Dutch midfielder Pelle Clement has been told to knuckle down and fight for a first team spot on his return from injury.
The forgotten man has not made a single league appearance this season, with his solitary bit of game time coming against tonight’s opponents Birmingham, in the Carabao Cup. It is widely expected that the former Ajax man would leave the club this summer after failing to make a significant impact since arriving under previous manager Jaap Stam. It now would seem that despite the vote of confidence from current manager Paul Clement, a departure in January or next summer would seem the most likely outcome.
The Dutchman is currently out injured due to an ankle injury but is on the cusp of a return to full fitness and the Royals boss has told him that he needs to get his head down and fight for his place, which is certainly easier said than done with all the competition in the squad.
I felt bad for Pelle last season. You can certainly see he has a good footballing brain, and he can’t be a bad player given he has come up through the famous academy at Ajax. He came in for some unwarranted criticism in my opinion, probably as he was one of the Jaap Stam contingent of Dutch players. He had a good pre season this year and really seemed to be settling in but this injury has definitely ruined that. I hope we can see a flash of the best of Clement before he is inevitably moved on.
