Ayase Ueda failed to impress the analyst guild in the Netherlands during his basic debut for Feyenoord. The Feyenoord striker, who was given a chance due to Santiago Gimenez's injury, barely played against the very defensive Sparta Rotterdam (2-0 win). “He was very mediocre,” says Theo Janssen Studio Football.

Gimenez has problems with his calf, as Arne Slot reported after the match with Sparta NOS. “I cannot yet say with certainty whether he can play against AS Roma on Thursday,” said the Feyenoord coach.

According to Janssen, Gimenez playing is very important. “Especially when you see how things went today with Ueda in the striker,” said the former midfielder of Vitesse, FC Twente and Ajax, among others.

“He was not actually involved in the combination,” Janssen continues. “If he did get a ball, he actually lost it every time. We didn't see him in front of the goal. He was invisible today, so that's going to make a big difference. Giménez has not been playing great in recent weeks, but he is a boy who can score goals. Feyenoord certainly needs him.”

With colleagues from ESPN Karim El Ahmadi saw similar things. “He had one good run at the end of the match. He shot the ball nicely from a difficult angle.” Goalkeeper Nick Olij was able to save the day.

“But other than that, he didn't show much today,” El Ahmadi said This was the Weekend. “It was also difficult for him, the way Sparta played. He also had a few moments, three or four times, when he bounced balls incorrectly.”

Kenneth Perez, who was also present in the ESPNprogram, thinks it's too early to judge Ueda. “It was very compact today,” said the Dane. “What he doesn't do, and I think that's a good characteristic of a striker, is sag to the left and right when he doesn't get balls. Trainers generally want you to just keep playing in the axis. He did that, just that does mean that you are very dependent on supply. If you slouch you seem more active, but that is not always good for the team.”

Presenter Jan Joost van Gangelen asks: “I expected more, didn't you?” Perez responds mildly: “I want to judge him in a match where there is a bit more space. Then you can really see what his assumptions are and the like. Now it is very compact and he has hardly had a ball.”

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