Stephen takes up his role as resident TF scout once more to tell us about our latest signing
The last Dutch midfielder I remember us making a lynchpin of our team was Siem de Jong. So to now sign one who looks like he’s heaping pressure on himself with Cruyff’s (not Isak’s number) means that we hope for different, especially as this completes our third summer signing at a time when the talk around the club is centred on exits.
What can he do? What can he not do? Is he a 6, an 8, or is he going to change the way we play? Ultimately I’ll do my best to sum this up having spoken to some people out in Holland and with Dai Rees (TF’s Eredivise correspondent) having given me a pronunciation lesson.
So first off, he is probably an 8. Though he has played as a 6, or a CDM as the Fifa generation say (try Pro Evo it was class), and has at times played in more attacking role, his best position appears to be as the disruptive midfield 8. Whilst some may see his age and think one for the future, the club seem to be saying that he’s coming in to compete for a starting spot. That’s a sign that the squad rebuild will likely include the emergence of Miley as the 6, the progression of the ball through Ramsey and Steur as well as the adaptation of formation.
As Luke Edwards said this morning we can’t run through sides anymore.
So our new boy is, at his age, expected to be a Joelinton/Bruno/Tonali all in one. His pass progression stats are good but not outstanding and that will require more work, but at 18 and with minimal first team football, that should come with time. Where he appears to excel is when breaking up opponents’ play, through working against the midfield lines. A far more technical footballer than Joelinton yet not as physical, someone who reads play like Tonali but has similar issues to all our midfield - not able to knit it altogether.
Fundamentally this is likely to be impossible, but according to Dutch fans the likely impact will be firstly that we focus on keeping the ball. Particularly when the games are against more defensive sides then we need to be better at recycling possession.
In terms of the horseshoe of doom, where Newcastle recycle the ball from side to side but never break a team down, he’s likely to take the Miley role at the base of midfield. This frees our Carrick re-gen to start to move forward and play small little passes into midfield, or probably crucially into the box.
When we look forward to his role it would appear to be without a likely Brazilian counterpart. Unless the plan is to pair them into a more combative midfield, I think it would be too one paced. However if this is a move towards a Miley, Steur, and Ramsey trio then it might explain the links with a number of other midfielders.
All in all, we have bought a player way above market value based on potential, his progress at Ajax, and now a thinking he could fit a Howe team that looks different. It’s a sensible price; if he lives up to potential it’s a steal.
Oh and that vital pronunciation lesson? Apparently it “s-toe-r” with a rolled “r” at the end. And Dai’s other insight? Steur is Dutch for sturgeon. The new Peter Haddock has arrived.
Stephen Ord