Sheffield Wednesday’s Lucas Joao was ineffective against Middlesbrough Saturday.
Following his unimpressive display in the 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough Saturday, Sheffield Wednesday boss Jos Luhukay says forward Lucas Joao may have a bigger impact on games when coming off the bench, the Sheffield Star report.
“We have spoken in the last few days about consistency in performances and Lucas was not really in the game against Middlesbrough,” Luhukay explained.
When asked if Wednesday are better off using Joao as a sub rather than a starter, Luhukay replied: “It looks like that way but Lucas wants to play from the beginning and show his qualities. He has shown it many times in the past for us. But the players are not machines. We must support them.”
Joao was brought to the club by former manager Carlos Carvalhal. The Portuguese striker has a decent goal scoring record, hitting 20 league goals for the club since his arrival in 2015/16 – but of those 20 goals, 14 of them have come from off the bench as an impact-player.
Joao, now 25, should be looking to nail down a regular starting spot, but when called upon he has often struggled.
In the defeat to Boro, Joao made just 22 touches of the ball, with four unsuccessful touches – more than any other player on the pitch prior to his substitution just after the hour mark (Whoscored).
With Sam Winnall coming back from injury and Fernando Forestieri also hoping to make a swift recovery, when all Sheffield Wednesday’s strikers are fit, Joao may find himself back on the bench.
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