I want to go into detail: Alena is playing ridiculously offensive without backing it up with talent. You may say his positional game will improve with game time and a better manager, but that rarely happens. They either have it or they dont. Not that Rakitic is much better, but hes still a better seasoned pro.
I'm not going to stand here and argue that Alena is some midfield maestro and that it's a crime that he isn't a surefire starter, not even close. However, I have seen enough of Rakitic being a net negative on the field with his cowardice, turtle like pace and limited on the ball skills to know what to expect from him. Hell, I expect him to become worse and worse as he ages. While Alena is not anything to write home about, he has some pros for him against Rakitic that are making me stand by him in this comparison. Younger, lower wages, pace, he's not a coward at least, he moves off the ball better and asks for the ball instead of hiding behind a player.
Alena, even if he didn't show much so far, at least has some room for improvement. Rakitic, not so much, while also being an entitled diva with shit mentality. He also can't back his talk in the media with performances on the pitch. For me, it's a no brainer. Fair enough if you disagree but for me there's no doubt who we should get rid of in this winter.
