Tottenham need to pass on Ajax midfielder in January
Tottenham have a great track record of mining Ajax for talent, but Donny van de Beek shouldn’t be the next player to make the leap to Spurs.
Donny van de Beek has a real opportunity to become a quality Premier League midfielder one day. Unfortunately, he isn’t ready to make the jump from Ajax to England’s top flight. Tottenham need to look elsewhere for midfield reinforcements in January.
Sky Sports is reporting that the 21-year-old is one of several midfielders Spurs are keeping tabs on as the January transfer window opens. It’s easy to understand why Tottenham would be interested in van de Beek. The club have enjoyed tremendous success bringing Ajax players to England in the past. Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen and Davinson Sanchez all cut their teeth with the Eredivisie powers before making the big move to England.
The unfortunate truth is that he just isn’t ready to follow in the footsteps of Eriksen and company. Van de Beek has only recently regained his place in Ajax’s starting XI. He deserves credit for fighting back to reclaim his spot, but the Eredivisie does not feature the same level of competition as the Premier League. It’s often difficult for talented young players to make the jump.
Simply put, a player must be showing signs of dominating the Dutch league before they’re ready to make a big money transfer. Van de Beek has been good for Ajax, but he’s nothing close to a superstar. His Whoscored.com player rating average of just 7.06 in 12 league appearances on the season shows how far he has to go.
The real issue with van de Beek’s ability to move to Spurs is his lack of physicality. He’s got quality size for the midfield position, but he’s very much a finesse player at this point in his career. That’s not unusual for Ajax youngsters, but it does mean they need to be exceptional technical players to overcome that weakness. Eriksen is a terrific example of the balance that needs to be found.
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If Tottenham just wanted to purchase van de Beek as a play for the future it’s a move that would make a lot of sense. That’s not what Spurs are shopping for in January though. Mauricio Pochettino needs to buy a midfielder who’s ready to give his squad an immediate left. Donny van de Beek just isn’t that player.