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Klaassen keen to stay and fight for his place
Friday, 18 May, 2018
The 25-year-old arrived from Ajax in a big-money transfer last summer but had trouble adapting to the Premier League in what was a struggling team under former Blues boss, Ronald Koeman.
He made just one start in the Europa League dead rubber in Nicosia against Apollon Limassol between the time Koeman was sacked and the end of the season and came very close to joining Napoli during the January transfer window.
That move collapsed due to an apparent disagreement over image rights and while murmurings that it could be revived have surfaced in recent weeks, it looks as though he would like to stay at Goodison Park after all following the departure of Sam Allardyce.
“Davy is not someone who gives up quickly. He wants to start the preseason at Everton,” said his agent Sà¸ren Lerby.
Klaassen's prospects with the Blues could be enhanced now that his countryman Marcel Brands has arrived as the club's new director of football. Brands will have watched plenty of the Holland international during his time with Ajax's rivals PSV.
Reader Comments (49)
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2 Posted 18/05/2018 at 19:36:21
3 Posted 18/05/2018 at 19:36:45
4 Posted 18/05/2018 at 19:38:18
Is that really the Everton way, no it's not.
Fair play to him for sticking with it. You never know he might just be the catalyst that we perceived when we signed him. IMO
5 Posted 18/05/2018 at 19:38:18
6 Posted 18/05/2018 at 19:53:21
7 Posted 18/05/2018 at 19:54:44
8 Posted 18/05/2018 at 20:03:39
Of course, time may prove that he's simply not up to it in the Premier League, but I'd like to see him get the chance.
9 Posted 18/05/2018 at 20:06:21
10 Posted 18/05/2018 at 20:08:57
He came in thinking he had a battle on his hands when all they needed was structuring and motivating. Instead they got a ‘go battle your hearts out'. Allardyce just chose those who would battle.
11 Posted 18/05/2018 at 20:12:35
That said, IMO, either him or Rooney has to make way for an attacking midfielder who has pace and can move the ball up the park. I hope it's Rooney who leaves.
12 Posted 18/05/2018 at 20:15:57
It's reasonable to assume that Brands knows him well as a player, and if he rates him, then he will surely get that chance.
13 Posted 18/05/2018 at 20:18:29
The clue was there in the way he performed in the Europa League final against Man Utd – he disappeared against a Premier League team, and I think that's what the managers have seen this season at Finch Farm.
If he gets the opportunity to move away from the Premier League, he should grab it.
14 Posted 18/05/2018 at 20:20:48
However, Everton have never used him as he should be used! I remember his (few) early games, he was getting the ball and passing it quickly! Mostly forwards. Where someone should be to receive it... But the rest of the team were too sluggish to move onto those passes!
So yes, give him a chance to function within a new setup!
15 Posted 18/05/2018 at 20:39:31
16 Posted 18/05/2018 at 20:47:05
17 Posted 18/05/2018 at 22:20:17
I hope I'm wrong, and his attitude has to be admired, but that does not make up for any deficiencies in his game.
18 Posted 18/05/2018 at 22:24:48
I, like many others on here, reckon there's greatness in him and in an attacking minded team, rather than hoofball like we saw under FS, he can become that attacking midfielder we have been wanting since arteta left.
22 Posted 18/05/2018 at 22:34:58
However, the indications are that he is a decent character. And while he has struggled for pace and muscle, he has also shown a bit of vision with his passing. I wouldn't write him off just yet.
23 Posted 18/05/2018 at 22:44:08
Look forward to getting his opportunity, and while I don't think he's nearly the player that Sigurdsson is, he may well become a contributor.
24 Posted 18/05/2018 at 22:49:41
25 Posted 18/05/2018 at 22:54:51
It looks he lacks adrenalin and warrior instinct. Always afraid to run at opposite players when not in possesion and keeps away from duels.
I hope he comes through, but it depends on his character, I guess
26 Posted 18/05/2018 at 23:04:29
27 Posted 18/05/2018 at 23:08:02
28 Posted 18/05/2018 at 23:12:19
29 Posted 18/05/2018 at 23:23:47
30 Posted 18/05/2018 at 23:27:17
31 Posted 18/05/2018 at 23:37:39
Too early for me to judge what last summer's signings are like regarding "character" but if they have it I agree they're unfortunately keeping it well hidden up to now. Hopefully a coach (Silva, if he comes) with the ability to physically explain to the poor dears the complexities of how they should best stand and/or move in a game situation might be the very thing they've been searching for as they troupe into Finch Farm every sodding week in their diamond-encrusted Porsches or whatever.
32 Posted 18/05/2018 at 23:44:11
That's a long way from how people think of him now, though. That's the impact of not having a manager who can guide people through these spells. Instead we now think of him as being nowhere near good enough based on his exclusion, manager press comments, and an occasional appearance out of nowhere.
Good on him for wanting to fight for his place.
33 Posted 19/05/2018 at 00:44:48
Having said that earlier in the season he hadn't impressed. He'd struck me as being on the slow side getting back to help out - which was the problem with our other number 10s as well - Siggy, Rooney definitely, Tom D and Barkley too. Which I'd also consider as the main problem for the team last season.
But I wouldn't give up on Davey - he deserves a decent run of games, perhaps with someone faster alongside him, and maybe with a bit more bite. Someone like . Tony Kay. Those were the days!
34 Posted 19/05/2018 at 04:11:58
He feels like he can show Everton that his last season at Ajax wasn't a fluke but the start of a great career.
I sat in the stands when Stones and Barkley were literally called C**nts by certain fans for giving the ball away under Martinez. If the fans can be the 12th man then they can equally be like a man sent off and we saw that at home in Martinez's last season.
For whatever reason we feel threatened by players like Rooney, Stones and Barkley but after this season Davy falls into that great underdog category that we love so much. I hope he comes back and shows us how good he is but I equally hope that we get behind players like Keane and Tuson to show the players that are struggling that we get behind players if they show the right heart and qualities regardless of what manager they play under or where we finish in the league
35 Posted 19/05/2018 at 06:11:54
I will reserve my judgement on Tosun, because trying to adapt to a new style of football, whilst nearly being isolated as much as Klassen, will not have been easy.
Onto Klassen, and it's all about physicality, because I don't think his touch, or understanding of the game is in question? He could maybe take another touch, rather than knocking most things off first time, but if he his to stay, then maybe we will see a much improved player next season? Hopefully surrounded by more mobility.
36 Posted 19/05/2018 at 07:58:39
All eyes on you now Davey boy show us what you did for Ajax.
37 Posted 19/05/2018 at 08:18:19
38 Posted 19/05/2018 at 08:33:33
The Dutch pace and stamina is much less than the Premiership. In fact all other examples of footie are less intense than the premiership. We want world class skills, with aggression at pace.
When it works its breathtaking but exhausting for the players.
Also trying it at world class tournaments means a more thoughtful approach will spank us every time.
Back to the Dutch, a good Aussie (I know) coach once told me that good coaches like to pull the ball back and then get routines moving forward because they have no control otherwise. Hours of practice, see. Thus they can run "plays" ! Awful isn't it. However it can work. Dutch coaches are very, well coachie. Had I been a good coach I would have liked to do that too. Nothing infuriates me more than a dead ball situation stuffed up because of inattention or poor execution. A poor (actually sometimes a bad) corner from a professional footballer being paid A$400,000 a week sends me incandescent.
The point . second season, he understands more what "You need more bottle and thrutch" means. He knows what to expect now. Now there's no one to blame but himself. Oh and strikers who cant move into place quick enough.
39 Posted 19/05/2018 at 08:43:06
If he was a great player I'd say build the team around him. He's isn't.
He may improve playing a different style but the lack of mobility and toughness can't be trained into him.
40 Posted 19/05/2018 at 11:43:45
This has been happening since Roberto took over, and successive managers have done nothing much to change it. Who said too much money can make people lazy? That's definitely the case in football, but hopefully Brands, is going to be a lot more methodical than our last 3 international managers.
41 Posted 19/05/2018 at 12:24:34
When played with Sigurdsson and Rooney, he didn't have those running targets to hit. Actually, playing as a No 10 for Everton must be a soul-destroying experience. Very little forward movement. Too many players adopting a spectator's role.
I am sure he will be working on the physical side of the game. He has the vision. I hope he makes it.
42 Posted 19/05/2018 at 14:54:21
Don't forget he'd been at Ajax all his life and made the move to a new country and league. Not every player adapts immediately and it makes it even harder when the club is a bit of shitshow.
Maybe it doesn't work out but let's not just ship him out after one season.
43 Posted 19/05/2018 at 15:19:10
Needs to be given game time to assess him properly, not just binned off as an expensive mistake.
All our players deserve a chance to shine.
44 Posted 19/05/2018 at 17:51:49
45 Posted 19/05/2018 at 18:13:53
I am glad he wants to fight, I am hoping and willing him to prove himself and come good.
He needs to grab any opportunity with both hands because time and patience are rare commodities in the Premier League.
46 Posted 20/05/2018 at 01:17:22
' “Davy is not someone who gives up quickly. He wants to start the preseason at Everton” said his agent Søren Lerby.'
So, I read that as Davy's agent wants him at Everton for the start of preseason only. That way he will be in the shop window before the season starts and after the World Cup is over. Hey, if he does want to stay then all well and good, but I just hear bullsh*t when I see quotes from agents.
47 Posted 21/05/2018 at 11:34:03
48 Posted 21/05/2018 at 18:23:43
That would be a valid conspiracy theory if the Dutch were actually at the World Cup...
49 Posted 21/05/2018 at 19:33:45
50 Posted 21/05/2018 at 21:01:29
Allardyce sure as hell didn't give him an opportunity, although he would've played him out of position if he had. But hopefully he gets a chance and then the club can make a decision on whether or not he's a piece worth keeping.
51 Posted 21/05/2018 at 01:05:40
I do realise that the Dutch are not at the World Cup. The point I was making was that it is unlikely there will be much transfer activity during the World Cup. Things will likely ramp up after the Cup has finished but before the season starts.
The other point I was suggesting related to Agents saying “xyx, etcâ€. If Davy came out and said something himself, then maybe I would believe the hype.
52 Posted 22/05/2018 at 14:22:58
He captained a club with a great history and good standing in Holland. Not just a run of the mill player, but their captain. From the very little we did get to see of Davy, he does look like a nice pass and move kinda player, which I personally love to see. Disasterous season for him to join the club, and for the 2nd part of the season, when he may have been ready to step into Prem league, he had Allardyce to contend with.
I agree with most on here, that I would love to see him given a proper try, with a proper manager/coach. There is definitely something there, just hope he gets a chance to show us and we get the chance to see it. Would be a sad state of affairs to see him go, then see him light up elsewhere.
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1 Posted 18/05/2018 at 19:16:23