Aye aye…. Another excellent player people have totally written off.
It's ridiculous isnt it?
He was brilliant at the start of the season when he was fresh. There was a real verve to his play, not just in the middle but out on the wing.
Think what has happened is he has been overworked and is shattered, and that impacts decision making. He has a great engine on him, we saw that at the start, but that has looked less effective as the season has worn on as he is being asked to so too much with the midfield not being athletic enough in the defensive position. Jurgen spoke of the 6 being less mobile when he said the midfielders would have to "stay close" to each other, "compact", to compensate for this deficiency, but that means asking your 8s to do even more. Make all those attacking runs but somehow get back quickly to help out the 6 so as not to leave him exposed; babysitting the 6 effectively.
Bringing in a quality DM will do wonders for the 8s in easing their workload, allowing them to have more freedom in their attacking play.