Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has claimed that Arsenal starlet Bukayo Saka is still not world-class.
The Hale End academy graduate has netted 12 goals and provided a further ten assists in the Premier League this season, helping the Gunners build up an eight-point gap at the top of the table. That kind of form has led to fans and pundits alike labelling the 21-year-old world-class, something that Jordan believes is a slight exaggeration.
Speaking about Saka on talkSPORT, he said: "This idea that we need to tell every English player that once they hit a vein of form that they're world-class is a false equivalency for me. Saka is a very good player, the current incumbent of that particular title.
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"But when we talk about world-class, we talk about geniuses. We talk about Mbappe, we talk about the young kid at Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior, that I believe are geniuses."
Jordan then claimed that the talented winger may need to change position in the future, backing him to switch to a more central role. He added: "Good player, very clever player, the potential of being far more than just a winger.
"He could potentially become a No 10 if that's what they see for him because he can see a pass, he can make a pass, obviously he can create lots of assists for others and score goals himself. So I think he's well on the way to being a really, really top-class footballer. I think he's impactive and effective for Arsenal and is becoming so for England.
"So be glad we've got him, be glad we've got a player who has the potential to be one of the top players in the world. But to start making arguments about world-class at this moment in time is not necessary.
"It's unfortunate and unfair and eventually will put him in the way of a different argument. So no, I don't think he's world-class right now. Do I think he has the possibility? I'm not sure. There's a way to go."
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