Jong Ajax lost 4-1 away to MVV Maastricht on the eighth matchday of the Keuken Kampioen Divisie. The home team proved to be very efficient in creating chances on the counter-attack. Jong Ajax failed to play their preferred game, as they did not create many chances through playing possession-based football and heavily relied on individual quality to create opportunities.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Patrickson Delgado
- Nationality: Ecuadorian
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 17/10/2003
- Club: Jong Ajax (on loan from Independiente del Valle)
- Career: Independiente del Valle, Jong Ajax (L)
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Delgado played as a defensive midfielder for Jong Ajax and got subbed off after 60 minutes. The midfielder always has an eye for the structure of the team in defence. His positioning during the moments when the opponent is dominating possession for longer periods of time is good. In the box, his positioning was also pretty good as he managed to clear some crosses because he was in the right position. There were times where Jong Ajax conceded chances through the center of the pitch, mainly because Hlynsson was constantly out of position forcing Delgado to choose between two opponents. Delgado sometimes tried to cut the passing lanes and did relatively well in doing so, but did not always recover possession. The Ecuadorian youth international looks excellent in aerial duels, generating a lot of power in his legs to tower above his opponent and win the duel. He showed the same power in ground duels, fighting for second balls and competing in 50/50 duels. Patrickson Delgado rarely lost a 50/50 duel.
The midfielder’s choice of passes was not always great. He sometimes played long passes to teammates who were not in enough space. He does have a good long passing technique though. Patrickson Delgado has the vision to play line-breaking passes in midfield. He plays the passes with a lot of power and manages to keep the ball on the ground, but some of the passes were too hard to control for his teammates. The Ecuadorian midfielder likes to stay back and protect the defensive line during the majority of the game. However, there were some moments where he joined the attack, created passing angles at the right time and had a good first touch before releasing the ball and making the right decision. Patrickson Delgado often looked composed under pressure and seemed comfortable on the ball. He often made the right decision in possession. I want him to be more active in the first phase of the build-up and try to get into space more often.
Rating – A2
I am confident that Patrickson Delgado has the potential to be a future first-team player at Ajax. However, this is only if he gets the chance to play regularly in the second team as a defensive midfielder. He needs about 1,5 to 2,5 years to get ready. I assume that Ajax will buy him at the end of his loan period. Why do I think that he can be the ideal 6 for Ajax in the future? He has good strength in duels, has the right mindset to play in that position (keeps the structure in mind), has good athleticism, has the potential to be good on the ball under pressure and has a decent technical ability.