The issues I have with him are that:
- He takes too long to release the ball thereby missing some crucial runs.
- Makes some terrible risky crosses knowing damn will an interception will create a goal scoring chance for the opponent.
- Too physically weak! He had like 7 months to strength train! What was he doing?
I guess we are stuck with him & Loca so I better get used to a slow midfield.
Don't even mention FatAss Luiz!
1) Concur on the first note, but it looks like Motta is dealing with it because he has increased his tempo in each game. I would also add that he has moved in shadows before where he never really was an option to pass to, just an alibi. He moves around a lot more now and is also helped by other shifting spots to make room for him. So it is not only his improvement but ideas implemented by Motta.
2) It wasn't only him. We still look a bit unbalanced occasionally with huge spaces to exploit on counters. Really surprising have good our defense have been. I want us to press the way we do but we can't leave that much free space in the middle of the pitch. We also need to stick tighter in our markings and some players need to work on their aggressiveness and not just run towards opponent. They actually need to try to get the ball too.
3) He was out-muscled some times and will probably never be a strongman. So he will have to learn from Pirlo, Xavi, Iniesta, Fernandes, and so on. Not really sure what he spent his time doing though. Playing tic-tac-toe with an imaginary friend I suppose.
He is taking huge steps forward and developing his self-belief will release him even further. He will never be a Pirlo but I think he can advance his passing range a lot more and I believe that increased confidence will propel his passing range.
Buy on AliExpress.com
