I must say I didn`t expect much from Daniel Candeias when we signed him in the summer. His record in Turkey last season was pretty average, and the fact that he was hitting 30 didn`t really inspire any confidence that he could make a valued contribution to the team.
Yet, he has certainly merited his contract extension. His goal on Sunday upped his total to six for the season, his second best goalscoring season in his career, and his 11 assists make him our top assist maker this campaign.
There are certainly areas of his game that could be improved. His crossing isn`t always the best, and you wouldn`t say he is our most consistent player; especially based on his early season form. Still, his performances in recent months, particularly under Graeme Murty have been very good indeed.
You can`t really fault a player who has actually performed above expectations since his arrival at the club. Whether he`ll be able to keep up this level until the end of his new deal in 2020, we`ll have to wait and see. He`ll be 32 by the time his contract is up, and we`ll likely have seen the best of him by then, but you never know.
It could well be our no.21 is having a late career purple patch, and we are lucky enough to be the beneficiaries of it. Believe it or not, despite having played for 12 clubs in his career, we are already second on the list teams he has played the most games for. Perhaps the journeyman has finally found a place he can settle down and perform.
Of course, we`ll have to wait and see what next season brings in terms of who is in charge first. The Portuguese winger could well find himself out in the cold if a new man comes in the door, but he is certainly showing everyone this season what he can do. Credit to him for making his move to Scotland work out where many of Caixinha`s other signings failed.
Does Candeias deserve his new contract? Let me know in the poll.
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