I actually forgot Pepe was still our player. I'm assuming his loan has been a bit of a flop too?

    Daz 17 games in the league, 6 goals and 1 assist. I know he scored a couple from the penalty spot, and to be fair to him he was injured for a few weeks. Played 2-3 games as CF as well. No idea what they think about him.

      Regardless of what people thought of his time here, quite insane how many bangers he scored in the time he played. Best finisher at the club?

      (to Pepe haters, this isn't an attempt to start a discussion about his general play and how it doesn't fit our playing style)

      He was insanely good in Ligue 1, we destroyed the poor chap.

      Out of all of Arteta's cuts Pépé's treatment always seemed a bit arbitrary. I'd love a real explanation but it's probably just "slow to receive instruction and same position as Saka", or something vague ...

        Everything I saw of Pepe demonstrated he had some real talent, just wasn't in the right setup to shine and has subsequently lost his confidence. Don't think anyone's to blame really other than maybe Sanellhi.

        Burnwinter its weird because it definitely looked like he was working hard to try and get it. I guess he just didn't fit for some reason. Think he might have been in the Laca/Auba clique too which can't have helped. Would have been a nice option if it could have worked though, 20 minutes at the end of games to rest Saka would be welcome.

            Real talent. I still like him but he’s probably not the best fit for us. If I were Newcastle, I’d be all over him

            Yeah I still like him too and sometimes miss him when thinking about this current group and its journey. He may have the exact same drawbacks that led ASM to be benched by Howe though.

            Possibly - surprised ASM has been benched. They have giants in the back four and midfield - should act as a defensive platform for an enigmatic player to do their thing

            Qwiss Arteta said he’d been working hard too and deserved mins. I just don’t think he liked him as a player, maybe he wasn’t able to follow tactical instructions, maybe he was too loose on the ball, or maybe his press wasn’t quite right.

            Part of me is curious to know how he’d have done this season, in this setup with us performing so wel, if called upon. In reality though with so much on the line he’d have probably gotten less mins than the lines of Tomi and Tierney.

              20 days later

              leipzig in for balogun apparently. we're holding out for 40m. I'd take that deal tbh. balo has had a great season, but he falls into the willock/iwobi category. if there's a good deal to he done, we should do it

                Gazza M Would be great value. Just my two cents, but I reckon Nketiah would get 15–20 a season in Ligue 1. I'm not saying Flo's not a great player, but I don't think he'd truly shift the dial for us whether as starter or backup, and we could be piling that money into Xhaka's successor.

                  Flo is a better footballer than Nketiah. This team demands ball playing skill. Ability to bear a man, and create for others. Nketiah is our only forward who doesn’t do these things, so it stagnated offense. I’d rather see what Flo can do and sell Nketiah

                  Flo is a better footballer than Nketiah. This team demands ball playing skill. Ability to bear a man, and create for others. Nketiah is our only forward who doesn’t do these things, so it stagnated offense. I’d rather see what Flo can do and sell Nketiah

                    Sell Balo, Tavares, Pepe, and Tierney. Use the money to get Bellingham

                    Claudius I'm not saying cash in on Balogun regardless, but if we can really get £40m, we definitely should cash in.

                      Claudius has Flo being doing that in France? It's not come across in the clips.

                      I actually feel like he very much comes across as being a player who likes to play on the shoulder and get into good positions to score goals. In other words, a traditional 9.

                      I think people underestimate how good a footballer you need to be to make the 9 position work in our system. Making connections needs to be a feature of your game, not something you're ok at.

                      I'd personally sell him and Eddie and spend that 60m odd on another top forward/winger.

                          goon I think people underestimate how good a footballer you need to be to make the 9 position work in our system.

                          I agree. Jesus aside, I reckon Trossard would be the closest in our squad to being able to play it false, and Martinelli to play it making runs into more advanced scoring positions. And neither of them is ideal for it, but both would do better than Balogun and can play elsewhere. Even Smith Rowe might have greater potential in those areas. With the greatest respect to Nketiah and Balogun I can see the benefits of cashing in on at least one of them, not least of which is if not now, then when?

                          Balogun's having a great season but we've all been watching the highlights, some of the time he's up against defending that would embarrass the Championship.

                            I'd also add that his profile is probably higher proportionally now than his current ability, which would be a good time to cash in.

                            Don't get me wrong, I like Balogun but if he's demanding regular first team football, I haven't yet seen anything that suggests he's ready as per the commentary from others above.