Ryan Gravenberch has been increasingly criticized in recent weeks. The Ajax midfielder would be too high on the field and therefore not perform optimally, although they wanted to be there on Sunday evening Studio Football know nothing about it. Ibrahim Afellay believes that it should not be forgotten that the the Dutch international is only nineteen years old, while Theo Janssen believes that Gravenberch should indeed be viewed with a critical eye.
Afellay does not think it is right that it is stated that Gravenberch is currently in a form dip at Ajax. “If you can still deliver as much as he does, you are not in a slump,” said the analyst. “We are talking about a nineteen-year-old boy, aren’t we. Can he also play a lesser game for once? The third goal against Willem II also started with him. He also has fantastic individual action. Despite his height, he is so technically gifted. Doesn’t fall through the lower limit, does it?”
Pierre van Hooijdonk also thinks it is exaggerated to speak of a form dip. “That boy is leisurely bumping along at the highest level in the Netherlands and in the Champions League,” said the analyst. “It seems logical to me that it is sometimes better than other times. Of course it does matter if you are 19 or 33. He still has to make some steps. You can expect things, but those must be things that belong with his game. You can’t expect him to score 12 or 13 goals. That makes no sense. He’s not going to be the king of assists either.”
Theo Janssen believes that Gravenberch should be judged critically. “He is a fantastic player, but if you play at Ajax in the first team, you can also be critical of it. We all think that Gravenberch will play at an absolute top club in a few years’ time. But then he has to take steps. “What he’s showing now, scoring goals and giving assists, he has to show weekly. You’re going to expect more and more from him because he’s so good, which makes you look more critical. Then you might forget he’s 19.”
Gravenberch has a contract with Ajax until mid-2023. Ajax has already indicated that it would like to continue with the midfielder longer, but talks about a new contract have yielded nothing for the time being. Afellay cannot understand that Ajax is thinking about bringing Brian Brobbey back to Amsterdam. “That is crazy, isn’t it? You had that boy under contract less than six months ago and now you are trying to get him back. Ajax is so strong financially, give him a higher salary. I don’t believe he has the same salary asks like Dusan Tadic.”