Is it worth persuing with Luque?
Posted by JamesB in Newcastle | 26 July 2006
Following his big money move to Newcastle, Luque has failed to set the world alight. Quite the opposite in fact. One could be forgiven for saying something along the lines of "Give him time to settle in", or "He suffered one of the worst muscle injuries possible in his first season." Not only could they be forgiven in fact, they would be correct. As undeniable as both of these are, it is still difficult to ignore his evident lack of commitment.
As Roeder recently hinted, he has made little if no effort to learn the language. This really should be a priority, otherwise the cultural shock of moving countries will just be magnified, and settling in will be made even harder. On the pitch he also seems lacklustre; unwilling to put his foot in and really chase things down and get himself about the pitch. Missing the Lillestrom game because of blisters on Saturday when he knows how short we are of strikers also aggravated me slightly, especially after he got the goal in the first leg. He should really be pulling out all the stops at the moment to convince Mr. Roeder that he is worthy of a first team place. Instead, Ameobi grabbed a brace and the Spaniard was nowhere to be seen.
Off the field and in front of the media however he seems to say the right things. He comes across as confident that he could perform this season. Nobby Solano also urged the fans to have patience with him if I remember rightly.
Solano is right as well, often it takes a season or more for a foreign player to settle in and really start performing. Pires was labelled a flop in his first season and went on to win Premier League Player of the Year.
All the fans would love Luque to succeed as well. We have all seen what he did in Spain, and the reason he became one of the highest rated Spanish players not so long ago. He can't expect the fans patience to be neverending though. Personally I think some of the boo's and such likes I heard last season were very unjust and unproductive, but it is about time he showed a bit of commitment. It would go a long way in my books.
As for whether he will leave this summer, I don't think Roeder would block his exit if a decent offer came in. To be honest though, I doubt we would receive a bid above £3 or £4 million, which is too big a loss over just one season. If his career continues to hit brick walls with us then I expect he will leave in January, once Owen is fit again. Premature talk though, because there is every chance he will turn it around. He has the ability to anyway.
In the mean time, once he recovers from his blisters, I want to see him hungry and desperate to perform. To be fair he has scored in his last three starts I believe; mackems, Alan's testimonial and Lillestrom at home. Nothing too challenging there but it's a start.
Although I am confident Roeder will land one top striker, I'm not so sure we will sign two. Certainly not in the very near future anyway, so for now Luque will continue to have a chance. I'd like to see him start in the friendly games; of course if he isn't bothering in training then one can't expect Roeder to pick him.
In answer to the headline question, yes it is worth persuing with Luque, if nothing else because of the potential financial loss of selling him now. Then again I'm sure his wages are substantial, but let's not go down that road. With such a big opportunity to get some games, we will see how motivated to do well he really is. As I mentioned before, he should be champing at the bit ready to perform and try and win over his critics, whether he will do so remains to be seen.
