I’m not thrilled about this. I know he’s great when we’re against teams who control the ball, but he’s already IMO paid too much for us to run like a self-sustaining/growing brand. I understand the rationale behind it, but now will DCL/McNeil/Tarkowski etc want parity when his deal comes around for renewal? I really hope this is with the intention to flog him in the summer (if we have no transfer ban).
That being said, if there isn’t someone out there that can play the same role as him (run around all day & score when he doesn’t have time to think about what he’s doing, but have bad tracking at corners/free kicks, inability to pass incisively etc) then it’s better to protect what you’ve got… I guess.