"He is a massive asset" - Claim dropped on Lincoln City ace Jovon Makama who "divides opinion" | OneFootball

Jovon Makama is a point of contention among Lincoln City fans, with not all supporters convinced of his ability

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

With Lincoln City picking up where they left off last season and rocketing themselves into the play-off places early on, our Imps fan pundit, Gary Hutchinson, gave his verdict on one player at the club who has been garnering unnecessary criticism of late.

Gary believes that Jovon Makama has been dividing opinion among the Imps' fan base, with many sitting on the fence as to his quality.

Lincoln City fans are on the fence about Jovon Makama

20-year-old Jovon Makama is one of Lincoln's rising stars, having been developed by the club's academy.

FLW's Imps fan pundit Gary referenced the player's youth when considering why fans are yet to be convinced by the striker. Gary commented:

"No doubt a player who seems to divide opinion is Jovon Makama. Jovon's a young lad and and he's come through our academy. He's only had one successful loan spell at Brackley, but for some reason he divides opinion. For some reason there is a set of fans that are on his back.

"He's scored a few goals for us, he's scored in three of the four competitions this season, he's big, he's strong, but I think he's a footballer. The players around him appreciate what he does.

"His finishing maybe needs a bit of polishing, he's not a natural finisher by any stretch of the imagination, but he's a really robust centre-forward and a young man who we've seen grow since being a 16-year-old."

Makama has registered one goal and one assist in nine starts during Lincoln's League One campaign so far. Although not overwhelmingly impressive, the striker's age is something to take into account.

20 years of age, the Englishman is still trying to establish himself at a club fighting for promotion to the Championship. This is by no means an easy task.

Jovon Makama's link-up play may be causing concerns at Lincoln City

Makama ranks well among players in the same position for xG and XGOT per 90 minutes, which suggests the player is often in the right position for created chances and his taken shots are of a high quality.

Makama may have been unfortunate not to find the back of the net more often, therefore.

However, one part of his play evidently needs serious work. The forward ranks in the bottom percentile for pass accuracy, long ball accuracy and successful passes per 90 minutes.

This indicates that his ability to connect Lincoln's forward play is rather lacklustre.

Fans may be unconvinced about his ability to retain possession and progress attacking rotations if he often cedes the ball to the opposition. This is something manager Michael Skubala could be worried about in future.

Jovon Makama has improved a lot for Lincoln City

In spite of his potential struggles, fan pundit Gary is firm in his opinion that Makama has made a lot of progress with the Imps, and he expects him to continue this upward trend. Gary asserted:

"He's come on so much, in leaps and bounds, and I think for him to divide opinion is quite challenging for a young man as well, because I think young players are more likely to read feedback on social media, and it is not easy to avoid.

"He seems to get rated slightly lower on the Stacey West site's player rater, but I am firmly on the side of the fence that he is a massive asset to Lincoln City."

With the club in fifth place and holding a 50% win rate, there is still a lot of time for Makama to make his mark this season. The striker's main concern should be finding the net with more regularity, but he also needs to work on fostering effective attacking patterns if he is to establish himself fully with the Imps.

With a bright career still ahead of him, only time will tell whether Makama can fire Lincoln towards the top of the League One table.