Cristian Pavon would be a name that many Football Manager regulars will be very familiar with. Not long ago, he had the tag of a wonderkid and was a one for the future. He was expected to get a move to a European giant very soon. That is exactly why the recent move to LA Galaxy came as a surprise to many.
While it is only a loan move, nothing in football is hardly a surprise today. As much as European giants and their fans may not be happy with it, this could well be a good move for the Argentine-Italian. After all, he has already made an impact in the MLS which has seen leading online bookmakers like bettingsider24 shorten the Galaxy odds for the upcoming season.
In the previous MLS campaign, Pavon was a regular for both Boca and Galaxy. For the Argentine side, he had a tally of four goals and three assists while playing 15 games. In the MLS, he made 11 appearances and had a total of nine goal contributions. That had three goals and six assists.
His loan stint at LA Galaxy expires at the end of the next season. The club does have the option to buy the Argentine and that won’t be too bad an option for the player. Not every player is meant to go to Europe and make it big under the much-hyped lights.
This past season, Pavon was a regular left-winger under Guillermo Barros Schelotto. He showed his directness and ability to pick out a final pass. He completed as many as 2.7 dribbles per game, also playing 2.4 key passes for the side. He was showing clear proof of his directness, also taking 2.8 shots per game for the Los Angeles-based outfit.
The 23-year-old also completed 38.8 passes per game- the sixth-most in the side. He also had a tally of 2.2 long-balls per game.
One thing he has to improve on is his crossing though, as he Pavon couldn’t complete 2.6 crosses per game. Only 0.6 crosses of his met the target- which was predominantly Zlatan Ibrahimovic. As a result, his passing success rate took a knock. Pavon had a passing percentage of just 77.4.
After his performance against Dallas early in the campaign, Pavon got some deserved praise from teammate Daniel Steres. The defender told reporters:
“Stuff like that is huge for us as defenders, and that kind of gets us going to protect behind them. And going forward, he’s been dynamic and aggressive. He’s been unlucky not to get his goal, but he got an assist tonight. It will come, but he’s looked good so far.”
This is a player who had been very impressive during his time at Boca. In the 2017-18 season, he made 26 appearances in the League for the Boca. He had an impressive tally of six goals and 11 assists in that campaign- something that is still a record for him. In the 2016-17 campaign, Pavon had amassed a tally of nine goals and just as many assists- a very good tally of a teenager.
He might be 23 now, but his career isn’t going anywhere. The aforementioned flaws in his game still need correcting for him to become a much more well-rounded player. He has a lot of time to get a move to a big European club. The priority for him should be to iron out the flaws and work on improving himself. MLS allows him the under-the-radar environment to do just that.
