Much was made of Tottenham Hotspur’s lack of summer signings.

They started the season with three straight wins, including an impressive 3-0 away win at Manchester United, and things were looking pretty rosey for the Lilywhites.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men would then come unstuck away to Watford.

Today Spurs are being linked with exciting Ajax midfield prospect Frenkie de Jong. It’s being said that Pochettino is keeping tabs on the youngster with a view of making a £40m in the future.

The midfield area is still a bit concerning for Spurs.

Mousa Dembele is approaching the end of his contract and is continually being linked with a move to China, that may still happen during the next transfer window.

Mauricio clearly likes Harry Winks but the twenty-two year old has only played six minutes of Premier League football so far this term. He still hasn’t proved that he can get into the Spurs starting eleven and keep his place. He managed to show great discipline in the Champions League games against Real Madrid last term but then succumbed to injury.

Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier are great defensive midfielders but they sometimes struggle to get the ball forward as quickly as possible. So far in the league, Dier has only managed an 84% passing success rate and you’ve got to imagine that Pochettino would want that stat to be higher.

Ajax star De Jong could be more of the anchor type middle-man that Dembele has been at the club during his career with Spurs, that can transition play quicker.

De Jong may still only be twenty-one years of age but he’s already shown that he’s very composed on the ball and equally efficient with it too.

In his three starts in the Eredivise so far this term, Frenkie has yet to taste defeat. In fact Ajax have won all three games, scoring ten goals in the process and not conceding any in return.

The midfielder has a strong passing success rate of over 90%. Last term, De Jong managed to create seven assists for teammates in his twenty-one league appearances. He actually created more assists than Dembele, Winks, Dier and Wanyama put together!

The Dutchman is very clever with the ball at his feet. He’s not just got the vision to find the pass and keep the ball moving forward but he’s also got an eye on what’s around him and that gives him an advantage if an opponent is lurking around trying to steal the ball away. His smart first touches and ability to duck his shoulder and go in the opposite direction is enough to see challengers bamboozled and left scratching their heads as he’s off to start another attack for his team.

He’s also a player that has possesses fine close control with the football and that allows him to make successful dribbles and keep hold of possession that way.

Defensively, De Jong also seems assured.

The Dutch player has made a couple of appearances in defence. In the Eredivise this term, the classy Ajax man has managed on average to make 1.5 tackles per game, 1 interception and 2 clearances and they are almost on par with the figures he was getting last year.

Frenkie is a mature performer and that’s one of the main reasons that has seen the youngster being called up for the Netherlands national team by Ronald Koeman.

Koeman said this of the young prodigy after calling him up:

“De Jong has proven that he can play as a defender. But for me he is a midfielder. A little further on the field, I find him more useful and he feels most comfortable with that. He is an excellent midfielder”

Frenkie de Jong would certainly seem to fit the mould when it comes to being a successful Tottenham player under Mauricio Pochettino.

He’s young, extremely talented, seems to have a level head on his shoulders and is ambitious. Importantly he’s also young enough and smart enough to take instruction and play the way the manager wants him to.

Now what Spurs can’t do is hesitate if they want to secure his services, reports also suggest that FC Barcelona are also keeping an eye on the twenty-one year old’s progress.

 

Posted on September 5th, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article