Ryan Gravenberch was criticized this week for his disappointing game in the quarterfinals against AS Roma (1-1). Because of his age, Kiki Musampa thinks it makes sense that the eighteen-year-old midfielder occasionally does not reach his level. The former football player thinks that the the Dutch international should therefore stay with Ajax for at least a year.
Gravenberch received criticism in the Dutch newspapers a day after the game, while he also continued Football zone was assessed with a three. “It is logical that he has moments when it is less. But what matters is how his reaction is afterwards ”, Musampa added on Sunday morning Good morning KNVB Cup. Hans Kraay junior asked the former Ajax player whether Gravenberch’s lesser play also has to do with the fact that opponents lock him up earlier. “Sure, opponents just see that. It is logical.”
According to Hedwiges Maduro, Gravenberch will have to find a way to play himself out under the pressure. “That is the next step,” said the former Ajax player in the program of ESPN. “In the beginning it is all nice, but then you have to deal with man covering.” Musampa thinks Gravenberch should put more energy into free-running. “He will have to look for the free spaces. Now he comes a lot to get the ball, but sometimes you have to stay away a bit longer. He needs to get smarter at that. ”
The name of Gravenberch is regularly mentioned in the corridors. Musampa thinks it is still too early for a transfer. “I would advise him to stay in the Netherlands. He plays, can develop and does well. He shouldn’t even think about going abroad. First let him build up in the Netherlands for a few years. He’s got a good reputation, shows he can do it. You have to grasp that development before you take that step. It is better if you have two years of Eredivisie experience and then go abroad, than if you have ups and downs for a year and then leave. Abroad, something is also expected of you, you have to be there “, said the former player of Atlético Madrid and Manchester City, among others.
According to Musampa, players sometimes do not really realize what comes their way when they are transferred abroad. “You have to fully empathize with what kind of world you end up in.” He takes Mitchel Bakker as an example. Musampa worked with him in Ajax’s youth academy. “He went to Paris Saint-Germain and I speak French of course,” said Musampa, who played with Girondins de Bordeaux from 1997 to 1999. Bakker did not understand what Musampa said to him in French. “I said, ‘Mitchel, are you taking classes yet?’ He said no that’ll come. If you know you’re going to be in a changing room where French is spoken, I would learn French like the weed again. Then you show that you really want to. ”
Maduro agrees with Musampa and added: “Frenkie de Jong is fluent in Spanish, Matthijs de Ligt is fluent in Italian. Especially in those countries they look at you and they tell you: you are in Spain, you have to speak Spanish. ” Presenter Milan van Dongen noted that Bakker still does not speak French. “And those are small signals that you give. When a club sees you making an effort to speak the language, they love it. But don’t come in with an attitude of just talk to me in EnglishMusampa concluded.