Internet rumours are claiming our Spanish winger didn't fly to the US with the rest of the squad
An intriguing one, this. Nothing was really made of it, and it doesn't seem to have been confirmed anywhere official, but like his Spanish team-mate Michu Pablo Hernandez hasn't flown out with the squad to our US training camp - I did have a scan through the photo galleries on the official site and it does appear he's not present, and I've just been tweeted that he was in the Grape & Olive last night. That's that confirmed! I'm trying to find out why that is, but as yet your guess is as good as mine. His contract is up next summer though, and there has been some talk online that a reticence to agree to a contract extension is the basis behind his non-appearance. Then again, he does have a pretty tasty injury record so his absence might be completely innocent.
I am a big fan of Pablo. When he first signed I remarked that he looks like the kind of guy you'd find in a snooker club in Morriston, so that endeared him to me, but if we are to play a diamond midfield next season - or even a standard 4-4-2 - it's hard to see him fitting in. His lack of out and out pace limits him as a traditional winger, while despite his impressive cameos as a no10 there were also enough below-par performances in that position to suggest that he'd struggle there permanently. It's a shame, as I rate him and I think that on his day he's one of our best players, but if he's not going to fit the system it's pretty likely we'll look to move him on - especially if he's got only one year left on his contract and he's not keen on renewing it.
It's a bit of a mystery why Pablo hasn't gone to the US, but I'm sure that either way we'll learn something in the near future. Until then...