fulham Star Kelvin Bassey believes he needs another year at Ajax to really establish himself and learn from his experiences with the Dutch side.
ajax showtime report On the Fulham defender's comments today. He is speaking on the Ziggo Sports program Kick 'T Mate. During this time he reflected on his unsuccessful time spent in Amsterdam.
ajax difficulties
After impressing under Steven Gerrard at Ibrox, the defender joins the Dutch side from Rangers in a €23m deal in 2022.
The plan was for him to be a replacement for Lisandro Martínez. The fan-favourite Argentine had established himself as a key player at the club before leaving to join Manchester United in the summer.
However, Kelvin Bassey was unable to successfully replace him. Instead, he endured a difficult year at Ajax, during which he was regularly criticized, with even the smallest mistakes often leading to analysis and further criticism.
After a year he moved to join Fulham, where he became a key player under Marco Silva. Now 26, he reflects well on his time at Ajax and admits he still needed more time.
“It was the tactical aspect of understanding where you need to be and knowing where your next pass is going to be,” He said.
“At Ajax, a full-back plays like a number six in possession, or moves forward as soon as you get the ball. So, if you understand it tactically and you know where your next pass has to go, it becomes easier.
"If my first touch was on the outside – which was natural for me, because I expect the full-backs to be there, my passing lane was immediately blocked, because the Ajax full-backs could cut inside."
fulham confidence
The problems that had troubled him at Ajax were not evident at Fulham. But he puts it in a different style and has had time to adapt to how Fulham want him to play. This was the time when he was not allowed at Ajax.
"The English league is easy for me because I am used to English football," He added.
"Many managers come from abroad; mine is Portuguese, but this is the system I am familiar with. What you do at Ajax takes time.
"Players who were new needed more time to adapt. When you're young, and I was 21 or 22 at the time, I might have needed another season to settle in. Just like in England."
"It took me a year to even settle in there. After that, I played the most matches and became the player of the year at the club."
The defender now feels comfortable in the Premier League and the game in general. He believes this comes from experience. This was something he was not given time to learn during his time at Ajax.
"I think I understand the game better. But it's obviously because of the experience you've gained." He concluded.
"The only way to know if you're doing something wrong is to just do it wrong. But it's also about mindset. You have to be willing to make mistakes so you can improve."
