them both fit and on top form and i'm choosing Reece.

 
Hard to compare an attacker with a defender but give me them both fit and on top form and i'm choosing Reece.
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Reece is a great player, WHEN FULLY FIT, but Palmer is a match-winner / game changer and IMO, is far & away our best player.

Just hope he starts showing it again..............!

 
Our midfielders need to cover a lot of ground in this system, I would argue this is worse for someone as injury prone as Reece. I also just don't think he offers more than any of our other midfielders in that position.

He's still our best right back regardless so should be playing there.
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Fair point but I still feel the constant changing directions, and running up and down wrecked him. Let’s be honest he looks leggy at RB, and when he gets caught upfield he leaves behind a big hole. In the middle of the park he isn’t being asked to make short sprints. I still feel he can be devastating in the middle of the park by picking up out our attackers with pinpoint long balls.

 
I think he may have to abandon the RB or RWB position due to his limited physical conditions. We aren't overloaded with options either in midfield without Levia, unless we count KDH as a serous option. I'm just happy to see James play without breaking down, to be honest. He's still a much better footballer than many of the current rosters, even playing as a striker.

 
Fair point but I still feel the constant changing directions, and running up and down wrecked him. Let’s be honest he looks leggy at RB, and when he gets caught upfield he leaves behind a big hole. In the middle of the park he isn’t being asked to make short sprints. I still feel he can be devastating in the middle of the park by picking up out our attackers with pinpoint long balls.
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I'm not against him playing in midfield in general, it's just under this particular system I don't see how he would survive. Lavia can barely manage it himself.

 
What about all the fans on here that said he was finished etc etc? Well, I was one of them ! ,😂

Hope he stays injury free, such a good player .

 
What about all the fans on here that said he was finished etc etc? Well, I was one of them ! ,😂

Hope he stays injury free, such a good player .
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I'm still yet to be convinced that James isn't finished. If James can no longer be the player he once was, then have we really got him back?

 
He's a solid player right now but Ive yet to see anything that suggests we got the old James back to be honest. Still a great achievement to be this good despite all those injuries though.

 
Hope this CM shift is only temporary until his hamstring is stronger and Lavia is back. I don't see how playing CM is any less strain than playing the RB/RCB role that Fofana was playing yesterday tbh.

 
Hope this CM shift is only temporary until his hamstring is stronger and Lavia is back. I don't see how playing CM is any less strain than playing the RB/RCB role that Fofana was playing yesterday tbh.
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It isn't. CM is very tasking, even more so in this system that relies on man to man marking. If he was just holding a zone it would be fine.

Also sorry to say but James just isn't very good in CM from what I've seen so far. The amount of space he left chasing shadows was worrying. Probably not even his fault, more a system issue. Good option to have against relegation teams I guess but certainly not a long term position for him.

 
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