reminds me of someone
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Still a very good player but that outrageous form Watkins was in seems to be over.
Emery has got interesting situation now with both hin and Duran. The lad has 12 goals already in under 1000 minutes.
How is Duran in terms of non-goalscoring reponsibilities?
Decent. Thereās definitely room for improvement.
But thatās the thing. He canāt get better at those things if his primarily used as an impact player.
For a while Emery tried to make Watkins and Duran front two work together but it seems he has figured out that for the most part it should be one of them playing not both, and recently thatās been Duran.
But he never plays
https://x.com/david_ornstein/status/1883477609180524731?s=46
Remember when our club was over because he didnāt sign for us?
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I thought this was a story about him going to Leverkusen but heās getting renewed?!
As you said, ever since his ACL injury heās barely played. I was surprised to see him playing the other day while watching their highlights from CL. Looked great as well.
Could be smart to extend him, loan him somewhere to build him up and sell him for a decent fee down the line instead.
Dark times indeed
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Duran won them 6 games this season, thatās 5 in the PL and 1 in the CL.
Theyāre barely holding on in the Top 5 race and just about secured a Top 8 spot in the league phase.
Had the lad no been around this season it would look real spooky for Villa.
Would be nice to see them crash out of the CL and miss out on Europe altogether next season.
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Should have sold Watkins and kept the much younger Duran.
I believe that seems to be the consensus amongst a some in their fanbase.
They better show up on Wednesday vs Liverpool.
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I think I am right in saying that the only match that Villa have lost at home this season in the PL is against Arsenalā¦
Rashford looks class. 45 minute cameo. He definitely should start versus Liverpool. Start Asensio while youāre at it, Unai
What a team Villa would have if theyād have kept Duran
https://x.com/manutdedits22/status/1890815789617340486?s=46&t=eJpgg6uHWRsStnASv-OePg
He needed a change of scenery and should have taken the PSG move when it came.
A complete mismanagement of career.
Also canāt understand why he wasnāt converted to a CF. His defensive issues are amplified as a winger.
Rashford is a wide forward in the Cody Gakpo mode. If he played as a CF, heād have to play with his back to goal which isnāt a strength of his. He wouldnāt be able to run with the ball as much.
Then he has to be given Salahās level freedom. Managers keep expecting Rashford to contribute defensively and take away his threat as an attacker.
The obsession of robotic football has killed personalities in modern football.
Thereās some truth to that, but also heās no Salah.
I donāt think itās beyond Rashfordās capabilities to engage in the defensive aspect of the game. Often it just comes across as laziness.
Itās definitely laziness. no doubt, enough clips of him zoning out of his defensive duties.
For me, if I am a United manager who wants system football, I bring in a player who can help me phase out Rashford completely but if I have to rely on Rashford, forcing system football on him is foolish and waste of everyoneās time.
He isnāt a Salah level player though, you donāt give those kind of concessions to a player like Rashford
Also heās indicated in the past that he doesnāt want to play there, he isnāt a CF.
Think itās a real stretch putting blame on tactics with Rashford when he clearly did have the right mindset when younger but lost it along the way for whatever reason
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