groningen’s Janse Draws Comparisons to NEC‘s Sandler with Impressive Passing Range
GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS – FC Groningen loanee Dies Janse is turning heads in the Eredivisie, with ESPN analyst Hans Kraay Jr. noting a striking similarity in the 19-year-old’s passing ability to that of NEC Nijmegen’s Rodrigo Sandler. Janse, on loan from ajax, helped groningen secure a victory against FC Utrecht, earning him Kraay’s player of the week nod.
Kraay, who previously observed janse during his time with Jong Ajax and italian side Fano, initially didn’t foresee the defender’s current potential. “I had already seen him with Young Ajax and he has a few matches at Fano,so ajax can participate. Then I didn’t have anything like ‘Gosh, this is a potential top defender,'” Kraay told ESPN. However, a recent performance alongside teammate Blokzijl has dramatically shifted his assessment.
“Yesterday I saw him at work from close up and together with Blokzijl in the center it was really impressive to see,” Kraay stated. He highlighted Janse’s physical attributes – his size, aerial strength, and surprising speed – alongside his technical skills. “It is large, strong in the air, has a good speed despite his length, covers briefly and has a flavorful through-the-linies pass with his left leg, can I say that?”
The most notable observation, however, centers on Janse’s distribution. “I think he played ten, twelve balls through the lines, to the number 10 or number 8. There is so much speed and feeling in those balls,” kraay explained. “It looks a bit like those balls that Sandler gives at NEC with the right, although I still keep a small blow to my arm, because I haven’t seen this with Janse so often.So he is a very little bit of Sandler,but I would not be surprised if this was not a coincidence. Especially on the ball the big, strong, said.”
