Alan Pardew’s summer shopping spree continued last week with the capture of Ajax skipper Siem de Jong. The 25-year-old arrives on a six-year contract and follows Jack Colback and Ayoze Perez as the third player to join the Magpies this close-season:
Speaking to the club’s official website upon completion of the deal, Pardew couldn’t hide his delight with a deal that’s regarded by many as a real coup for the Tyneside team:
“We are absolutely overjoyed to bring Siem to the club because he will give us intelligence in the final third and create goalscoring situations, which we lacked towards the end of last season.…I’m really pleased that we’ve managed to get a striker early, and particularly a striker of Siem’s type. We need to bed him in a little bit about how we’re going to play and find out the best route for him and for us. It gives us a real kind of intelligence that we can go straight into the season with.”
The History
Born in Switzerland back in 1989, de Jong moved to his parents’ native Holland at the age of six. Initially picked up by De Graafschap’s youth system in 2001, he was quickly scouted by Ajax and joined the Amsterdam club’s youth academy four years later.
Making his debut in 2007-08, de Jong managed three goals and six assists over 32 league appearances in his first two seasons for Ajax. Settling down as a first-team regular in 2009-10, the 25-year-old cemented his spot as a key player by notching 10+ goals in each of the next four Eredivisie campaigns, netting 47 times and providing 27 assists in 118 league games.
De Jong’s final season at the club was blighted by injury, though.. Sidelined on five separate occasions during 2013/14, with a hamstring injury particularly troublesome, he played just 19 times, scoring seven and assisting two goals as Ajax clinched the Dutch title for the fourth year running. The Magpies new boy has turned out for the Holland youth teams on a total of 23 occasions, scoring six times, and has also scored two goals in six appearances for the senior side.
The Prospects
There’s no question De Jong is a major signing for Pardew as he goes about restructuring his attacking options after a poor end to the previous season. Newcastle scored just 43 times last term – only three more than relegated Fulham – with Loic Remy leading the way on 16 strikes and Yohan Cabaye, despite leaving in January for PSG, next best with seven. Given that Remy has returned to parent club QPR, it’s clear major re-enforcements are required if Newcastle are to steer clear of relegation this time around – 11 losses in their last 15 games in 2013/14 certainly hints at trouble unless investment is made.
The club’s toils in the final few months of last season were heavily influenced by Cabaye’s winter departure and De Jong – whilst versatile enough to play as the most advanced forward –admits his preferred position is in “the hole” behind a lone frontman:
“The main part of my play is to see the space in the box and come as a second striker and score goals, also to get in some crosses. My best position is just behind the striker. Hopefully I can play in that position here and do the same as I did for Ajax and improve both the team and myself.”
He’ll have to up his game to replicate Cabaye’s creativity, though. While de Jong’s 2.9 shots per appearance for Ajax in 2013/14 is almost on a par with the Frenchman’s 3.3 for the Magpies, the new boy managed just 13 key passes in 19 appearances (0.7 per game) compared to Cabaye’s 32 (or 1.7 per game) over the same number of matches in the season gone by.
In terms of Newcastle’s prospects for the campaign ahead, much depends on how much more cash Mike Ashley is willing to hand Pardew – de Jong’s fee is a rumoured £7.5m – but reports in the local press suggest the Magpies manager is looking for four more new recruits. With Papiss Cisse sidelined for several months due to a broken kneecap, a new forward is at the top of the list, with Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette allegedly under the radar after notching 15 times in Ligue 1 last season.
While De Jong’s arrival will allow Pardew to fill the gap left by Cabaye’s departure, the situation isn’t quite as straightforward for Fantasy managers. The Frenchman was, of course, classified as a midfielder across the games and benefitted from a shift to a more advanced berth last term, whereas de Jong is mainly expected to be listed as a forward for the season ahead – snapping up a Newcastle striker as part of our three-man frontlines won’t be on many managers’ agendas after last term’s turmoil. Last week’s launch of the Sky Sports Fantasy Football game, however, has brought the new boy immediately onto our 2014/15 radars– surprisingly classified as a midfielder, he’s available for a budget-friendly £6.2m and could prove to be a strong value option at the heart of the Magpies’ attacking forays.
Pardew will be hoping de Jong’s arrival is the catalyst for further quality additions and, if he lands his intended targets, the first few fixtures offer reason for optimism. Granted, an opening day home encounter against champions City is hardly enticing but the following three matches at St James’ Park (CPL, HUL, LEI) bode well, as do trips to Villa and Swansea in the opening eight Gameweeks. It’s fair to say that Newcastle have some convincing to do if we are to invest in their main assets in 2014/15 but if de Jong settles quickly and brings his Ajax form to Tyneside, he may well edge himself onto our radars.
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