Romelu Lukaku as revealed that Chelsea will decide if he will spend next season on loan at West Brom.
The Belgian international has been in fine form for the Baggies following his loan arrival over the summer, notching 12 goals in all competitions.
This has led to speculation that the Midlanders are looking to extend his stay at The Hawthorns, something Lukaku could be keen on with first-team opportunities likely to be limited with the Blues.
But, the 19-year-old, who was signed by Chelsea for £18m from Anderlecht, has no idea where he will be next season, and insists that the Londoners will make the decision:
“I don’t know what Chelsea will decide. We’ll have a chat about how to build up a good career for me there.” He is quoted by Sky Sports.
“There are a lot of clever people over there and they’re seeing that I am playing in a good way.”
Lukaku went on to reveal that he is in regular contact with Chelsea, who are very impressed with his development but anxious for him to keep moving in the right direction:
“Every 10 days I have a meeting with Chelsea. Sometimes they just come and talk with me and say what I have to improve, if I go back there I have to be like this or like that.
“There is a lot to improve on. I am only 19 so I can improve loads. They will see maybe I need one more year or maybe I don’t. I have a great understanding with them.”
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Lukaku has been dubbed the ‘Baby Drogba’ by some, with his physical presence and eye for goal comparable to the former Chelsea star.
If there is one game that Nigel Adkins will loathe to lose it is this one. If there is one game that Reading can’t afford it is definitely this one. Two months have passed since the Royals last tasted the sweet relish of a Premier League success and must start to pick up points quickly if they’re to avoid an immediate return to the Championship. In that time the club dispensed with Brian McDermott, replaced him with Adkins and slumped back to the bottom of the table. Many will look at the task handed to the 48-year-old former Scunthorpe physio as one of sheer impossibility with Reading seven points from safety. But this is a man that thrives in the face of adversity having steered Southampton to consecutive promotions and back into the top-flight. His cruel dismissal from St Mary’s in January was a shock to everyone and Adkins himself will profess that he has no axe to grind with the Saints. Secretly, deep down he’ll be straining at ever sinew to put one over his former employers.
To his credit Mauricio Pochettino has proved himself an astute appointment since being chosen to replace Adkins at St Mary’s. Last Saturday’s impressive win over Chelsea made it seven points from their last three games and lifted the Saints up to 12th in the table. Although four points still separate them from the drop zone on the evidence of their performances in the past month Pochettino can guide the club to safety. His primary concern this week will be rendering his predecessor’s insider knowledge of the Southampton squad useless and nabbing the victory that could rubber stamp a second season in the top-flight.
Team News
Jimmy Kebe and Jason Roberts are the only absentees for Reading meaning Nigel Adkins has a full squad to choose from in his first home game as manager. He’ll also be able to call on the services goalkeeper of goalkeeper Adam Federici after he shook off an ankle problem.
Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino is hoping goalkeeper Artur Boruc (virus) and captain Adam Lallana (groin) will be fit for the trip to the Madjeski Stadium. Otherwise the Saints are at near full strength for this crunch clash.
What the managers said…
“Situations happen in life and in football. I had a fantastic relationship with the supporters and everyone at Southampton but that has now gone. We had a fantastic journey there and that can never be taken away. We were with the players for two and a half years and we were very successful in that spell and we played some good football. The situation has happened and what we have to do is move on. You have to move forward. That is the reality. You can either dwell on the past or get on with things.” Nigel Adkins says he bears no grudges towards Southampton (ESPN)
“That is what we’re going to attempt. Before all games we must have maximum respect for all teams that we’re facing, but our main focus is on getting three points. It’s clear to me that we’ve been very close (away from home). We’ve had some tough games away and we’ve also been close to getting a victory. Against Wigan, for example, but we haven’t been able to do it yet. Hopefully on Saturday we will have the effectiveness and the good fortune as well to get the three points because that’s what we really need this weekend.” Mauricio Pochettino has warned his side against complacency as he chases a first away win as Saints boss (saintsfc.co.uk)
Pre-Match Statistic: Reading have the worst clean sheet record in the Premier League this season with just three shut-outs. Each one of them has come at the Madjeski Stadium.
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Prediction: Reading 1-2 Southampton
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When the dust settles on this season for Liverpool, the underlying positive to take from what has been a campaign of undoubted progress, continually undermined by individual error, is that the club has welcomed a whole wealth of new, young squad options. But do some of them require a spell away first to truly get the experience required to play consistently for the club at the top level?
Manager Brendan Rodgers discussed the futures of Suso and Raheem Sterling in recent weeks, with possible loan moves mooted, before later dismissing that he would allow them to leave the club at this stage of the term and with such a small squad to work with, they remain well within his thoughts for selection, but it’s certainly a path he would be wise to consider in the summer.
Sterling has been the main breakthrough this year, even if his form has inevitably tailed off after the turn of the year due to the mental and physical fatigue suffered by one so young playing in the top flight and quickly becoming a relied upon member of the first-team. Alongside the raw England winger there is also Suso, Jack Robinson, Conor Coady, Andre Wisdom, Jon Flanagan and the more experienced heads of Jonjo Shelvey and Sebastian Coates to ponder.
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Rodgers has already targeted a busy summer of transfer activity ahead, despite concerns that the club’s rising debt could have an impact on his operating budget, telling reporters last week: “It is quality we are after now, not quantity. We see the impact of Coutinho, and Sturridge’s quality, in January. That’s what we’re looking for. If we bring in another three or four players of that quality, add that to what we have got, then we have got a strong squad that can compete.”
Straight away, someone like Wisdom for example is facing a tough ask to play as much next season as he has done this one; with Martin Kelly set to return from injury soon, and the retirement of Jamie Carragher imminent, defensive reinforcements are going to be right at the top of the priority list, with quality full-back cover for Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique an absolute must. He may well be kept around the squad again, but whether he’ll be relied upon in the same manner is doubtful. This then has a knock-on effect on those even further down the pecking order such as Flanagan and Robinson (currently on loan at Wolves).
Elsewhere, the struggles of Coates have not gone unnoticed and his name on the team sheet is invariably met with a series of nervous glances and frank exchanges about his ability among the club’s fans. For such a tall centre-back, it’s remarkable how poor he is in the air, possessing no real great leap to get above his marker, while his lack of pace and turning circle akin to a small cruise liner mark him out as a player desperately short on confidence and in dire need of more first-team football to acclimatise to the top flight.
This is a catch-22 situation, though, because he has been so poor when he’s been called upon this season that playing him and getting him up to speed is a huge risk in itself, even when you consider Martin Skrtel’s quite frankly appalling form since the turn of the year. Deciding his future at the end of the season is a real head-scratcher for Rodgers, because should they let him go out on loan to another top flight side to get more playing time, an option I’d like to see pursued, then factoring in Skrtel’s likely exit and Carragher’s retirement, that’s three centre-backs the club need to move for now. In one window, finding the right players for the right money, that could be a stretch too far, but they must not let what is a clearly talented player with an international pedigree become the next Gabriel Paletta.
Then there’s midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, once upon a time the leader in the engine room on Europa League nights before being made a scapegoat for the Boxing Day defeat to Stoke. He’s regressed in recent months due to being marginalised in such a fashion and he looked understandably under-cooked during the defeat against West Brom when he started last. He’s not a player that you can just throw in, he needs a run of games to get up to speed, but with Joe Allen, Jordan Henderson and Lucas Leiva all jostling for position as it is, it may be beneficial in the long-term to see him somewhere else for a few months.
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The main provision of any of the club’s talented brood of youngsters leaving should be that they are loaned out to Premier League clubs. As Robinson will have surmised from his loan spell at Wolves, a side currently fighting for survival with a clueless manager at the helm down at the bottom of the Championship, that sort of football, while it might prepare you for a lower-league career, doesn’t exactly give you a sound footing in what top level football is about; the playing styles are completely different, the approach and the quality make it a pointless move for a serious prospect.
Of the players to really break through into the starting eleven at times this season, Sterling and Shelvey all have a part to play next term, but Suso, Wisdom and Coates could maybe do with more miles on the clock before they come back and try and force their way into the starting eleven. There is no exact science to loaning young players out, as Arsenal will have found out with Ryo Miyaichi at Bolton and Wigan, but giving them more of a chance to develop instead of simply warming the bench and training can only serve both them and the club better in the long-term.
Summary: Arsenal missed the chance to tighten their grip on third place after being held to a goalless draw by Everton in a close fought encounter at the Emirates Stadium.
The stalemate does little to aid either sides Champions League hopes with Arsenal now leading Chelsea and Tottenham by just two points while Everton remain two adrift of the top-four.
It was the Toffees who started brighter and should have led as early as the seventh minute. Phil Jagielka’s defence splitting pass found Steven Pienaar in the penalty area but he could only guide his shot over the bar under pressure from Wojciech Szczesny.
With the game taking on a physical edge Darron Gibson was lucky to remain on the field after he was booked just before the half hour for a challenge on Theo Walcott and possibly should have been sent off six minutes later for body checking the same player.
Victor Anichebe then wasted a good opening for the visitors just before half time prior to Oliver Giroud firing wide from Aaron Ramsey’s fizzed cross. Santi Cazorla then stung the palms of Tim Howard after the break while teenager Ross Barkley was inches away from breaking the deadlock with a thunderous 20-yard effort at the other end.
Ultimately though neither side could make the breakthrough as their defences held firm with Arsene Wenger’s substitutions, which proved the difference against Norwich on Saturday, failing to change the game.
Arsene Wenger post-match…”The game was basically down to physical intensity, it was unbelievable from first to last minute. The referee let a lot go unpunished and in the end we put a lot of effort in. Maybe we used too much power instead of placing the ball.”
David Moyes post-match…”The games are running out now so it’s harder and harder for us to get into the top four. Probably we will get talked about at the end of conversations about the Champions League as we are rank outsiders. But there’s no shame in getting a draw here.”
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Good night for…Ross Barkley: The 19-year-old was surprisingly given the nod by David Moyes ahead of veteran Phil Neville and justified his selection with a display well beyond his years and went close to giving Everton the lead with a thumping 20-yard drive in the second half.
Bad night for…Oliver Giroud: A wasteful evening for the Arsenal striker who was barely given a kick by Everton’s uncompromising rearguard. On the rare occasion an opening was created Giroud’s potency deserted him at the crucial moment.
One of the fans’ favourite awards, Goal of the Season always offers value for money. With a growing number of top players in the Premier League, the amount of stunning goals is growing season by season. This year is no different, and has offered many a good goal. But to win goal of the season, you need a bit of magic, and some spectacular finishing. It takes a lot for a goal to be good, to potentially the Goal of the Season.
Here are the nominations for goal of the season.
Leighton Baines vs Newcastle. Despite being 30 yards away from goal, Baines hit a rocket of a free kick, which swerved furiously away from Tim Krul, leaving the Dutchman with no chance. A thunderbolt of a set piece.
Robin van Persie vs Aston Villa. Wayne Rooney played a delightful 40-yard pass to the Dutchman, who hit the ball first time on the edge of the box to smash past goalkeeper Brad Guzan. A sensational volley that won United the league.
Luis Suarez vs Newcastle. Jose Enrique’s hopeful 50-yard punt down the field was met by a magical touch by the Uruguayan, who controlled the ball with his shoulder before rounding Tim Krul. A stunning piece of control to level the scores for Liverpool.
Matt Lowton v Stoke. With just 4 minutes left at 1-1, Lowton controlled the clearance from a corner with his chest, before unleashing a 30-yard volley that flew over the defence and goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, to give Villa a huge 3 points.
Gareth Bale v West Ham United. With seconds left of normal time, Gareth Bale took centre stage. Just under 30 yards out, Bale sidestepped Gary O’Neill before launching an unstoppable, dipping shot into the top corner. A stunner from the PFA player of the year.
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David Luiz v Fulham. Chelsea were just casually passing the ball around in Fulham’s half without looking too threatening. But then David Luiz decided to shoot from 35 yards out, and his precise bullet flew into the top corner.
Amid the customary celebrations following Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday, there would have been plenty of groans from the pessimists. Theo Walcott is still scoring, great. Aaron Ramsey looks good, great. But here we go; Arsene Wenger is about to once again talk up his streamlined squad as being title contenders.
Naturally Wenger took that course, but he also acknowledged the lack of depth and obvious quality that’s required for a 55-game season. And it’s exactly what he should have said. Former transfer target Etienne Capoue has just signed for Tottenham for a fee that is right in Wenger’s ballpark, all the while the defensive midfield position remains unseen to on, at time of writing, 12th August.
But Wenger’s lack of action thus far may be vindicated soon enough. The manager, rather than aiming for the fence and potentially disrupting any ongoing deal, played it safe by hinting at Luiz Gustavo. Raphael Honigstein also mentioned the deal last night, suggesting that personal terms were the final hurdle in the deal.
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It can’t come soon enough. Capoue is good, often spoken of as the best defensive midfielder in France over the past two seasons. But Arsenal need bigger and better. Bigger being a league with a slightly higher standing than the well-trodden Ligue1, and better being something in the form of a treble winner with Bayern Munich last season. Gustavo may not have played much in comparison to Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez, but honestly how many players are there in the Bayern squad that wouldn’t be great signings for any club?
Far too often do Arsenal let good players slip the net. There is growing frustration, naturally, among Arsenal supporters, and the club have already failed to land big names over the issue of price. So where is the harm in picking up Capoue for £8.6 million? Why was he deemed a good target in January but not six months later? I understand I answered my own question prior to asking it, but the point is that Wenger really needs to get the ball rolling on those players who are seen as better quality in order to justify the passing up of those who have already moved.
It sort of mimics the whole striker dance of this summer. Many have gone; some of exceptional quality, but Arsenal have continued to stand around waiting for that ideal player. Maybe “ideal” isn’t the best choice of word for the current prime target, but it sort of is when talking “footballistically.”
Gustavo, as I wrote recently, is one of the best players currently available to Arsenal. Bayern are willing to sell, he’s better than Marouane Fellaini, and isn’t really valued at an uncomfortable rate, even though his signing could break the club’s transfer record.
A move for Gustavo could and should represent something positive in a hugely frustrating summer window. Let’s be honest, Arsenal have looked like they have no idea what’s going on. That whole fashionably late thing doesn’t work, but with around three weeks remaining until the window closes, everything should start to take shape for the club.
Gustavo is an instant fix for a problem area. Mikel Arteta is ageing, while it would be absolute negligence to rely on Ramsey for that role for the majority of the season, despite how good he’s looked. Arsenal need to show that passing on Capoue twice was the right move; that even though a bargain transfer was very much on the table, the increased spending power of the club would be put to good use.
There’s three weeks left of the window, but importantly there’s three weeks left for Wenger to show that this summer hasn’t been the total shambles it’s perceived to be.
Were Arsenal right to pass on Capoue considering the recent history of scuppered deals?
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Weekend football – pub, mates, a couple of beers, nothing sounds better. There’s always a good mood down at your local, but it’s not really the same as watching the game from the stands where at least you have a small but reasonable chance of your team’s manager hearing you scream your expert advice from your seat. We know how much better the atmosphere is at the game, which is why we’re offering you the opportunity to win tickets for two fantastic Premier League matches this weekend!Everton v HullBoth teams have played well this season, but now it is getting to the stage where ‘well’ doesn’t get you the points. Situated next to each other in the table, with only one point separating them, both teams could do with a win in this game which is what will make it such an interesting match. Everton have home team advantage – but I’m sure that won’t stop Hull putting up a fight.
Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur
In their most recent match in the Capital One Cup, Spurs crippled Villa in a 4-0 win, so in theory Villa should be fighting back to gain a win in return. In terms of league points there is not much separating the teams, but Spurs will certainly be fighting for those three points to get them into the top four and nearer to top of the table rivals, Arsenal.
The EA SPORTS Team of the Week will be available at www.PremierLeague.com/EASPORTSPlayerPerformanceIndexÂafter each round of the Barclays Premier League. The team will be based on ratings from the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
The win away to Bayern Munich last season proved to be the turning point for both Arsenal as a club and Wojciech Szczesny on a personal level.
The idea of the Polish international fulfilling his undoubted potential and becoming one of Europe’s best goalkeepers became an afterthought; instead, it was the need to get through 90 minutes with as little commotion and error as possible. Like with the rest of the club, complacency had set in and the interest to reach for an extra five or 10 per cent had long since disappeared.
But where the win at the Allianz Arena last March proved that Arsenal are capable of winning big and altering their playing style, it also became an awakening for Szczesny that no matter how uncertain the journey was with the other goalkeeping option in Lukas Fabianski, it was nevertheless a journey worth taking if at least one battle could be won: either the kick Szczesny needed, or the successful navigating of 90 minutes.
Szczesny knows now that the goalkeeping position isn’t his to keep, but rather one that he needs to strive to attain. The loan signing of Emiliano Viviano was a warning shot fired by Arsene Wenger for the Pole to shape up, to work at his game and specifically his mentality. Goalkeepers need to be confident; it’s an aspect that Fabianski has long been lacking. But where does confidence cross the border into cockiness and even laziness? Arguably, you have to be better than just a good goalkeeper with excellent reflexes to play for a team like Arsenal. With the team’s approach based around possession football, there will be long spells where the goalkeeper is nothing but an extra among the thousands of spectators in the stadium. An Arsenal goalkeeper also needs to be mentally prepared for the occasions where he’ll be called into action, basically keeping himself ‘warm’ through periods of inactivity.
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Szczesny’s standout save against West Brom is what he’s capable of but hasn’t always shown. The shot, which took a deflection off Mathieu Flamini, would have gone in had the Szczesny of old been manning the posts. This time, the Pole readjusted and leapt back in the direction he’d come to keep the score at 0-0.
There shouldn’t be an argument that age and a lack of experience will hold players back. Goalkeepers like Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Thibaut Courtois are highly coveted, and yet neither have gone past their twenty-first birthday. The same was true for David de Gea when he made the switch from Atletico Madrid to Manchester United; good players generally shine through no matter their level of experience in the game.
Szczesny is capable, he has the talent to hold the No.1 spot at Arsenal for a considerable amount of time and take up company with the aforementioned group when they rightly acquire the status of best goalkeepers in the world. But he needed a nudge, in fact much more than that. He needed a manager to turn threats into action and prove that no matter the feeble state of the Arsenal goalkeeping department, Szczesny was droppable.
The goalkeeping shuffle at the tail end of last season was a gamble that paid off in the short term with Fabianski putting together a run of good performances, but also a gamble that should, based on current form, pay off in the long term.
Szczesny is far from the finished article, but he is finally back on the path to realising his maximum potential, a path that he momentarily strayed away from.
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I think the news of a permanent successor to AVB will come as a bit of light relief for Tottenham fans. A week of torture that culminated in defeat to local rivals West Ham and subsequently saw the North Londoners booted out of the League Cup. Whether you agree or disagree with the appointment, many would see this as a bit of closure on another painful chapter in the clubs recent history.
Many are willing to give Sherwood a chance, some even forget that the great Pep Guardiola was promoted from within, could Spurs be so lucky?
The jury may be out on Sherwood’s managerial abilities, but for me Levy hasn’t closed the door on the issue of succeeding AVB but instead left it worryingly ajar.
Sherwood has made it clear that he wasn’t going to ever be a Premier League caretaker, either give him the job permanently or not at all was the basic gist. This isn’t to say that Sherwood lacks loyalty to Spurs, more so that the job offer had to be right for him as well as the club, something that I think most can understand and accept. A contract to the end of the season would have seen the Englishman keeping the seat warm for someone else, whereas a long term contract would have been sure sign that the Spurs hierarchy have genuine faith in Sherwood.
What Levy did in reality was neither; an 18 month contract that to many just smacked of a Ricky Sbragia type rule at Sunderland. The kind of see how it goes, but we probably expect it to fall flat on itself eventually; some may call the offer prudent but for me it just shows a total lack of faith
Levy’s comments weren’t anymore reassuring either. The following was posted on the club’s website following the appointment:
“We were extremely reluctant to make a change mid-season, but felt we had to do so in the Club’s best interests. We have a great squad and we owe them a Head Coach who will bring out the best in them and allow them to flourish and enjoy a strong, exciting finish to the season.”
“We are in the fortunate position of having within our Club a talented coach in Tim Sherwood. We believe Tim has both the knowledge and the drive to take the squad forward.”
This was no more than a generic spiel, saying little more than he was obliged and hardly handing Sherwood the reigns with any real authority.
I think many naively think this 18 month contract ties Sherwood to working as Head Coach till next year, because in reality it doesn’t. All that it means is that if Levy chooses to dispense with his service in the summer he will be forced to give him a years salary as payoff. Considering the amount Spurs have spent in recent years getting rid of managers, this doesn’t seem like too much of a constraint going forward.
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Levy is just buying time, he knows that no top manager will leave for Spurs mid-season and if he wants to make the right appointment he has to wait. Many of those linked to Spurs like van Gaal and Klinsmann have the World Cup to look forward to, regardless of the pull of the Premier League you would be a fool to give up the opportunity of managing in Brazil.
The situation is sad because there is a general feeling amongst Spurs fans that they want to pull together and get behind their new man, something which is admirable given the total lack of faith shown by the board in recent years. My feeling was that Sherwood should have been offered the short term, but with the contractual certainty of being abe to carry on given that he meets certain targets. Now of course this may be written into his contract already, but the general consensus is that this is simply a straight 18 month deal.
There is no reason why Spurs cant have a decent season yet. I think a 5th placed finish with the possibility of picking up some silverware is a realistic target this term, will it be enough to keep Sherwood in the job? I somehow doubt it.
By the time April comes around, few will begrudge Luis Suarez the chance to win the PFA Player of the Season award.
He’s the unanimous favourite amongst a field of strong candidates, and rightly so. It would be unfair on the rest of Suarez’s Liverpool team-mates to suggest he is single-handedly dragging them towards their first Premier League title, but it’s undebatable that the single greatest contributing factor towards their success is that Luis Suarez is having the most phenomenal individual Premier League season that anyone has had the privilege to witness.
The Liverpool striker has currently notched an unparalleled 25 goals and 10 assists in his first 24 games. He has virtually double the goals tally of all but two others in the league, whilst he sits joint at the top of the assist ranking alongside Wayne Rooney.
Most recently, Suarez played a starring role in humbling Manchester United at Old Trafford 3-0, winning the penalty for Liverpool’s first goal and scoring their third.
It’s a rare occurrence that a team chasing the league title don’t have one outstanding performer. Cristiano Ronaldo scored an incredible 31 goals and gained a further seven assists in his 34 appearances when Manchester United went on to win the 2007/08 Premier League.
Carlo Ancelotti’s double-winning season with Chelsea in 2009/10 was in large part down to the influence of Didier Drogba, who scored 29 and assisted 10 in 32 league matches. And who can forget the perpetual brilliance of Thierry Henry, who averaged over a goal or an assist a game in each season from 2002/03 to 2005/06, never failing to top 20 league goals.
But Suarez hasn’t had the benefit of the luxuries the aforementioned players enjoyed. The depth of the United, Chelsea and Arsenal league-winning squads were far greater than that at the disposal of Brendan Rodgers, whose squad teeters on the brink of one or two major injuries which could see all their great work rapidly come undone.
Also, the defence under Rodgers this season has at times looked shaky, having conceded 35 goals from 29 games so far. Compare this to the ‘Invincibles’ 26, Manchester United’s 22 of 2007/08 and Chelsea’s 32 of 2010, and the pressure on Suarez to go above and beyond the feats of previous top performers is increased.
The summer vibes surrounding Suarez in the summer didn’t give any inclination towards the kind of season that was round the corner for him. A 10-game ban followed by months of agitating for a transfer was hardly the ideal preparation.
But 25 goals and 10 assists later and a genuine discussion wages on as to whether Suarez could stake a claim to be Liverpool’s greatest ever ‘no. 7’, greater than ‘King Kenny’ himself. Such compliments from the likes of Graeme Souness, a Liverpool legend in his own right, are not to be sniffed at.
Suarez is well on his way to eclipsing the previous efforts of the great Premier League players who have shone before him. As of early March he was contributing to a Liverpool goal every 61 minutes, and scoring every 86. His longevity of his goal-scoring stats this season are of the likes we have never had in the Premier League, matching those of Lionel Messi and Ronaldo.
It isn’t just his goal contribution which makes Suarez stand out from the rest either. It’s the relentlessness of his play and his character on the pitch. Jamie Redknapp described Luis Suarez as ‘perpetual motion’ in his post-match analysis, highlighting him moving around in midfield whilst his team-mates are in possession.
His willingness to make runs both in between the lines and beyond opposition defences and his effectiveness in possession are remarkable. He links in with the team’s build-up play and possesses an alertness to make something of a less-than-half-chance is second to none.
He has come some distance from the talented, yet raw and self-centred player who arrived at Liverpool in January 2011. Under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers Suarez hasn’t lost one iota of the tenacity which characterises his game, but he has flourished into a well-rounded team player.
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He was arguably the Premier League’s stand-out performer last season, and if it wasn’t for his ludicrous bite on Branislav Ivanovic then he could very well have taken home all the individual accolades. But this season there can be no argument.
The achievements of the likes of Henry, Drogba and Ronaldo in past seasons are incredible but Suarez is blowing them out of the water. He is the central component to a squad that has clear flaws and a team which, on the pitch, is having to go beyond the usual necessities of most championship-chasing sides, due to their defensive frailties.
Suarez has raised his game under Brendan Rodgers’ tutelage to levels the Premier League has never had, and he’s taking Liverpool with him.