Jeff Reine-Adelaide didn’t delay on choosing a new club once he realised he wasn’t part of Unai Emery’s plans, according to reports in France.
When the pre-season matches got underway with a couple of games against English lower league teams, Reine-Adelaide still seemed to be part of the first-team picture. He scored a goal from range against Boreham Wood, then added another a few days later in a behind closed doors friendly against Crawley Town.
Then Jeff was left out of the tour of Singapore, and almost immediately Angers announced his signature. Friday’s Ouest France wrote that the 20-year-old ‘did not hesitate’ to choose his new team after discovering he was ‘not part of the plans of Unai Emery’.
The forward certainly picked a team where he knows he’s wanted. Angers had Reine-Adelaide on loan last season, and gave him regular game time whenever he was fit. In Ouest France, Angers Chairman Olivier Pickeu described his delight at bringing a ‘real talent’ back to the club, as an ‘important piece of the puzzle’ they’re building.
It’s not particularly surprising that Reine-Adelaide would be keen to move on and get into a senior side. He never really got consistent chances in the Arsenal first-team, for a number of reasons.
From an Arsenal point of view, Jeff was looking more and more like a gamble. He showed his talent in patches, but spent a lot of time sidelined with injury, and had a tendency to hold onto the ball for too long. We’ll see how he progresses now with his new club.