Kasper Dolberg was one of the top strikers in Europe only a few years ago. A top prospect coming from Ajax academy, the Danish international came out of nowhere to lead the Eredivisie giants’ attacking line during the 2015-16 season. Many experts expected big things out of him.
Fast forward to the start of the 2019-20 season, and Dolberg was an afterthought in Ajax. He lost the starting role and barely played in the 2018-19 season, as Erik Ten Hag opted to deploy a front-three line healined by David Neres, Dusan Tadic and Hakim Ziyech. Dolberg was the third-best alternative for the striker role, as veteran Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was also ahead of him in the pecking order.
As a result, Dolberg decided to leave and joined Nice on a permanent basis. The Ligue 1 outfit paid €20.5 million for the Denmark international, who signed a deal with the club until the end of the 2022 season. It was a club-record fee for the club, but Dolberg could be worth every Euro invested in him. It’s clear Ajax wasted away his talent and didn’t give him enough chances.
Things looked different for Dolberg this year after he started the league’s first three matches. But he only scored once, and that was not going to be enough for Ten Hag. Especially since the club kept all three of Neres, Tadic and Ziyech. But that doesn’t mean Dolberg won’t be successful anywhere else. In fact, he has a unique skill set that should make him a productive player in every league he plays.
The 21-year-old definitively fits the mold of an old-school player. He can spend the whole match between both defenders, but is not afraid to deep deeper and associate with teammates, either. He is also extremely effective – even if his numbers suggest otherwise. Dolberg is the perfect example of a player who can struggle or produce depending on his playing time. That didn’t happen at Ajax, but should change at Nice. Taking a quick look at the first-team squad, Dolberg clearly represents the team’s best option upfront.
Sometimes taking one step back is the best path to take two steps forward. And while moving from the Eredivisie to the Ligue 1 shouldn’t be seen as such, it’s good to put things into perspective. Nice are smaller in comparison to Ajax, but Dolberg simply needs to gain first-team minutes. He should have those in abundance at La Riviera.
Ajax will regret selling him sooner than later. They clearly mishandled and wasted away his talent despite him being only 21 years old.
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