Aluko - my view

[JOND999]

Aluko is active and pacey, creates lots of chances but absolutely does not have the knack for finishing.  Johanson created lots of lovely through balls v. Leeds.  we need someone on the other end of those to make that one heady touch to create space for the finishing shot.  i fear that player is not Aluko..

[Milo]

Aluko is active and pacey, creates lots of chances but absolutely does not have the knack for finishing.  Johanson created lots of lovely through balls v. Leeds.  we need someone on the other end of those to make that one heady touch to create space for the finishing shot.  i fear that player is not Aluko..

I still think he could move into central midfield - similar to old Dembele. Couldn't hit a barn door but could create space and drive at defences.

[AlexW132]

Aluko is active and pacey, creates lots of chances but absolutely does not have the knack for finishing.  Johanson created lots of lovely through balls v. Leeds.  we need someone on the other end of those to make that one heady touch to create space for the finishing shot.  i fear that player is not Aluko..

I still think he could move into central midfield - similar to old Dembele. Couldn't hit a barn door but could create space and drive at defences.

I don't think Aluko has the physique and the height to play at CM.

[dannyboi-ffc]

For the right money I wouldn't be against selling him for someone with end product. As exciting and skilful as he is the lack of goals or final balls really affects our ability to turn 1 point into 3.

He's very entertaining but imo he does flatter to deceive a lot of the time

[colinwhite]

Dont agree on this one .If Aluko scored loads of goals he would at top premiership club. Nonetheless he puts the fear of god into defences and is always the outlet that other players look for when under pressure,as they all know tha he is not going to lose the ball too often and usually does something creative. He still scored 11 goals last season if Im not mistaken and where are we going to get another player like him?
Madnees to even think of selling him IMO, and thats without mentioning his work-rate and how many times he wins the ball back for us. Every team needs someone who can takes players on regularly,freeing up space for others and occupying 2 defenders at a time. It would be a terrible piece of business to sell him for the energy he gives to the side alone !!!

[toshes mate]

Sone Aluko's talent, technique and ball skills are unquestionable, and I don't think we will ever understand why his final touch sometimes goes awry.  He also has a very talented sister who is currently in the media after being paid a big sum of hush money by the FA over allegations of racism and bullying involving England Women's coach Mark Sampson which she is free to air since the European football tournament has now ended.   

[Carborundum]

So, if reports are to he believed, we have SA's services locked until the end of next season for wages that are below what he could expect if he were on the market.  He wants more money, the club sees no reason to pay him more.  He must be worried that a bad injury will mean the club don't extend and his income could end this summer.  That's a reasonable thing for him to be concerned about.

So the underlying driver is that SA has turned out to be better than he and the club expected him to be.  The club holds all the cards and agitating is his/his agents only available path.  Nice problems to have are still problems needing a solution. An unhappy footballer tends not to produce his best form, so I can see this ending up with a transfer and a replacement arriving in the last week before the deadline.  I'm not sure the Khans look too kindly on actions the press describe as an "ultimatum". Didn't work out too well for Chris Martin (who by going on strike was behaving far worse than SA's cryptic tweets)

Good player, can see why the manager wants him kept at the club.  This one seems entirely about business.

[Whitesideup]

For me his  quick feet and ability to take on opponents make him a stand-out player for us. No defence likes playing him, and the attention he commands also means that others are given a bit less .. so I think his all-round contribution last season helped with the fact we had so many different players getting on the score sheet. Would be a big loss. This stuff about not giving him a contract of a decent length because he is 28 is a joke.

[Riverside]

SA is contracted for this year and an option ( the clubs option only I think ) for another year . So the club holds the cards .

Great and exciting player but a horrible finisher . Wide in the forward 3 we have options .

Would like him to stay and play well .

But then someone mentions a £8mn fee and then I wonder .....


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[FulhamStu]

I really like Aluko, his attitude, skill, strength, and speed scare opponents.  Crazy as it is, his problem is he is not very good at kicking a football.  We have Kebano, Ayite, Sess, Oyo and even AK47 who all play a similar position and if offered very good money I would totally understand Fulham cashing in.   I think only 2 of the above will start most games so we really do not need 6 similar players in his position.

[Mince n Tatties]

He has also(as much as I like him) been hot in his first season for his clubs,and then seems to go off the boil.
I hope its not like that here,when he was at Aberdeen he actually scored a cracker against Bayern Munich in  European tie, then his form went downhill was benched and then moved on...Strange case is our Sone..Coyw

[Whitesideup]

This stuff about not giving him a contract of a decent length because he is 28 is a joke.

So do you give him a 4 or 5 year contract knowing full well that with his style and play and injury record, he'll probably be as useful as a chocolate fireplace for the second half of that period? Not to mention, our aim is to be in the Premiership then, a level he's not currently good enough for and given his age, almost certainly never will be. 

IMO you cannot commercially justify giving him anything longer than 1 or 2 yrs from now.

However if the issue is his salary, rather than term, I sympathise entirely. He should be one of our top earners, at least double whatever Sessegnon is on and almost as much as Cairney.

There are few 5 year contracts, and I think most are 3 years. Aluko's injury record is a different issue, but apparently we have a club policy that now does not want to offer longer term contracts to anyone aged over 28. Murphy joined us at 31 I think,  and look how good he was for us. The point is that age is not necessarily the determiner. 

Specific to Aluko - are you talking about the injury record that meant he played nearly every game last season? 46 or 47 appearances? More, I think, than any other player with possibly the exception of Tom Cearney who would only have played one or two games more. Or are you referring to historic injuries that are likely to recur?

[terryr]

I think we are in an astonishing position if we can debate whether to keep him or not.
Just goes to show how a window can impact who the "must keep players" are.

[Deuce]

This stuff about not giving him a contract of a decent length because he is 28 is a joke.

So do you give him a 4 or 5 year contract knowing full well that with his style and play and injury record, he'll probably be as useful as a chocolate fireplace for the second half of that period? Not to mention, our aim is to be in the Premiership then, a level he's not currently good enough for and given his age, almost certainly never will be. 

IMO you cannot commercially justify giving him anything longer than 1 or 2 yrs from now.

However if the issue is his salary, rather than term, I sympathise entirely. He should be one of our top earners, at least double whatever Sessegnon is on and almost as much as Cairney.

There are few 5 year contracts, and I think most are 3 years. Aluko's injury record is a different issue, but apparently we have a club policy that now does not want to offer longer term contracts to anyone aged over 28. Murphy joined us at 31 I think,  and look how good he was for us. The point is that age is not necessarily the determiner. 

Specific to Aluko - are you talking about the injury record that meant he played nearly every game last season? 46 or 47 appearances? More, I think, than any other player with possibly the exception of Tom Cearney who would only have played one or two games more. Or are you referring to historic injuries that are likely to recur?

Agree but there is a major difference how age affects players depending on which position they play. Wingers generally relies on their pace and stamina, quick feet and all that, which tends to decline quite a bit once you turn 30.

Ryan Giggs is a great example of a player who at one point in his career was a really speedy and tricky winger but then as he grew older, he started playing in a more central role on the pitch as he just wasnt as quick as he used to anymore. Because of this, he managed to extend his career by quite a lot.

So an older CM like Murphy will always get by a bit longer than an older winger like Aluko.

[OdecaMynoT]

For the right money I wouldn't be against selling him for someone with end product. As exciting and skilful as he is the lack of goals or final balls really affects our ability to turn 1 point into 3.

He's very entertaining but imo he does flatter to deceive a lot of the time

Couldn't agree more. The goal needs to be twice the size for him to get the goals he should

be getting.

[Barrett487]

For the right money I wouldn't be against selling him for someone with end product. As exciting and skilful as he is the lack of goals or final balls really affects our ability to turn 1 point into 3.

He's very entertaining but imo he does flatter to deceive a lot of the time

I reckon that, if he's asked for a new contract he either wants a guarantee about getting first-team football, or he knows that we need to sell to satisfy ffp and doesn't want it to be him.

[Mullers OG]

If there's any truth in the rumour that Reading (or anybody else for that matter) has offered anywhere near £8 million for Aluko FFC ought to bite their hand off.  That amount for a player acquired on a free a year ago who can't finish and who endlessly runs into dead ends?  We should ship him out asap for 20% of that if offered.  He currently keeps out one or other of Kebano or Ayite (assuming Fonte plays).  Both Kebano and Ayite offer so much more both in front of goal and as part of a team.

[Luka]

For the right money I wouldn't be against selling him for someone with end product. As exciting and skilful as he is the lack of goals or final balls really affects our ability to turn 1 point into 3.

He's very entertaining but imo he does flatter to deceive a lot of the time

Tend to agree, absolutely no end product to Aluko's game. Watching him is both exciting and disappointing at the same time. Really hope Ojo is not out of the same mould!!

[Jonaldiniho 88]

I love watching Aluko and would hate to see him go. We are very oversubscribed in his position so it's very plausible that he may be sold but I really think a few are underestimating how a player who can beat three or four players can be. If we do as we hope and dominate possession and teams sit back against us nobody in our squad can do what he can as well as he can.

[AlexW132]

If there's any truth in the rumour that Reading (or anybody else for that matter) has offered anywhere near £8 million for Aluko FFC ought to bite their hand off.  That amount for a player acquired on a free a year ago who can't finish and who endlessly runs into dead ends?  We should ship him out asap for 20% of that if offered.  He currently keeps out one or other of Kebano or Ayite (assuming Fonte plays).  Both Kebano and Ayite offer so much more both in front of goal and as part of a team.

Absolutely, it's free money basically. Why anyone would pay that much is beyond me though