Ajax ace and reported Tottenham Hotspur target Ryan Gravenberch has “basically everything” to become a top-class central midfielder, former Premier League hero Rafael van der Vaart has told Ziggo Sport.
Well, everything except the mentality, right Marco van Basten?
Arguably the greatest Dutch striker of all time had no qualms about knocking Gravenberch down a peg or two earlier this week, hitting out at the 19-year-old wonder kid after he admitted he struggled to concentrate in games when Ajax were a couple of goals up and cruising.
“I think it’s really inappropriate,” blasted the three-time Ballon D’Or winner. “I’m curious how he’ll perform if he ends up in a major European league. Then, you won’t have time to fall asleep.”
If his performances in the Champions League group stages are anything to go by, however, Gravenberch would have few problems adapting to life outside the relatively small pond that is the Eredivisie. He followed a super display in the 5-1 dismantling of Sporting Lisbon with another as Ajax swept aside Besiktas 2-0 last night.
It was the sort of metronomic midfield display we’ve come to expect from a player linked with a £26 million move to Tottenham Hotspur in the transfer window.
According to Calciomercato, Spurs director Fabio Paratici hopes to fight off competition from former employers Juventus for one of Europe’s most talented young playmakers.
Van der Vart: Tottenham target Gravenberch is a ‘pleasure to watch’
“Whether you’re sitting at home or watching (Gravenberch) in the stadium, he dominates. He’s big, strong and calm on the ball. He spins away and then has a gear and then another gear. He has basically everything,” says Van der Vaart, a modern-day legend at Tottenham and Ajax.
“I also thought Gravenberch and (goalscorer Sebastien) Haller played well, everyone played well. In the first half they didn’t give anything away. That is a pleasure to watch.”
Van der Vaart did have a few words of warning, though. Concentration, he said, isn’t the only thing Gravenberch needs to improve.
“The only thing he shouldn’t do, and I hope they listen, is take corners and free-kicks. I don’t know where they got it from that he can take them – but they should leave that to someone else!”
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