Football League World
·26 September 2024
Football League World
·26 September 2024
Delano Burgzorg arrived at the Riverside stadium this summer and looks to be a real handful for defenders.
This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...
Middlesbrough have had a mixed start to the season.
Boro finished just four points outside the play-off places last season, so there was a quiet optimism that Michael Carrick would be the man to get them over the line and potentially achieve promotion to the Premier League.
So far, there have already been some highs and lows, as after six games they sit directly in the middle of the table on eight points. Their current record in the Championship is two wins, two draws and two losses, so if the side can find a bit of positive consistency, they can challenge for those play-off places.
A 1-0 win at home to Swansea, a 2-0 win away to Cardiff, as well as a huge 3-0 victory at Elland Road in the Carabao Cup are their highlights this season. They are a side that do not tend to let in a huge amount of goals, aside from their strange 5-0 defeat to Stoke in the cup, so if they can improve their attack even further, they could be a side to watch out for.
Carrick went out in the summer and brought in some reinforcements, both defensive and offensive. Delano Burgzorg is one signing in particular that should not go under the radar at the Riverside Stadium this season. He may not score loads of goals, but he will cause defences some problems which is what Boro need.
Burgzorg was introduced to English football just last season, as he arrived on loan at Huddersfield Town from German club, Mainz. With the Terriers, he made 25 Championship starts, scoring seven goals and assisting a further two. He appeared mostly as a number nine, but also did a job on the wing when called upon.
Huddersfield suffered relegation at the end of the season and the Dutchman returned to his parent club, but it was not long until he returned to the Championship, this time signing for Middlesbrough on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.
Upon getting the deal over the line, Boro boss Carrick said: "We’re really happy to bring him in. He experienced the league last season, and we’re excited about what he’s capable of doing.
"He’s a threat and will be real asset because he has different types of attributes to what we already have. He’s a good addition to the squad and being able to get things done early means he will be here for the start of pre-season."
Football League World's Boro fan pundit, Phil Spencer, recently had his say on how the signing of Burgzorg has gone so far, and he claims to have been impressed with what he has seen so far.
"Delano Burgzorg has probably been everything that I kind of expected him to be after he arrived. I was listening to a lot of preview shows over the summer and a lot of people were talking about the signing of Burgzorg and what Middlesbrough should be expecting from him.
"The main takeaway was the fact that he would be a sort of maverick signing. Someone who would come in and be brilliant in one moment then be very, very frustrating in another, and that has certainly been the other case, as far as I'm concerned.
"I think he's been largely decent... He's a big, strong lad, he's got pace, he's direct, he likes to get a shot away early, which is very good.
"Burgzorg is someone who likes to get on the ball, he likes to use his pace and his power to get at the defence, and he does like to get a shot away. He doesn't always make the right decision when he is in the penalty area, but from my point of view, he's been a fairly solid signing.
"Does he deserve to be given a shot in the starting lineup? Quite possibly. He could maybe do with a run of games to see how he gets on. There are a lot of question marks about Emmanuel Latte Lath after the whole Ipswich debacle on deadline day.
"From the small snippets I've seen of him (Burgzorg) so far this season, I've been quite impressed. I do think he creates problems for defenders; he's a bit of a handful.
"I think Middlesbrough are lacking that sort of direct nature in their play at the moment. They need someone who can offer something a little bit different, and I do think Burgzorg falls into that category.
"He does have the potential and ability to do some brilliant things, he just needs that game time to be able to do it."