Ajax cannot start in the Champions League with Sébastien Haller at the forefront, Valentijn Driessen judges. The chief of football of The Telegraph more than six months after the arrival of the most expensive purchase ever from the Amsterdam club, he is still not convinced of his qualities. Driessen looked at the competition match between Ajax and NEC (5-0) with a shake of his head, in which Haller did take the opening goal.
At the program Football Talk of ESPN there was talk about the somewhat difficult start of Steven Berghuis at Ajax. In Driessen’s view, the ex-Feyenoord player is waiting for a tough competition with Antony, who took part in the Olympic Games in Tokyo and will soon be at the disposal of Erik ten Hag again. “The qualities of Antony, and I already thought that last year, fit very well with Ajax. When you have Dusan Tadic on the left and Antony on the other, you have depth and action on the flanks.”
“Antony is also very target dangerous. The return of Berghuis is higher? Yes, at Feyenoord it was higher.” Table mate Kenneth Perez pointed out that it also depends on the opponent. “What type of footballer you need at any given time. It will also be interesting in which line-up Ajax will play in the Champions League. Then it may just be that Tadic is in the striker again.”
That was the moment Driessen considered Haller’s qualities. “When you see Haller… Then you think: He can’t be in the Champions League. He is so preoccupied with himself. He has so much trouble. What is that? No qualities. As a finisher, yes. But as he tries to shoot that first ball in…“, Driessen pointed to a great opportunity for Haller after just over a minute of play in the home game against NEC. The Frenchman was released in front of goalkeeper Mattijs Branderhorst after a smart pass by Davy Klaassen, but shot the keeper weakly.
“That’s not from a guy, is it?” Driessen remarked scornfully. Perez had less trouble with that. “It’s more about playing football. That is more difficult. It’s not refined. But yes, if he scores at least 25 goals in the Eredivisie…” Haller played 23 matches in all competitions in his first six months. In it, the attacker was good for thirteen hits and seven assists. In the battle for the Johan Cruijff Scale, 0-4 against PSV, he was taken to the side after an hour of play and cheers could even be heard from the stands.