It often takes young players a while to get up to speed at a new club, especially one as demanding and high-pressured as Ajax.
Not so Mohamed Daramy.
Less than two minutes after coming off the bench during Saturday’s Eredivisie clash with SC Cambuur, the £10 million winger robbed an unsuspecting defender and exchanged passes with fellow youngster Kenneth Taylor before cutting inside and curling an inch-perfect shot into the far corner with his favoured right boot.
It was the seventh – and arguably the best – of a thumping 9-0 win that cemented Ajax’s status as title favourites once again.
And, showcasing his instinctive finishing skills in conjunction with a relentless work ethic, Daramy already looks like a player perfectly suited to Erik ten Hag’s high-pressing, high-octane game plan.
Celtic target Mohamed Daramy is thriving at Ajax
“He’s obviously very talented,” Danish football journalist Anders Dehn told HITC in 2019 at a time when the then-Copenhagen wonder kid was linked with a move to Scottish Premiership giants Celtic.
“Copenhagen are the wealthiest and most successful club in Denmark and don’t have to use young players to fill gaps. They only play if they are good. So, at least in a Danish context, Daramy is a big talent who they’ll probably expect to sell on for a big fee.
“In terms of comparing him to other players, he’s quick, a good dribbler, and a goal threat. He can play on the wing or as a centre forward. I don’t want to say he’s the next Sadio Mane but, as a type, he’s similar.”
There was certainly a touch of the Mane about the way Daramy opened his Ajax account and on only his second appearance for the Dutch giants no less.
The teenager was just 17 years of age when reports linking him with a £5 million move to Celtic emerged but, while the Glasgow giants may have had reservations about stumping up a sizeable fee for a little-known youngster, Ajax are the undisputed masters when it comes to unearthing diamonds in the rough.
And Daramy already looks like a gem in that iconic red-and-white shirt.
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