Raketa10
Senior Member
To be fair this is the right decision from Ajax.
Frenkie de Jong
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To be fair this is the right decision from Ajax.
We need to balance our books, & we're pretty stacked in MF. No midfielders must be signed untill the deadweights are sold.
We have alena, oriol and Arthur coming, Rakitic, Busi, Roberto, Rafinha, Gomes, Denis are already here. Its 9 midfielders ffs.
We also have Vidal, Paco, Munir, Marlon, Douglas & yerry to take care of.
ATM, selling should me main priority, not buying.
We have alena, oriol and Arthur coming, Rakitic, Busi, Roberto, Rafinha, Gomes, Denis are already here. Its 9 midfielders ffs.
We also have Vidal, Paco, Munir, Marlon, Douglas & yerry to take care of.
ATM, selling should me main priority, not buying.
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FC433
New member
I watched him yesterday playing against Wolverhampton. He played only the first half as a CB. Nothing exceptional or impressive, but I did really like the feel of his style. He was Smooth, efficient and quick. I loved his forward runs and I would recommend watching him: http://fullmatchsports.com/wolverhampton-vs-ajax-full-match-replay/?tab=first-half
Raketa10
Senior Member
They will transform him completely to CB. Something similar we did to Masche. When was the last time he played in the midfield?
DonAK
President of FC Barcelona
Would be a huge waste of his talents. The only reason he started playing as a CB is because all their CBs apart from De Ligt were injured, but surely now they gotta put him back in the MF.
He's a player that excels in dribbling and making through passes. He actually reminds me of a young Kovacic at Inter the way he breezes past players, hopefully he turns better than him.
DonAndres
Wild Man of Borneo
Doesn't make much sense for them to fight so hard to keep him for another year only to waste him at CB again. I could understand doing it because of injuries/necessity but otherwise it's even more baffling than playing the likes of Coutinho/Paulinho at RM or Song at CB.
I hope that the CL qualifier thing is true and they become more amenable in August.
I hope that the CL qualifier thing is true and they become more amenable in August.
GOAT_SUAREZ
New member
They are wasting his talents. Unreal.
George_Costanza
Active member
But we don't need another CB if this is his main strength.
DonAndres
Wild Man of Borneo
One could say the hype for him has been disguised by the fact that he's been playing at CB. Had the highest passing % in Eredivisie despite the fact that he strives to make difficult passes (long balls, passes between lines) as often as possible. One of the highest dribble completion rates too IIRC, read someone cite that he completed 47/50 dribbles (94%).
In a midfield position he has FAR more freedom to play forward passes more frequently and make effective dribbles. I could see the hype for him being a lot higher amongst casuals if he had been starting in midfield this whole time. He's already been touted by many as one of if not the best midfield prospects in the world right now despite playing CB.
In comps of his U21 games for Holland where he does play in midfield he stands out quite a bit. As if he can make any pass on the pitch he wants and dribble anywhere on the pitch he wants. His intelligence and decision making is clearly beyond his years. And U21 national play is an underrated indicator for young players. Thiago, Isco, Pogba, and IIRC Verratti too all excelled at that level similarly.
Edit: looked it up and his season total is 54/58 for successful dribbles which is 93%. This is an absurd number to me. Even the best efficient dribblers in football today (Messi and Hazard) only hit 72% and 81% respectively. Ofc it's not even close to being comparable because they play in much harder leagues, much higher # of attempts, and playing in much more dangerous areas of the pitch. But it still is telling in the fact that De Jong does not fuck around with the ball and lose it despite being a daring dribbler who goes on ambitious runs.
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Raketa10
Senior Member
I don't think that anyone would be against his signing but people need to realize that he is still a young kid who will need time. People in this forum tend to overreact after few bad games. I can feel that some people here will request from him to bench Rakitic immediately and if he fails in two games he will be labeled as a flop. Just look at Dembele thread and the amount of bullshit written there.
Should we buy him? Well 100% yes, but he is still not finished product and he will need at least one or two years to make an impact so we should all be aware of that. Also while it's more dangerous to dribble as a CB I don't agree that it's harder. If you are playing as a CB you'll have much more space in comparison to playing as a CM player so this stats can be misleading.
If he'll continue to play as a CB this entire season that could really damage his game beyond repair so I hope they'll stop with that shit immediately.
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i dont see nothing special on this kid. normal first touch, dribling, passing, agility (quite slow i will say for barca). only pro is his intelligent on the pitch but this in eredivisie. i rated alena higher than him... put him in ajax squad and he will be a star in eredivisie. van de beek is similar to fdj maybe a little bit better all round midfield/box-to-box but again not barca material
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