Jason Denayer

[Neville Kneville]

Another absolutely excellent performance.

One hairy moment when he & Van Dijk had an organisational fuck up leading to the striker being clean through, but Denayer somehow managed to get himself between the player & goal & although the bloke dived for a pen, it was actually him pulling on Denayer's arm not the other way. Ref wasn't fooled.

Not sure any of our 1st team defenders could have recovered that. Looked dead & buried, then he wasn't.

Great on ths ball as usual & even managed to win a few headers.

 

[FantasyIreland]

Thanks Nev,fantastic to hear.

I take it,in your opinion..... he is slightly superior to Rekik then;-)

 

[Neville Kneville]

Thanks Nev,fantastic to hear.

I take it,in your opinion..... he is slightly superior to Rekik then;-)

He is better than Rekik at everything apart from body weight/muscle.

Tbh I'm very disappointed seeing that goal on the Rekik thread, as I thought perhaps he was maybe making a step up. Perhps it's just a bad moment.

I'm still not convinced Denayer is going to be a PL cb (I'm not saying he isn't, just not yet CONVINCED) as he does look a bit vulnerable in the air (like Rekik), but I recon he could play there tomorrow & not be worse than some of our defenders this season, or Nastasic.

But I just can't imagine he won't make it in some position, cb, rb, def mid or all 3. He is a proper footballer.

 

[mcfc482]

He is getting better with every game he plays. Noticeable improvements already. You should watch the game tomorrow away at Aberdeen. Will be as hard a game he will have in the whole season.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Another excellent performance in a tough away game.

 

[jollylescott]

Just watched the replay of the Aberdeen game. He has far more composure than (for example) Mangala and he is 4 years younger. He looks like he still needs to fill out and bulk up (as Vinny did judging by the photos when he first arrived at City).

To me he looks like a perfect defensive midfielder for us, and he has greater speed than both our current incumbents (the 2 Ferns).

It would be perfect if he grew a couple of more inches, but if he doesn't I would still be happy to have him in the squad.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Just watched the replay of the Aberdeen game. He has far more composure than (for example) Mangala and he is 4 years younger. He looks like he still needs to fill out and bulk up (as Vinny did judging by the photos when he first arrived at City).

To me he looks like a perfect defensive midfielder for us, and he has greater speed than both our current incumbents (the 2 Ferns).

It would be perfect if he grew a couple of more inches, but if he doesn't I would still be happy to have him in the squad.

Mangala has the physical advantage once he does calm down & get used to the league, which will give him an advantage Denayer, Nastasic, Rekik etc don't have. That's why we've signed him. He will be a monster.

Denayer has the pace though, miles better footballer & in recent games has started challenging a lot more for aerial balls etc & winning a fair few. He is showing the signs that he will develop the extra bit of fight to become a proper cb. He's already miles better at covering, tackling, blocking etc than our other young cbs, by a long long long way.

In the old days, it would be a no brainer to stick him in the City squad for next season. Allison, Book, Royle maybe even Keegan etc would just chuck him in as a def midfielder & spare cb as you say, & take it from there. I wonder if he would be happy about that though ? I imagine he would, but can't be sure. Players are so career minded these days, I wonder if he would accept that or insist on either being a cb or back out on loan ?

And will Pellegrini see the possibility ?

 

[twosips]

I think he'd love being a defensive midfielder. He's so good on the ball and i can imagine he'd relish opportunities to be more central to the game.

 

[Centurions]

Named on the bench for todays game against Wales in the Euro qualifiers.

BELGIUM TEAM
Belgium: Courtois, Vanden Borre, Alderweireld, Lombaerts, Vertonghen, Witsel, Fellaini, De Bruyne, Hazard, Chadli, Origi
Subs: Mignolet, Nainggolan, Benteke, Lukaku, Mertens, Meunier, De Bock, Denayer, Dembele, Januzaj, Ciman, Gillet.

 

[FantasyIreland]

To make the bench for a National team that are ranked 4th in the world,at 19yrs of age,is a fantastic personal achievement for Jason and a testament to the superb progress he is making in the game.