[AltiUn]

I'm liking the look of him so far, really nice touch for the Mata goal. Pleased with his contribution.

 

[Zoo]

If only Dalot could have finished that chance.

 

[Eckers99]

That’s where he played for Ajax isn’t it?

I think so, yeah. Everything good I've seen from him has been in or around the 18 yard box, both for Ajax and in his brief time at United, so if we can make the most of that, we've got a real attacking threat on our hands.

 

[MadDogg]

He was fairly quiet and average for most of the match, but had those two brilliant touches around the box to create our best two open-play chances in the match.

 

[Adnan]

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[Classical Mechanic]

It was very VDB, ghosted it but lovely assist and another lovely key pass.

 

[Martial'sEmergingSmile]

An brilliant 'glue' player. One of those players who makes those around him look better. His game intelligence, interplay around the box, one touch stuff, ability to find space....he does the fundamentals of football really, really well.

Silky player.

 

[Chief123]

No option but to start him on the weekend. Pogba has to drop to the bench for me.

VDB looked brilliant with Ighalo, Mata and James around him. That is an achievement in itself!

 

[sammsky1]

Growing into the squad nicely. You can see he is so well educated in basic footballing skills.
Once he feels settled and gets his chemistry with other key players on point, he will become a crucial engine in the team.
very astute signing by Ole and the scouts

 

[Shark]

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Think I'll take Mata's opinion over some of the Caf experts on here. Had a good game tonight again despite his surroundings, plus he's only still settling.

 

[RUCK4444]

It was very VDB, ghosted it but lovely assist and another lovely key pass.

Yeah agree. He has that ability, a bit like Bruno sometimes, to influence the game even if he’s been relatively quiet.

Very good trait to have.

Pretty much every time he had a chance to make something of a position in the opponents box he did. Would like to see him more involved in the build up though.

 

[Red Shorts]

Said this in the match thread, but we should see what he can do around the 1st team on a regular basis. He looks a smart players that can link us up and works hard. I like him

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Said this in the match thread, but we should see what he can do around the 1st team on a regular basis. He looks a smart players that can link us up and works hard. I like him

He’s being eased into the team.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

A very ‘modern‘ player

 

[Verminator]

Can't wait to see him with Bruno, Martial and Greenwood.
He could rival Bruno for assists.
He has that thinking-at-a-different-speed thing going.
Reminds me a bit of Peter Beardsley, with a pre-watershed face.

 

[Faetheshire86]

His general play was pretty average but he comes alive around the box. Strikes me as more of support striker than an attacking midfielder tbh. Lovely touch for the goal.

Yip completely agree. For me if we are playing Donny and Fernandez then, Fernandez is the one who drops deeper. Then there's Pogba who had a nice cameo at #10 as well.

I wonder if he could play the Mata off-the-right role? Adding that bit of utility, could see him get more minutes that just #10 or bench

 

[luke511]

He'd potentially suit a false 9/CF role in front of a midfield 3, his movement and timed runs are very centre forward like, he has a mean finish on him as well.

 

[Adnan]

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[marktan]

Wasn't too impressed with him, a lot of sideways passing and running away, a lot of not being involved. Of course nice flick for the assist but until then he wasn't really involved.

Not sure what to make of him yet, I never really watched him for Ajax so not sure what his qualities actually are, will have to wait and see i guess. Seems like a bit of a non dribbling no.10, which is a hard position to accommodate in modern football, made even harder by the fact we have Bruno who plays there (and Pogba who should be playing there).

 

[AshRK]

He is not a counter attacking player. Likes to have possession of the ball and play one-two. We have signed a class player and any manager will love to have him.

 

[Bwuk]

You can tell he came through the Ajax academy.

Really wish we could get him in the starting 11.

 

[FootyGirl88]

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[Berbasbullet]

Like this lad he makes football look easy, think he has the ability to play across the front line too and keep everyone on their toes. He’s gonna play loads for sure and be a great signing.

Excellent show of intent proper boost to the squad and gives us lots of exciting attacking line ups we can field!

 

[Organic Potatoes]

He would be lethal in a side with a lot of movement and quick passing.

 

[TheForgottenOne]

Wasn't too impressed with him, a lot of sideways passing and running away, a lot of not being involved. Of course nice flick for the assist but until then he wasn't really involved.

Not sure what to make of him yet, I never really watched him for Ajax so not sure what his qualities actually are, will have to wait and see i guess. Seems like a bit of a non dribbling no.10, which is a hard position to accommodate in modern football, made even harder by the fact we have Bruno who plays there (and Pogba who should be playing there).

Agree with your first sentence. Not sure what game people watched who praise him for this performance today. His last 20 minutes were good thanks to the assist and through ball on Dalot, but other than that he was underwhelming for my taste. If our central attacking midfielder has 34 touches in the whole game, there is no way I can praise that. I can only hope that the final part of the game is what we can expect for 90 minutes when he gets to play with better players around him, if not, he will be of little use for us. Played hide and seek for a big part of the game in my opinion.

 

[Red Shorts]

He’s being eased into the team.

Not according to his agent, who is angry that he isn't starting every game instantly... but he's being managed just fine and is hopefully easing into a first team regular role

 

[Eckers99]

Yip completely agree. For me if we are playing Donny and Fernandez then, Fernandez is the one who drops deeper. Then there's Pogba who had a nice cameo at #10 as well.

I wonder if he could play the Mata off-the-right role? Adding that bit of utility, could see him get more minutes that just #10 or bench

Definitely. I think Bruno has a more rounded game so would be the one to drop deeper, leaving VdB to play off the striker. Would leave some big gaps in midfield though. Maybe they could both learn to play in a 3 and alternate runs into the box? There's no easy answer, really.

 

[Ronaldo's ego]

Very intelligent footballer. Playing in his best position with a balanced midfield he’d be top drawer.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Not according to his agent, who is angry that he isn't starting every game instantly... but he's being managed just fine and is hopefully easing into a first team regular role

Was that really his agent? Read somewhere that it wasn’t?

We agree he’s being managed just fine.

 

[DickDastardly]

Footballing brain he has got.

Good for us he will be.

 

[Red Shorts]

Was that really his agent? Read somewhere that it wasn’t?

We agree he’s being managed just fine.

I'm a sucker for reading things that may not be true! May just be BS.

 

[bosnian_red]

Not according to his agent, who is angry that he isn't starting every game instantly... but he's being managed just fine and is hopefully easing into a first team regular role

Was that really his agent? Read somewhere that it wasn’t?

We agree he’s being managed just fine.

Not his agent, though I think some guy who works for the agency that acts as his agent? Either way some nobody.

 

[sincher]

So far so good.

Mind you feels like we have an embarrassment of riches in attacking central midfield with Pogba, Bruno, VdB, Mata... and still issues behind and wide.

 

[bosnian_red]

That’s where he played for Ajax isn’t it?

Pretty sure on 16/17 he played as a 6, 17/18 as an 8 and 18-20 as a 10 pretty much. Can play all 3 positions.

 

[Red Shorts]

Not his agent, though I think some guy who works for the agency that acts as his agent? Either way some nobody.

Ah the classic " Friend/parent/ex-lover" of someone linked to the main source that we see so often in the transfer threads.

 

[Henrik Larsson]

Curious about his running stats. No idea if they are available somewhere, but at Ajax in the CL he had the most distance in the team in quite a few matches iirc. I remember seeing a stat once on tv that said he ran 6.4 km in a first half (but maybe my memory is hazy), which is another quality in terms of pressing and movement, even if he's having an alleged 'quiet' or 'invisible' match.

Sjaak Swart is a bona fide Ajax legend by the way, he's not Donny's agent, he's 82 years old for feck's sake. Love to see how he wound up so many people who apparently had never heard of him. Part of the legendary Keizer, Cruijff, Swart front three that won the Europacup 1 three times, they were a bit like Barca's MSN or Real's BBC in that era. Brilliant right footed right winger, 200 goals in 600 matches.

 

[TsuWave]

Big baller

 

[11101]

Decent game for him without standing out. Very good technically with some great link up play, but he struggled to get hold of the ball and make things happen himself.

 

[Cloud7]

Growing into the squad nicely. You can see he is so well educated in basic footballing skills.
Once he feels settled and gets his chemistry with other key players on point, he will become a crucial engine in the team.
very astute signing by Ole and the scouts

Ajax players always seemed so well groomed in the fundamentals of the game. Saw it with Blind as well. They're one of those clubs I'm always happy when we make a signing from.

 

[Ali Dia]

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he was constantly encouraging teammates to press too which is encouraging to see after only a few weeks here