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Review on Tadic, Wijnaldum, Eriksen.
23 Aug 2013 13:34:19
I was recently asked to review Dusan Tadic and Georginio Wijnaldum. Having watched a lot of Dutch football over the last 5 years, I'm happy to do so. I have added in a player who operates in a similar position, although they all differ in style. This additional player is a favourite around these parts, Christian Eriksen. Together, they were 3 of the stand out attacking midfielders in the Eredivisie last season.
I will start off with Tadic. He is a 24 year old, Serbian attacker who currently plays for FC Twente. Last season he was my favourite play in the league. He is incredibly skilful and the most creative player in the league by far. Only Dries Mertens assisted more than him last season, but Mertens is quite one dimensional (limited to crossing). Tadic has a knack for playing dainty little through balls on the edge of the 18 yard box. As well as this, he often plays his team mates in behind the defence for a clear one on one chance. He can also add crossing to his list of deadly creative abilities though, being very accurate in picking out his man. Despite not being lightning fast, he is faster than the average player, and is particularly good at short bursts to get round a man, or beat a defender to a lose ball. He is also quite capable with his weaker foot, despite being predominantly right footed. He chips in with quite a lot of goals, being a tidy finisher in the box. If I had to compare him to someone to give you a better idea of his playing style, I'd say our very own Coutinho is a good example. Tadic spent a lot of his career in lesser leagues, meaning I cannot find his full career statistics. However he has spent the last 3 years in Dutch football for Groningen and Twente. During that 3 year spell he can boast an impressive record of 29 goals and 50 assists in 117 games. That equates to a goal every 4.03 games and an assist every 2.34 games. His statistics for last season suggest that goal to games ratio is improving, with him scoring 15 goals and assisting 19 in 41 games! If you apply his overall ratios to a 38 game season though, he comes out with (to the nearest whole number) 16 assists and 9 goals. Very good for a 24 year old. He has been on quite a steep improvement in recent years which suggests to me, that even if he were to make the step up to a top league, he would adjust accordingly and maintain his form. He would probably be valued at around £10m by Twente, and I think he'd be a good buy for any premier league team.
Next is Wijnaldum. He is very different in terms of style to Tadic, despite playing a similar position. Wijnaldum is nowhere near Tadic's technical ability, but he is more clinical for sure. He is quite quick, but his main advantage is his power. He's very strong both on and off the ball. What he does love doing is ghosting into the box when the ball is being delivered from the wide areas, and clinically finishing off the attack. He is much like a young Gerrard with his powerful bursts into the 18 yard box, and can finish with both his head and either foot. He is a fairly good link up player around the 18 yard box, but sometimes lacks vision. He doesn't have much to his defensive side of the game and lacks the passing range to play a deeper role. He is very much an attacker who you'd want behind your main striker. He currently holds the record as far as I am aware for the youngest player in Feynoords history, which is impressive if you know much about the academy there (equal to that of Ajax in my opinion). He is just 22 years old but has racked up 233 games, scoring 63 goals and assisting 29 in the process. That's a goal every 3.70 games and an assist every 8.03 games. Having been thrown in at such a young age, this does not reflect his current ability. Last season he bagged 20 goals and 8 assists in 45 games. I would expect him to maintain this level of play throughout his career, with possibly a slight dip were he to come to the big leagues. But don't forget he is only 22 with a lot of time on his side, so could be great with the right couching. If he played a full 38 game season, and maintained his career average, it would see him claim (to the nearest whole number) 10 goals and 5 assists. Good enough for a 22 year old, but I'd expect him to be involved with at least another 5 goals myself, be that via a goal or an assist. I'm not sure what PSV Eindhoven value him at, but I would expect it to be no more than 20 million euros. This makes him a bit more of a gamble than Tadic, but I do think Wijnaldum would do well in our system. He'd bag a lot of the chances we create, but it'd force Coutinho out wide, as Wijnaldum could not play there.
Now for Eriksen, who is very much a fan favourite on these forums, and for good reason. Being the youngest on this list has not made him any less effective in his play, regularly being involved in 30 goals for his club, each season. Having seen him burst onto the scene for Ajax just prior to the end of the Suarez era, I have watched him lead his club to 3 successive titles. Under De Boer, he has excelled in a passing philosophy not too dissimilar from that of Brendan Rodgers. He is very similar in terms of play to Arda Turan. He has no outstanding physical attribute being neither lightning fast, or incredibly strong, but he has a knack for sending defenders sprawling. He is very skilful and attempts some flicks I wouldn't even try in the Park with the lads! But there is no 'David Dunn' aspect to his flicks, with them almost always coming off. This is testament to his incredible vision and awareness. Before he even receives the ball, he could probably tell you where every single one of his teammates is standing. He never drops his head, and is always looking for an option, or to be an option for someone else. Technically way ahead of his years, but I feel he would have to bulk up to make it in the EPL. He is very creative much like Turan though, constantly setting up attacks, or directly assisting goals for his teammates. He's also very good at having a dig himself though. Although he lacks power in his shooting, he has an incredible manipulation of the ball, capable of dipping, curving and swerving shots. He is 100% too footed as well. He genuinely does not have a weaker foot, at all. In 160 games so far, he has 31 goals and 62 assists. But bear in mind he is 21! That's an average ratio of a goal every 5.16 games and an assist every 3.06 games. Much like Wijnaldum though, being thrown in at a young age has distorted his statistics. Last season he registered 13 goals and 17 assists in 46 games. This would suggest his goal scoring has greatly improved to a goal in around every 3 to 4 games. If he were to maintain his career average in the EPL over 38 games, he would likely rack up (to the nearest whole number) 7 goals and 12 assists. That would be very impressive for a player so young, but It would be a massive step up for someone so sleight of frame. I'd have faith in his technical ability to do so however, and think he could develop into a top player for us, or any other team that likes to play with the ball on the floor. Valued at probably just under20 million euros, he would represent a big gamble, but he could turn out to be a bargain!
Hope you enjoyed this, and it was a good read. Feedback is always appreciated.
YNWAdam
30 August 2013
Definitely Tadic mate, and thanks for the feedback. Your friend may hold Wijnaldum in a lower regard as he breaks the 'Dutch' mould. He is more powerful and effective than tricky and skillful. Not as entertaining to watch, but does the job required.
YNWAdam
23 August 2013
Fair play thats another good article. You have sold me on Tadic anyway, I have a friend from Rotterdam who rated Tadic highly but didn't rate Wijnaldum (probobly due to his moving from Ferynoord to PSV). Of the 3 who would you prefer?