You must have heard the name Kluivert before. Where, you ask? Patrick Kluivert was a legend of the game during his time at clubs like Ajax and Barcelona. Although the legendary Dutchman played as a striker during his illustrious career, his son Justin Kluivert has spent the majority of his career on the wings.
Unlike most players of his age, Kluivert at 24, has already played in four of Europe’s top five leagues. With his transfer to Bournemouth in Premier League now official, Justin Kluivert has achieved the very rare feat of playing in all of Europe’s top five leagues.
Even after playing at a number of clubs so far, very little is known about the Dutch winger. A small analysis of how good is Kluivert and how will he cope with the Premier League intensity at Bournemouth.
Justin Kluivert – Transfer analysis
Standing at 5 ft 7 in, Justin Kluivert isn’t what you’d call the tallest there is in the game. A right-footed winger who can operate on either flank gives him an advantage over opponents in 1v1 situations.
The Dutch winger usually likes to cut inside his strong right foot from the left wing. This gives his overlapping full-back the chance and space to pop in a cross for teammates present in the box. Although, because of his versatility and flexibility on the pitch, he has been asked to perform various attacking roles in his short career so far. Kluivert can also play as a right winger, an attacking midfielder who sits just behind the striker and sometimes has even occupied the number 9 position on the pitch.
His dribbling skills are on par with some of the very best in the business. The speedster has got a mean cross up his sleeve as well – usually which is delivered from his right foot. When deployed on the right wing by his manager, Kluivert tends not to cut inside the pitch but rather puts in a sumptuous cross for one of his teams’ target-man.
This kind of innovation on the pitch is what made Bournemouth splash the cash on the Dutch international and Iraola will be hoping he can add a new dimension to the Cherries attack.
Having said that, Kluivert likes the ball at his feet, dribbling it all the way into the opposition’s penalty area where he takes on one or more players. The winger has a tendency to play vertical passes and hence he has improved his long pass game as well. His vertical passing patterns were later figured out by his rivals and hence he added a mean long pass to his game as well.
Coming to his finishing skills, Kluivert is decent when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net in pressure situations. He has scored the majority of his goals from his strong right foot where he cuts inside from the left flank and drops into the left half space to launch a powerful shot. The Dutch attacker usually fancies a shot from a distance which is understandable, considering half of his senior career goals have come from outside the box.
The best part about Kluivert’s game is that he is very unselfish with and without the ball. Iraola likes his players to interchange positions at regular intervals of the game and the Dutch winger is just the right man to do that. Irrespective of the formation deployed, expect Kluivert to be all over the pitch during his Bournemouth tenure.
Justin Kluivert signs for Bournemouth on a long-term deal from Roma ✍️
The Dutchman joins the Cherries having already played across 4 of Europe’s top 5 leagues 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/Sz9JXLSQK7
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 23, 2023
How will Kluivert fit in at Bournemouth
Coming to how well will he adjust to life at Bournemouth and cope with the intensity of the English top-flight. Justin Kluivert has been quite the journeyman at the age of 24 and as previously mentioned he will now have played in all of Europe’s top five leagues.
New Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, prefers a 4-4-2 diamond shape and the signing of Kluivert has left many fans scratching their head as to where the attacker fits in the Spaniard’s plans. With a range of versatility in his game, adapting to Iraola’s philosophy shouldn’t be an issue for Kluivert.
The only thing the former Roma forward should be worried about is the amount of competition there is for attacking positions in the Bournemouth squad. With just three positions up for grabs (as it would be in a ideal 4-4-2 diamond) in Iraola’s attack spots, Kluivert will have his work cut out. He will fight it out with the likes of Dango Ouattara, Dominic Solanke, David Brooks and Hamed Traore to name a few.
What gives the son of Patrick Kuivert the edge is his unique skillset. Justin Kluivert has a range of passes and dribbling ability that can be matched by none other in the Cherries’ squad. The Dutch winger is likely to occupy the second striker role or the number 10 role in the starting lineup which will only benefit Bournemouth as a team.
Much can be made of once some pre-season games have been under the belt for Iraola’s squad. But one thing is for sure – Justin Kluivert is here in the Premier League to make an impact and not just play a squad role at the Vitality.
