With question marks over Andy Robertson‘s long-term role under Arne Slot, Liverpool could turn their focus back to the Netherlands and target Ajax’s Jorrel Hato.
All good things come to an end eventually. Or they at least must be planned for.
When you consider how crucial he has been to the club’s success over the past seven-plus years, it probably isn’t too hyperbolic to claim that the 2017 signing of Andy Robertson for around £8 million from Hull City – offset by Kevin Stewart going to other way for a similar fee – is one of the best acquisitions in Liverpool’s history.
Yet there is surely a growing understanding behind the scenes that the succession process for the club’s brilliant left-back now needs to be bumped up the agenda.
The writing isn’t yet on the wall for a player who still only turns 31 this season but the pens are at least being readied. Especially if, based on how he continues to be used mainly as a rotation option, Kostas Tsimikas is not viewed as the heir to Robertson’s left-back throne.
On the not-so-small list of squad to-dos, there are some more pressing contractual situations to resolve with Mo Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk.
However, if the club is really committed to investing in Arne Slot and putting the squad in the best place possible for the inevitable moment when the likes of Robertson exit the stage (or at least take on a more minor role in the performance) then transfer proactivity is key.
Step forward hugely talented 18-year-old Dutch defender Jorrel Hato.
Recent rumours have suggested that the Ajax academy graduate is being lined up as the replacement for Van Dijk, yet he arguably isn’t the person Hato should be replacing in the long term.
A player such as Fulham’s Antonee Robinson would also be an excellent Robertson replacement but if you’re looking for someone with the range of technical, tactical, physical and mental attributes most suited for Slot, then Hato fits the bill.
A talent that couldn’t be ignored
Last summer, Ajax had to balance the books and effectively had every player available for sale bar one, who was very much off limits, and that was Hato.
After making his debut months before his 17th birthday in the 2022/23 season – with his Eredivisie bow coming under now-Liverpool assistant coach John Heitinga – he seamlessly made the often-challenging leap for a youngster from unproven talent to established first-teamer.
A bridge symbolically connects the Ajax academy to the 55,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Arena but Hato barely ever needed it.
In two-and-a-half seasons, the man actually born in Rotterdam and a fan of Ajax’s historic rivals Feyenoord has already amassed almost 100 appearances, the majority from the start.
He is now one of the first names on the teamsheet for impressive new Italian coach Francesco Farioli, playing as a left-back.
As is often the case with special talents, such is the quality of Hato that it can be easy to forget just how inexperienced he is relative to the responsibility being placed on his shoulders.
It was perhaps his early readiness for first-team action that made it less painful for Ajax to say goodbye to another former graduate from their famed academy, when Jurrien Timber was sold to Arsenal in 2023. In fact, Hato has cited Timber as his first-team mentor.
? March 28th '23: Captain Oranje U17
? November 21st '23: Debut for @OnsOranjeHappy ???? birthday to you, Jorrel Hato! ??#NothingLikeOranje pic.twitter.com/yocYVgK0MG
— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) March 7, 2024
Sustained international recognition has duly followed in the UEFA Nations League, with Hato previously becoming the second-youngest player to play for his country since 1931 when he made his debut in a European Championship qualifier.
With the left side of defence an area in which the Oranje has an array of options, it shouldn’t be held against Hato if he requires a couple more campaigns to become established with Ronald Koeman.
However, he will almost certainly be in the squad for the 2026 World Cup, based on his current trajectory of development.
Sometimes players just look born for the big stage and Hato is one of them.
Technical and physical
If fans haven’t noticed yet, ball retention is a vital part of an Arne Slot side.
And it won’t surprise you to learn that Hato is highly competent on the ball and technically brilliant, with the preternatural calmness that defines young Ajax defenders.
Last season in the Eredivisie he made the third-most passes and produced the best pass completion rate. That latter figure comes in at 91 percent over the past year whilst playing as a full-back who also happens to be amongst the highest percentile for attempted passes.
Furthermore, he is in the highest in the league for ball carries, being equally dangerous with well-timed overlapping and underlapping runs.
There is a real bravery in Hato’s decision-making on the ball, in his runs and in his defensive duties.
And whilst some defenders may have some signature dishes when it comes to their range of passing, Hato can pick from the full menu, being equally comfortable playing in tight spaces or delivering long, penetrating through-balls.
When watching Robertson over the years, it has been the relentless hard work and running that has gone down so well with the Anfield faithful just as much as the brilliance on the ball, the whipped crosses and the aggressive tackles.
Although he is still maturing physically, Hato has already developed the kind of physical traits needed in top-level Premier League defenders.
He has genuine speed, is around six-foot tall and is tenacious in his tackling. In the past year he is again one of the highest ranked for aerial duels won per 90 minutes.
Last campaign he played every league game bar the last when he was rested, showing his physical durability.
Positionally versatile
* Jorrel Hato positions played and full-back data (Transfermarkt / FBref)
A big takeaway from Slot’s tenure so far has been how he is able to use players effectively in different positions, sometimes during the matches themselves.
This is an area in which Hato receives another giant tick and one of the big reasons Liverpool should be moving for him. He is very much the archetypal modern defender in terms of the different ways in which he can be used.
Due to where he initially started playing for Ajax, there is a misconception that his sole position is as a left-sided centre-back, but in his career he has in fact now played more games as a left-back having been converted fully to the role by Fariolli.
Each of his full 90 minutes for the Netherlands have also come there.
Akin to Riccardo Calafiori at Arsenal, Hato offers the dual options for a coach of being both a highly progressive full-back (with three goals and five assists in 28 games already this season) and one of those surprisingly rare finds in football – a naturally left-footed defender.
If Slot wanted to give Robertson a run of games but also manage the game time of Van Dijk, Hato would easily fit into the captain’s centre-half position.
If needed, he would be completely comfortable on the left of a defensive three and is also more than competent as a left-back tasked with stepping inside into the centre to support the sitting midfielder and give more freedom to the likes of Alexander-Arnold or, if the No. 66 departs, Conor Bradley on the opposite flank.
A natural leader
What has been especially impressive with Hato to date is not just how quickly he has become established at Ajax but the environment in which he has done so.
By finishing fifth, the 2023/24 Eredivisie campaign was the club’s worst in almost a quarter of a century; encompassing managerial and sporting director sackings, fan riots at matches, high player turnover and an aggregate 10-0 loss to Slot’s Feyenoord.
They also failed to qualify from their Europa League group.
Yet amongst the madness Hato stepped up to the plate, showing the qualities of personality that make him a potentially great leader on and off pitch.
He has already captained Ajax three times, becoming their youngest-ever captain at 17 years and eight months. For most of his career coming through the youth ranks, Hato has been the man with the armband. The one setting the example.
With a transitional period perhaps not far around the corner, Liverpool could do with natural leaders such as Hato, someone who could well follow in the footsteps of Van Dijk by captaining his country.
Financially prudent
Finally, this would be a move that makes a lot of sense financially.
At present, Hato is valued at about €30 million, according to Transfermarkt. That figure will almost certainly rise quickly not only because of Hato’s continued improvement and increasing profile, but the fact that several top European clubs are already admiringly looking his way.
Although they have improved this season after their well-profiled slump, Ajax cannot guarantee the revenue of Champions League football that is so vital for Eredivisie clubs and will know that it will soon be time to cash in their chips and potentially instigate a bidding war.
In a financial era where the stakes placed on sensible signings have never been higher, moving early this January, or getting everything ready for a swift move next summer, would be an extremely wise move for a player whose profile, quality and subsequent cost is only going to grow in the years to come.
For Liverpool fans reading this and looking at the Premier League success rate of signings from the Netherlands, there will likely be some reservations about investing in a young Eredivisie talent like Hato.
Nevertheless, every now and again a player comes along who is a truly generational talent and simply cannot be ignored.
Over seven years ago Liverpool made an intelligent and proactive investment in a talented young left-back who went on to do incredible things.
Now could be the moment to do so once again.
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