Which is the main problem about thinking of him as a £40m player, as it suggests a unique stand out talent; whereas in reality he is more of a grafter and a solid squad player - he's not a twinkle toed superstar, but he's a solid and dedicated worker.
We're more than entitled to have had big expectations of our most expensive ever signing. It's not his fault he was £40m, but still. But regardless, whether he was 40 quid or 40 million quid, looking at him, it's unfair to pass all the blame onto him specifically, I'm not saying I hate the guy, he might be a decent person, but I don't see anything that great about him. He literally feels like a LAM Shola. Big and strong, holds the ball up well and passes it and that's it. He's worth having in the squad, but so was Shola. Doesn't mean we can't still think he's not that great.
Very different to Shola, Shlla had far more of an eye for goal. What would the £12m we paid for Luque be these days? £30m at least I'd say. Now there was a player who did literally NOTHING, and was a waste of a squad number. A decent manager will immediately see Joelinton's limitations and also his uses, if we become a top 6 team, he ain't getting near the starting line up, but right now struggling, I think he's the kinda battler we need.
I'm not saying he doesn't have his uses, I'm just saying his uses are limited. Even if he was worth half the price tag, it would be ok, but the fact that he may not even be worth 1/5 of that price is depressing. Price tag or not, the guy is very limited in this league, and the point of thread was making it clear that he was basically comparable to Shola. You say Shola had an eye for goal, but his scoring record in the prem was almost always similar to Joelintons. 2-4 goals a season at the most, mainly there to be a target man and pass it to someone else of value, which is all Joelinton really does. Joelinton's finishing is poor, he doesn't really create many chances, his ability on the ball is ok, he doesn't have much pace to speak of. He's a decent target man, which is all Shola was.
Hoffenheim said he was Firminos replacement and played him like that, we were bought into that after seeing how well Firmino did at Liverpool and paid 40 mill. Firmino is 100 times the player Joelinton is but who knows with the right coaching. Joelinton: Roberto Firmino's Brazilian successor at Hoffenheim, and MD10's Man of the Matchday | Bundesliga
And look at how many goals he scores with one of the best teams around him. Last two seasons only 9 goals a season.
Like I said Firminos replacement but Firmino knits the team together when he plays Joelinton makes knots in the team when he plays. Ap Gs 2015–16[114] Premier League 31 10 2016–17[115] Premier League 35 11 2017–18[116] Premier League 37 15 2018–19[117] Premier League 34 12 2019–20[118] Premier League 38 9 2020–21[119] Premier League 36 9 2021–22[120] Premier League 7 4
Roberto Firmino was discovered by a dentist. Yes – this brilliant fact is genuine and not an internet rumour. please log in to view this image
I’m not convinced. I do think he has potential and he has definitely been improving. But to be a good player he has to bring assists and goals in the positions he is playing.
Joelinton in many ways reminds me of Obertan, in that there's a player in there somewhere, but you'd need a search party to find him. Perhaps he'll be one of those forwards that moves to centre back as his career develops (Dion Dublin, Marcus Gayle), you never know. He could be the dominant centre half we need, decent pace for a big man too!! Or not!
I’m sorry but I don’t think Joe and Shola can be compared. Reason I say that is there was no expectation on Shola and he came for free. Joelinton was never a 40m signing and he is nowhere near valued at that. I also think Sholas goal scoring record is probably better.
In answer to the question, no. Shola could have been a very good player he just didn’t have the right commitment to be that good. If he had Shearer beside him for his full career Shola had the ability to play for England. Shearer wasn’t and Shola had the commitment to play for Nigeria. Joelinton just doesn’t have the ability to be a PL player. He’s not a bad player, he’s just not a PL player regardless of how much was paid. He’ll do the odd good thing but not often enough.
Is it? I think 100% of his best performances for Newcastle and Hoffenheim have come wide left. I reckon I'd plump for that.
Joelinton is pretty awful but to compare to the chefs d'oeuvre of wretchedness that was Shola is a step too far.