Siem de Jong captained Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam and helped guide them to four consecutive league titles, yet the jury are still out on whether the 26-year-old can cut it at Newcastle United.
His debut Premier League season was plagued with injury – a thigh problem, followed by a collapsed lung – which halted his progress, but Siem displayed clear mental and technical ability when available for selection.
De Jong went through pre-season without sustaining injury and looked destined to break into the first-team. His classy performances in the pre-season friendlies were arguably the best of any Newcastle player, but Steve McClaren still isn’t convinced by the Dutchman.
Recently, Siem spoke to reporters (quoted by The Chronicle) regarding his Newcastle career so far and his ambition: “I am ready. It is going to be about fitness. I was injured last season and I didn’t play for nearly the full year.
“I had a good pre-season. After that, the manager made a different choice, I have not played as much as I want to.
“But I need to keep working on myself. That’s why I am prepared to play with the Under-21s to get fitness in. Hopefully, it won’t be long until I get more first-team minutes. I just need to work on that.”
Siem is eyeing up a first-team spot, and the fans want to see more of him, but can he fit into Steve McClaren’s side? I’m not so sure.
On Saturday, as the game was stretched and both sides were looking to snatch a winner, Steve McClaren turned to De Jong. The Dutchman was subbed on, in place of midfield anchor Cheick Tiote, and instructed to cause Stoke City problems and press for the winner.
However, his substitution couldn’t have had a worse impact. The transition from defence to attack, which had been almost seamless all game, became a sluggish process which prevented Newcastle from utilising the pace of Ayoze Perez, Gini Wijnaldum and Moussa Sissoko on the counter. Instead, it allowed Stoke City’s slow defenders to regain their shape and block any oncoming traffic.
Vurnon Anita was left with the responsibility of holding the team together – a task which was evidently too big for him as Newcastle lost their shape almost immediately.
While our midfield was crying out for that cutting edge – a Yohan Cabaye-esque midfielder – to carve open Stoke’s defence, Siem, sadly, did not bring that to the table. In the twenty minutes that he managed against Stoke, Siem only managed one successful forward pass. The Potters blocked him, and Newcastle, out of the game.
Obviously, I cannot blame Siem for McClaren’s tactics failing, but not being able to play alongside Vurnon Anita in central midfield could hinder his chances of establishing himself as a Newcastle regular.
Newcastle are crying out for a deep-lying playmaker and, with Ayoze Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic forming a strong partnership up front, Siem’s best chance of breaking into the first-team is by occupying that role.
It would be harsh to write Siem off on the back of just one poor performance, after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, but it is very difficult to see how McClaren is going to fit the Dutchman into the first-team without losing our new identify – slick, fast, attacking football.
