Denzel Dumfries made a big impression on Jan van Halst with his basic debut for Internazionale. The right wing defender had a large share in the monster victory of with an assist and front assist i Nerazzurri against Bologna (6-1). “This is the new Achraf Hakimi, and perhaps even better,” Van Halst compares Dumfries with his predecessor in the right-back position at Inter.
Dumfries was important early in the game with a sharp low cross, which was tapped by Lautaro Martínez. The 3-0 was also introduced by the former PSV player, who saw his cross with difficulty being removed by Lorenzo De Silvestri, after which Nicolò Barella was able to easily push in the rebound. “What is striking about him: he never takes the gas back, so he is also relentless,” says Van Halst at Ziggo Sports. “He just keeps pounding on that right side.”
Assist Drum Frisian??
The right-back steams up the old-fashioned way over the right side and puts the ball for Lautaro Martinez before tapping in ??#ZiggoSport #SeriesA #INTBOL pic.twitter.com/j2bAxtBoRw— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) September 18, 2021
At halftime, Bologna brought in Mitchell Dijks on the left to rein in Dumfries. “I can imagine that at Bologna they said to Dijks: ‘John, are you going to ask that Dumfries if he can take it easy a bit.’ Because that just keeps on going, of course. He is right back, right winger. The connection with Lautaro is definitely there, especially in the first half. He just keeps going. He still needs some practice with the left, but he has handed over his business card .”
Van Halst thinks that the Italian media will be full of praise for Dumfries. “It’s nice to have him in the team, but I’m also thinking about Dumfries himself. How nice is it when you join a new club, abroad, in a big competition, and you show this in your first full game. You come to the club in the morning and you grab La Gazzetta dello Sport. You’re on the front page everywhere, an 8.5 I think. That’s nice. Then you sit differently in the dressing room and go otherwise you’ll run your laps.”
Sydney van Hooijdonk
On the side of Bologna, Sydney van Hooijdonk came in as a substitute. Van Halst saw the former striker of NAC Breda play unhappily. “What he had to do, he didn’t do much good with it either. He was a bit uncomfortable. It’s also difficult. It doesn’t matter either. It’s nice that he took 22 minutes with it. On to one day a goal, and then try to play in the team.”