At the start of last season, Ajax were very thin at FB. Veltman was still rehabbing his knee and the only player to fill in for Tagliafico was Blind who could slide over from central defense. Sinkgraven, nominally a MF, was being played as a left FB but he too had knee issues and missed a good portion of the season. Tagliafico was suspended for the 2nd Juventus match in the CL and Mazraoui had moved over to that side. He pulled up at the 20 minute marke and Sinkgraven filled in. 'If' Ajax qualify for the group stage of the CL, ten Hag wants as much depth as he can get. If Dest does get loaned out it will be to a mid-table Dutch club that do not have a good starting RB.
Could use a year of regular Eredivisie play as opposed to seeing spot minutes as a depth player. As I recall (but I am old) Ajax didnt even realize how good JOB was until he went to Utrecht.
I’ve seen some speculation from Ajax fans on Twitter that Mazraoui might move to the midfield, opening up a spot for Dest at RB. I know Maz has played DM for Ajax before. How likely do you think that is?
Ajax are going to play a ton of games if they make the group stage of CL and progress in their league cup. He's not going to start a ton but he'd be an excellent sub on the bench because he can cover both FB positions. I expect him to start the Cup games, plus the occasional league game when the team doubles up on fixtures due to CL. If the schedule permits I'd also expect him to get 1000+ minutes with the Jong team at LB to help him get more comfortable there. Depending on how the season goes, how he progresses, and interest in his teammates from other clubs Ajax may sell this winter to open up a full time space for him. I don't think that's the most probable outcome but it is possible. I do expect him to be a starter the following season or be looking to be sold so he does get consistent 1st division playing time.
Mazraoui came up as an MF. He was switched to RB when Veltman went down with a torn ACL in April of 2018. He played most of last season at RB and then some MF when Veltman was healthy. It's hard to predict right now what ten Hag's lineup will be. There are players who can slot into multiple positions between the backline and MF.
I've got a thick skin. However I really like any player to be a huge success in the Dutch league as this makes the matches worth looking at. So it's not that I donot grant him success as a player. As long as he sucks at the right time....as in against Feyenoord As I posted a few pages back the Orange squad only plays qualifiers this year and he's not going to be called in for those. Since the introduction of the "Nations League" friendly matches are going to be a rarity too I actually have no opinion on that. It depends on the way ten Hag wants to play a match and how congested certain weeks are. He has shown on a good day he can run with the pack. Given his age and lack of experience on this level it's fair to expect a roller coaster like performance curve. Nothing to panic about if it occurs as it will be part of the maturing process. As Orange14 said and I listed all those names a few days ago, Ajax is loaded with defensive players atm. So rotation in the back will be an option for ten Hag. However it is also dependant on what happens on the transfer market this summer and in the winter window. Could be that Tagliafico moves in the winter break. Has he gotten the chance to make his mark to claim that spot? How have the other contenders for it fared? He really needs a string of CL/EL matches with very good performance to be considered by Koeman for even friendlies next year.
The best thing for him is to stay put at Ajax and learn from the experienced guys with many CL and NT matches behind their belt.
Actually some Mexican fans think the congestion of players in the defense could mean Alvarez might play in the DM, which seems to be a spot many Mexican fans favour for him.
At some point that learning has to be taken into the real world of league football.He,s been learning for years.If he's good enough to be a squad player at Ajax,there are several Eredivisie teams he should be able to start for.
Ehh, no. He's an apprentice. He now needs to learn from the people that have been on the battle fields of the CL/EL/National teams the ropes of how to apply on top level what he learned. The teams he can go to on loan (not one of the top 4) havenot got that reference quality.
@Orange14 I’ve seen quite a bit of Tag, and I dont think Dest is quite at that level yet but I think it’s getting close. That said, he’s really taken off in the last 2-3 months and had looked really dangerous the last few preseason games. You don’t want to slow down that progression by having him on the bench. What’s the plan here in your eyes?
While I agree, you learn a lot on the field with those guys. It’ll be interesting to see how much PT he gets
This is why I use the JOB reference.Nobody thought th e Utrecht loan made sense until he wound up getting a lot of recognition,then came back to Ajax as a sometime (not always ,people forget that) starter. I think two more years in the academy/ youth instead would have been no good for him.
Well,that's the crux of the matter.Does first team mean starting the majority of Eredivisie /CL games or are we talking about cup starts and sub minutes?
What matters for a player is league games. A club may ignore the cups, and play some second stringers in Europa/Champions when they know they have no chance to get past group, but the league is the #1 priority when you got relegation hanging like a Sword of Damocles over your head.
I cannot remember the exact wording of the UEFA Champions League roster regulations but I believe that U-21 players do not count against the total roster number. Last season Ajax put a number of such players on their roster for CL matches (including de Ligt who was not even 19 at the time). If Dest does not get loaned out he will be on the CL roster. In addition, Tagliafico gets Yellow Cards quite often and was suspended for the 2nd Juventus match and also missed a league match. I think Dest will have a number of playing opportunities.
Let's not forget that we are talking about an Ajax player here. An 18 year tearing it up at U19 and Jong and then having a good couple of weeks with the first team carries significant weight. Sandwich a very good U20 World Cup in there, and you have a hot commodity.
Since he played in the Cryuff Schaal this weekend, shouldn't he be moved out of the Academy forum now? That's a competitive game, no?
@bungadiri was allegedly going to consult with his colleagues. I guess the question revolves around whether this match constitutes "playing competitively for a first division second tier league."