Premier League duo Manchester City and West Ham United have both reportedly been watching Romania winger Florinel Coman.
When Steaua Bucharest owner Gigi Becali described Florinel Coman as Romania’s answer to Neymar, he was probably referring to the youngster’s searing pace and wonderous skill rather than a tendency to go to ground a little easy or switch off defensively.
But Coman showed very little during his 57 minutes on the pitch during Monday’s 5-0 Euro 2020 qualifying defeat to Spain that he can hold a candle to the PSG superstar – or that he’s ready to mix it with the big boys in the Premier League.
According to the Mail, West Ham United and Manchester City have been watching Coman closely ahead of the January transfer window. But if they sent scouts to the Wanda Metropolitano hoping to see a few flashes of magic from the 21-year-old winger, they’d have returned home disappointed.
Coman barely made an impact on the game as Spain, inspired by the evergreen Santi Cazorla, ran rings around a dazed and confused Romania side in Madrid. And when his name was mentioned, it wasn’t for a good reason.
Coman threw himself to the ground under minimal contact from Dani Carvajal as he chased a first half penalty in vain, something that didn’t exactly impress the ever-combustible Sergio Ramos, and then completely ignored his defensive duties as the Real Madrid right-back ran in behind him again and again during a torrid first-half.
“Carvajal just running off Coman, he’s not tracked him at all. You simply can’t afford to do that. That’s not good enough,” former Manchester City defender Andy Hinchcliffe said on Sky Sports during the game (18 November, 7.30pm).
These comments are a far cry from what the motor-mouthed Bacali said about his prized asset recently.
“He is not Mbappe, he is Neymar. Coman will be a great, great footballer,” the controversy-courting kingpin told Sport. “He is 21 years old, he is a child, but for now he does everything he wants. I do not know how much I will sell him for, it can be 50, 80, 10, 20 million euros, I do not know.”
With seven goals in ten starts for Steaua this season, the talent is clearly there. But Coman has a lot to learn.
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