Country: Wales
Alexis showed signs of dropping off whilst he was with us. He stopped running at players and getting in behind as much- wanted the ball a lot more to feet. He was still fantastic but that burst of pace he had left him. Torres was completely done over by injuries, he (and Carragher) admitted he was rushed back a few times as well.
I think Auba will be fine- there’s no way to know for sure of course but all the signs are positive.
Have to see but just not sure there’s a body of evidence for it in other players. Don’t think people realise how rare it is for someone to still be performing at that age.
Take this season. There are 28 players who’ve played in a PL game aged 33 or above. If you exclude goalkeepers, defenders and defensive midfielders that leaves three players.
Of those three players only one (David Silva) has played 1000 minutes. The oldest striker to play 1000 minutes in the PL this year is Shane Long at 32.
Giroud and Glen Murray have an outside shot at making it but it’s unlikely. Last season is the same, Murray the only striker or attacking mid 33 or above to get 1000+ minutes.
The PL compared to other leagues is getting younger and younger. Beyond Auba’s current contract expiry age of 32 it’s a struggle for older players to even make it on to the pitch let alone perform up to a 250k weekly salary.