Negredo's Big Miss: Is This Why Clubs Won't Risk Big Money on Signing Him?

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Alvaro Negredo didn't start against Barcelona on Saturday, with manager Unai Emery opting to leave him on the bench ahead of a Copa del Rey semifinal second leg against Atletico Madrid to come during the week.

Negredo has frequently suffered with injuries after playing more than one game a week in the past and continues to show an inability at times to cope with regularly playing top-level football.

That might be one reason no other club has taken a big splash in signing him yet—but his miss late in the game, one-on-one with goalkeeper Victor Valdes, might be another.

For an international striker, Negredo doesn't have a great scoring rate.

He has 10 goals this season in 23 La Liga appearances, from 79 shots—a 12.7 percent shot conversion rate. In his last 10 league games he has managed only two goals.

Not great, in all honesty.

Negredo's miss against Valdes, clipping the ball well over the crossbar when coolness and composure was called for, was archetypal of his inability to make it count when the stakes are high.

At 27 years of age he should be approaching his prime; if this season is anything to go by, Negredo should be written off as a player to aid significantly the national team or as a player who can go on to achieve further big success, in Spain or elsewhere.