OPINION
Rafael van der Vaart has given the Tottenham fans a good enough reason to lick their licks with anticipation over the potential arrival of Frenkie de Jong in the January transfer window.
According to the Telegraph, Spurs are lining up a bid for the Ajax playmaker in the winter after missing out on Aston Villa star Jack Grealish before the current Premier League campaign kicked off last month.
It is understood that Mauricio Pochettino wants to bolster his midfield at the next available opportunity due to Mousa Dembele’s contract expiring at the end of the season, and de Jong, 21, has been made a target.
The deep-lying playmaker featured for the Netherlands in their win over Peru last week and Spurs fan favourite van der Vaart has been raving about the quality that the Ajax star possesses.
“He has so much football in him and can play freely without fear. He is always on the move and very calm at the ball. He has his wrong passes, but you have to dare to,” said the former Tottenham midfielder, as quoted by Dutch news outlet Voetbal Zone.
De Jong is exactly the kind of player that Tottenham need and he will fit in perfectly with what Pochettino’s philosophy has been over the last few years in North London.
If van der Vaart’s verdict is accurate, some Spurs fans will be drooling over the possibility of signing a young, highly-rated Dutch player, who is not afraid to take risks and plays with a certain level of maturity, while also possessing the swagger that top players need.
De Jong can more than fill the void that could be left by Dembele, but he could also prove to be an upgrade on someone like Eric Dier, or even slot into Pochettino’s back-three due to his ability to play at centre-back and play the ball out of defence.
It may be hard to sign such a gifted young player, but after not signing anyone in January and the possibility of exits next summer, Pochettino and chairman Daniel Levy really need to push on and try to land the Ajax star.