Left Back Football

Kaj Sierhuis is part of the new generation of Dutch strikers who have been prolific at youth level and are hoping to make their mark in the Eredivisie. The striker was born in Athens, Greece as his family moved around for his father’s work while he was a toddler. Sierhuis became an AEK Athens fan and can recite the team’s anthem from memory as he also harboured a passion for Ajax Amsterdam. He joined De Toekomst as an 11-year-old as he rose through the academy ranks before signing a one-and-a-half-year loan deal at FC Groningen. The 21-year-old has had an intriguing start to his top-level professional career, showing the potential to be a well-rounded attacking force.

There is an irony in Sierhuis playing for Groningen as he was meant to make his debut against his current club but a last minute Klaas-Jan Huntelaar goal prevented him from coming on. At the start of the season, he made his first start against Heracles as he was constantly moving and looking for space in the box. He teed up Hakim Ziyech for a shot while he worked hard to lead Ajax’ pressing phase but the forward barely got any service before being substituted for Huntelaar in the second-half. In a home match against Emmen, Sierhuis spread the ball to Dennis Johnsen who cut back for Dusan Tadic who played through Donny Van de Beek as a defender lunged in on the midfielder for the ball to roll into the goal.

After making his first starts, Erik ten Hag sent the attacker to train with Jong Ajax after Sierhuis spent pre-season with the first team and began making inroads into the starting lineups. Danny Buijs and Groningen were in a predicament as they were in the relegation zone with Mateo Casierra floundering with only two goals and not being able to make an impact with the team. A day after signing, he played up front in a friendly against FC Koln, making an instant impact after controlling a chipped ball to flick a ball through for a teammate to score. In the first game after the winter break, Groningen travelled to Almelo to play Heracles as Sierhuis started the game by knocking a long ball down for his fellow De Toekomst graduate, Django Wamerdam to smash over.

Sierhuis proved to be the perfect striker for Buijs’ system with his ability to press and counter-press as his pace allows him to put pressure on the ball while he is clever at using a horizontal body shape to close down passing options for the man in possession. The Groningen striker had five shots, more than any attacker for Groningen in the first half of the season while he also created three opportunities. He constantly played through balls into Mimoun Mahi as he also teed up teammates for opportunities. Sierhuis was left out in an away match against PSV Eindhoven before he started against Willem II.

The Ajax loanee took a touch, turned and had a shot on goal in the first half before heading a pass onto Mahi on the break for his strike partner to have his shot blocked. He then scored his first Eredivisie goal after taking on a long ball from Thomas Bruns to finish with aplomb. Sierhuis provides Buijs’ side with more variety up front, he can make darting runs off the shoulder of the last defender while he can head and tee up long balls for teammates. He is a compact and hulking physical presence up front as he uses that to his advantage, constantly challenging defenders in duels to hold up possession while also being quick enough to beat them with pace.

Kaj Sierhuis movement and hold-up play for Doan opportunity.

Against Vitesse, Sierhuis managed to get goals in consecutive games as he latched onto a Tim Handwerker cross to apply a calm finish. He not only scored the first goal but held up the ball and played a pass through for a counter in which Mo El Hankouri scored a last-minute goal to win the game 2-1. The Dutchman began to create intricate combinations with Ritsu Doan as he switched passes with the Japanese youngster to play a through ball to him before Sierhuis back-heeled for Doan to have his shot saved against Feyenoord. In the duo’s second game together, the Dutch attacker teed up Doan to have an opportunity on goal. Against PEC Zwolle, Doan was deep as he twisted and turned away from markers to play a lob for Sierhuis in behind for the striker to score.

Sierhuis’ ability from long balls meant that he did not get good service as he could be isolated up front. The 21-year-old thrives from low crosses, so he can make a run to the near post or make a run to the back post. Sierhuis also needs the ball played to his feet so he can work combinations around the box and move into scoring positions. His game is based on energy as he can press the opposition, chase lost causes and also get into bruising aerial challenges as this belies his qualities as a pure striker and goal scorer. Against Ajax, he headed a clearance to Paul Gladon who crossed for him in the box, but the attacker failed to get a clean connection on the delivery.

He also linked up with Doan again as the Japanese international worked a ball into Sierhuis who teed him up to go through on goal, open his body and send a shot wide. In the final Eredivisie match against Emmen, Buijs utilised his creative abilities by encouraging him to drop into the ten space to work possession. Sierhuis played a pass to Mahi on the break with the outside of his boot while he worked another ball to Gladon to have his shot blocked. He then dropped deep to flick a pass out wide before being on hand to receive a diagonal and play a pass for Handwerker for the fullback to cross for Gladon to have a free-header saved.

In the Europa League Playoff against Vitesse, Deyovaisio Zeefuik was stretching the play as he crossed for Sierhuis to back-heel and Zeefuik to send a shot into the side netting. The Ajax loanee has scored 4 goals in the second half of the season as that may seem like a meagre amount but the 21-year-old is assimilating to the Eredivisie. Sam Lammers and Vincent Janssen have also taken time to adapt to the Eredivisie from the Eerste Divisie as they both scored 6 goals in the first half of their first full Eredivisie seasons. Sierhuis showed his well-rounded set of traits to lead the line effectively and sometimes frustratingly for Groningen. His performances could improve vastly with a full pre-season and a full season on loan at Groningen. His early performances earned comparisons with Groningen’s iconic Norwegian striker, Erik Nevland who played with Buijs.

“And in certain areas there are similarities between Kaj and Erik. Their work ethic is certainly comparable. But there are also differences: Kaj is more of a real striker than Erik and also more of a goal getter. Erik could miss the simplest opportunities, even during training, to score a 25-meter-long ball in the game,” said Buijs to Voetbal International earlier this year.

Sierhuis does not expect to return to Ajax as his sole focus is on enhancing his predatory instincts at Groningen. His movement, timing of runs, hold-up play and pressing have been on display in the last few months while he hasn’t had the opportunity to exhibit his finishing and goalscoring prowess. Sierhuis is one of a handful of loan players signed in January which led to an uptick in Groningen’s form as the squad will undergo a minor exodus in the summer as the 21-year-old could find himself as the attacking fulcrum of the side. He needs consistent game time at this point in his career in order to prove Ajax wrong for not giving him more of an opportunity.