Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka wasted little time in adding to his squad ahead of the club’s return to the top flight, with the signing of Denmark international Viktor Fischer from Ajax on a three-year deal.
With just 12 months remaining on his contract with the Amsterdam outfit, the 22-year-old winger arrives at the Riverside for a fee reportedly around £3.8 million, completed during the final few days of May.
The History
Fischer began his youth career playing for Danish sides Lyseng IF, Viby IF and AGF before moving to FC Midtjylland at the age of 15. His talent was quickly recognised outside of his homeland, though, and persuaded Dutch side Ajax to come calling just two years later.
Having impressed playing for the Ajax youth side during the 2011-12 campaign, Fischer was handed his Eredivisie debut in October 2012 as a substitute against Heracles. The Danish wide man would continue to impress during his maiden season with the first-team squad, with the high point coming in a 3-0 win over Feyenoord, where Fischer found the back of the net twice.
A hamstring injury suffered in February 2014 would curtail Fischer’s progress, though, and ruled him out for over a year after undergoing surgery. After beginning the 2015-16 season as Frank de Boer’s first choice right winger, the Dane soon lost his place in the starting XI and while he managed eight goals and three assists from 28 league appearances, he ultimately endured a frustrating campaign and featured several times for the reserves. Fischer ended his Ajax career with 24 goals and 13 assists from 79 league appearances.
Having featured through all the age groups for Denmark, Fischer made his senior debut as a substitute in a 1-1 draw against Turkey in November 2012. He has played nine times for his country, scoring twice, with his most recent goal coming against Bosnia-Herzegovina in May this year.
The Prospects
With Karanka a firm believer in the 4-2-3-1 formation, it’s possible that the versatile Fischer could feature in any of the three attacking midfield positions.
He did spend the majority of his time with Ajax on the left, though, cutting inside onto his favoured right foot, though Gaston Ramirez’ loan return to Southampton could potentially allow the new boy to take up the central support role behind a lone striker. The Uruguayan produced seven goals and an assist from 15 starts during a temporary stint at the Riverside last term and Fischer may well be seen as a like-for-like replacement.
Delving into the data, Fischer’s goal threat, in particular, bodes well for next term. The Dane’s average of 29 minutes per attempt was slower than only Jordan Rhodes (21.9) amongst Boro’s squad in their promotion season, though an average of 62.7 minutes per key pass indicates he’s less of a playmaker, despite comparisons with Dennis Bergkamp early in his career.
Injuries have definitely curtailed his progress in recent years, but aged just 22, there’s still plenty of time for Fischer to deliver on the potential that caught the attention of the likes of Chelsea, Manchester united and Inter Milan during his formative years.
With Boro pulling out of a move to sign free agent Ramirez, Karanka could look to bring in further new faces to enhance the attacking options at his disposal. As mentioned in our article on Middlesbrough earlier this summer, though, the Spanish boss was certainly a fan of rotating his attackers last season, with no player scoring more than 10 league goals, so while Fischer is expected to get the chance to establish himself as a starter, the Fantasy appeal of Boro midfielders and forwards would diminish if Karanka persists with a similar policy.
While Fischer has plenty of potential, it’s likely that he’ll be priced around 5.5 to 6.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), in line with the likes of Nathan Redmond (5.5) and Matt Ritchie (6.0) last season, who were the prominent attacking midfield players for newly-promoted Norwich and Bournemouth.
Boro’s opening fixture list (STO, sun, wba, CPL, eve) is certainly extremely favourable, so should Fischer impress during pre-season, there’s a chance FPL bosses could consider the Dane as a potential fourth or fifth midfielder if he looks nailed-on, although backing their defenders will doubtless prove to be the more popular option.
