Michael Bell takes you through some of his talking points from round four of the Eredivisie.

Squad depth will be key for Ajax

Ajax weren’t at their best on Saturday despite the 3-0 scoreline against PEC Zwolle. The early Klaas-Jan Huntelaar goal gave them a cushion but they struggled to kill the game and PEC Zwolle had their chances to equalise. It was the second half substitute’s that eventually provided the victory for Ajax with Justin Kluivert and Frenkie de Jong both getting assists after coming on.

This highlights the strength that Ajax currently have on their bench, with Keizer having to choose between David Neres, Kluivert and Vaclav Cerny for the right wing spot, while De Jong, Siem de Jong and Lasse Schone were all options for the midfield. Squad rotation and freshness could prove to be crucial as the season goes on and Keizer certainly has a lot of strong options in his squad.

Jorgensen injury a big worry for Feyenoord ahead of two big games

Feyenoord kept up their perfect start to the season with a win over Heracles, but it was marred by a hamstring injury suffered by star striker Nicolai Jorgensen. The forward has now been ruled out of the Champions League opener against Manchester City and is a big doubt for next weekend’s clash with PSV Eindhoven.

It’s a big blow for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side with Jorgensen so key to Feyenoord’s style of play and they will now have to rely on Michiel Kramer up front.

Lozano red card a costly one

Hirving Lozano’s harsh first half red card against Heerenveen killed any chances of PSV getting back into the game in their 2-0 defeat on Sunday but it may prove even more costly for Phillip Cocu’s side. Lozano has been the club’s stand out player so far this season and he will now miss next weekend’s clash with champions Feyenoord. With the pressure on Cocu, they can’t afford to go six points behind the reigning champions next weekend.

Denzel Dumfries is outstanding

What a player Denzel Dumfries is! The young right-back has been outstanding since moving to Heerenveen from Sparta and he had another excellent game against PSV on Sunday. He got his fifth assist in four games, kept Lozano and Locadia at bay throughout the game and provided an outlet going forward. He came off in the second half injured and Heerenveen fans will be praying that it is only a minor niggle.

The 21-year-old has been by far the most impressive full back in the league so far and Dick Advocaat should be keeping a keen eye on him over the next few weeks.

Take a bow Bryan Linssen

What a goal by Bryan Linssen in Vitesse’s 3-0 win over Excelsior on Sunday. An early contender for goal of the season from a player that has had an excellent start to the campaign. His signing from Groningen is already proving to be a really good piece of business by Vitesse.

ADO Den Haag frontline strong enough to keep them from trouble

ADO Den Haag finally got their first win of the season on Saturday, thanks mostly to the excellent Nasser El Khayati who netted twice. I think this will be a turning point in the campaign for ADO who looked good going forward, especially when Ricardo Kishna came off the bench. The front three of El Khayati, Kishna and Johnsen has the potential to be one of the strongest attack’s in the Eredivisie bottom half and should be enough to keep ADO away from the bottom three.

AZ’s kids are doing a great job

AZ made it three wins in a row on Sunday against AZ and the stars of the match were once again the club’s youngsters with Jeremy Helmer (20) and Guus Til (19) scoring the goals. Til was the man of the match for me with a strong showing in midfield and he is proving to be a big talent so far this season. With Ouwejan, Wijndal and Garcia all featuring and Koopmeiners, and Dos Santos on the bench, AZ’s academy graduates are set to have a big impact on their campaign.

FC Twente look hopeless

Four games became four defeats for Twente as they slumped to a 1-0 loss at Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday. Rene Hake’s side featured new signing Luciano Slagveer but they still looked toothless in attack and registered only one shot on target in the game. Its been a horrible start to the season for Twente and I just don’t see where the goals are going to come from?

Hake was left relying on centre-back Jos Hooiveld as a centre-forward late in the game, highlighting the lack of options he has at the moment.




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