What to expect from Sala... honest review from GFFN; the players moves up 79 places to 18 in France

[Cowbridge Blue]

As 2018 draws to a close and one looks back at the events of the past 12 months, perhaps it is necessary – considering what he has achieved in that time – for a few people to revisit their view of Emiliano Sala. For much of his career,
he has been a figure of fun for many in the French football fraternity. A tall, gangly striker with little in the way of a
good first touch or control of the ball, often missing makeable chances when well-positioned, and displaying very
little in the way of subtlety. He has even been referred to in some quarters as a cult hero – not necessarily a good
thing for a centre-forward who should usually fit the straight-forward hero mould, rather than the more tongue-incheek version.
However, perhaps now is the time to give Sala some credit for the career he has built for himself. Born in Santa Fe,
Sala joined Bordeaux’s Argentina-based Proyecto Crecer academy as a teenager before taking the brave step of
crossing to Europe to join les Girondins. Not yet ready for the Bordeaux first team, Sala was sent on loan – first to
National side Orléans, where he scored 19 goals to help the team to a respectful eighth place finish; and then to
Ligue 2 Chamois Niortais. Unphased by the step-up in level he achieved almost identical statistics, scoring 18 goals
in 37 league appearances, placing him fourth in the scoring charts, as Niort finished an impressive fifth, surrounded
by a bevy of traditional Ligue 1 clubs.
Willy Sagnol saw enough to give him his chance at Bordeaux but a poor goals return, allied to the strong form of
Cheick Diabaté and Thomas Touré, limited his chances. He was therefore sent on a six-month loan to Caen, where
he scored against PSG on his debut and began very well before petering out at the end of the season but nevertheless finishing up with reasonable figures of five goals and three assists in 13 matches. This was enough to convince
Nantes to make a move. A fee of just €1m for a striker in his prime, however, again suggested that he was not the
most highly rated of attackers.
His time with Les Canaris has seen constant improvement for Sala, who has endeared himself to fans for his never
say die attitude, and his hard-work, if not always his efficiency in front of goal. (The full-throated way in which he celebrates every goal, whether a thunderbolt from distance or a run-of-the-mill penalty, also makes him popular.)
His first season produced only six goals – although it was enough to make him the team’s top-scorer. 2016/17 then
brought with it 12 goals for Sala, a reasonably impressive figure bearing in mind that Nantes were poor until Sergio
Conceição joined mid-way through the season.
Despite the disruption of another new coach – Claudio Ranieri – Sala maintained his position as leading striker and
ended 2017/18 with another 12 league goals, although – like Nantes as a team – his form went downhill as the season went on, only five of those goals coming in the first half of 2018. Yet another change of coach this past summer
did not bode well for Sala, as Miguel Cardoso came in and made it clear that Sala was not in his plans. Sala came
close to joining Galatasaray but ended up staying put and has been rewarded for his patience and dedication: Cardoso was quickly fired and replaced by legendary Nantes goal-scorer Vahid Halilhodzic, who has given Sala a new
lease of life.
Sala has hit an extraordinary run of form – by far the best of his career – which has seen him hit 12 goals so far this
season – including a hat-trick against Toulouse, helping earn him Ligue 1’s Player of the Month Award for October
– and placing him joint-top of the goal-scoring charts with Kylian Mbappé and Nicolas Pépé. Sala is responsible for
exactly half the team’s league goals, as well as contributing two assists, including an excellent piece of hold-up play
and skill to set up Abdoulaye Touré against Marseille in his most recent match.
Now surrounded by arguably a better supporting cast of providers than he has done in the past, Sala is thriving. He
remains modest, however: “I always give my best and try to fulfil my role, which is to score goals. Sometimes things
go well, sometimes it’s harder. I’m happy to be in a purple patch. It feels great but I mustn’t get carried away.” He
also gives his coach credit - “I’m lucky to have Vahid as a coach. He talks to me and offers me advice so I have to
use that. I have to listen to him and keep on working in the same way” – and the feeling appears to be mutual: “I’m
happy for him because when I arrived he was feeling pretty down. We’ve talked a lot together, and now when you
see how much he’s giving the team, how hard he’s battling, you don’t get many strikers like him these days.”
This season’s heroics have aroused great interest from the Premier League, including from Cardiff, Burnley and Fulham – now coached by his ex-boss Ranieri. While it may still be risky to spend too much on a 28-year-old only now
finding his best form, clubs could do worse than signing a hard-working striker who will always give his all.

[life on mars]

Sounds like a rough diamond ,tryer , robust forward , if he can get a good start , he could become a cult hero in the mold of Lee Fortune West.

[delmbox]

I smell an Eddie Johnson

[Cyclops]

"Now surrounded by arguably a better supporting cast of providers than he has done in the past, Sala is thriving."

He'll be lonely up-front here.......

[Butterwick Blue]

"Now surrounded by arguably a better supporting cast of providers than he has done in the past, Sala is thriving."

He'll be lonely up-front here.......

Exactly what I thought