Middlesbrough FC caught the eye of everyone after they secured the signing of Ajax’s young winger Viktor Fischer. The 21-year-old signed for the newly promoted side for £3.8m and the Danish international’s arrival is extremely encouraging.
Fischer has always been equated to great players and as the modern way of things go, he has been likened to legendary player Dennis Bergkamp in the past.
He signed for Danish side FC Midtjylland from AGF at the age of 14 and stayed with the club for a couple of seasons after which Ajax came calling. The Amsterdam side is renowned for it’s brilliant scouting and production of stars and Fischer’s name is counted amongst the players who possibly have a huge future ahead of them.
In his first season with Ajax’s youth side, he helped propel the side to the final of the NextGen Series and was the joint top scorer, alongside Barcelona’s Jean Marie Doungou.
Rising through the ranks
He made his way up the ranks and it wasn’t too long till the first team came calling. On his full league debut against PEC Zwolle in November 2012, then 16-year-old Fischer scored twice in a 4-2 victory.
Fischer went on to score 10 goals in his debut season, helping the club to the Eredivisie title. He attracted the attention of Bayern Munich and Manchester United which makes one wonder how Middlesbrough were able to land a player of his quality.
But three years is a long time and Fischer’s stock fell due to a serious hamstring tear in February 2014. He was forced to spend 14 months on the treatment table. Ajax naturally needed someone to replace the player and signed Amin Younes from Borussia Monchengladbach.
Fischer returned at the end of the 2014/15 season and made four league appearances, and managed to score three goals. The youngster worked hard for the next season and it showed, as he managed to find the net nine times before Christmas but he spent the majority of the second half out on the bench.
Versatile and hard-working
Fischer is a winger but it has been remarked by many journalists that he isn’t a typical Ajax winger as he has fluctuated from the striker and winger roles; he also cuts in from the left as an inverted winger, something Ajax wide-men don’t usually do. It will be interesting to see where Aitor Karanka uses him and his versatility.
Fischer’s big strength is certainly the fact that he is a hard-worker. Despite going through so much in the last few years, he hasn’t given up on his desire to get to the top. He is choosing to move to a side where he can play enough games and regain the potential that was once seen in him. He has a point to prove at Boro after being cast aside from the Ajax first team.
He would look to emulate former teammate Cristian Eriksen, who has become a key player for Spurs in recent seasons.
Unfulfilled potential
The player possesses brilliant runs, dribbling and trickery in his arsenal. There is plenty of promise but it’s pretty much established that the player has not yet fulfilled his potential.
In Fischer, Middlesbrough have bought a player with raw talent and if he manages to realise the potential he showed in his earlier days, Boro will have quite a player.
Written by Aakriti Mehrotra
Follow Aakriti on Twitter @Aakriti1
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