I can’t even see the whole discussion, but I’m not saying Pedri and Gavi are bad defensively because of their size. I’m saying they are bad defensively, and also pointing to what Bastoni has been posting on Instagram that is proof that their games are all about possession/attacking.
Kimmich is a terrier. I have no reason to like the guy. I don’t, but he’s a great footballer. Different style player to Pedri and Gavi. He’s not only a tiki-taka player.
I can't comment on what you're seeing on IG, but both Gavi and Pedri are plenty capable defenders...Gavi in particular has that 'little son of a b****' in him, like Joshua. It was a not-insignificant part of why I liked him so much when first seeing him play...and why I'm still higher on Gavi than I am Fati.
As for comparing their #s to Wirtz's, this is the reverse of the problem we had when Evilo tried to compare Wahi's goal totals to Musiala's. Though both have seen minutes in the attacking band, Gavi and Pedri have both spent a lot more time playing deeper than Wirtz has, so it would be crazy if they did produce at the same rate.
Just for comparison; neither Xaxi nor Iniesta hit 10 goals+assists in a season until they were 22, and I don't think anyone would argue that Wirtz is guaranteed to be better in his prime than Xaviesta were in theirs.
Now Musiala, unlike Wirtz, has spent some time playing as a pseudo-8, so there's a more apples-to-apples comparison between them...but that's part of why I've argued that Musiala is in a tier of his own this season (so far & from what I've seen).
Seeing this makes me even more sad that he got injured. Leverkusen is so bad this season you can clearly notice how big of an impact Wirtz already had on their play. Especially Schick and Diaby aren't able to do anything without him. Hopefully the injury won't prevent him from beeing one of the best in the game in future
Yeah. It certainly hurts not having him in Qatar...having Sane-Wirtz-Musiala behind Havertz, Gnabry, or Mouki would've been too much fun to watch...but at this point, I just hope he can make a full recovery and the injury doesn't have a lasting effect on his fearlessness.
F*** the vulturekusen...I would have zero complaints about seeing them relegated...but if Wirtz is never the same, that would be a big blow to the NT; even with our depth in the attacking band.
