Why Premier League clubs should be trying to sign the forward in January, why Ajax should resist any bids and why the player should want to stay put in The Netherlands.
Despite Ajax's pathetic start to the season under Maurice Steijn's management, Brian Brobbey was one Ajax player that needn't have been ashamed of his on field performances. His own individual season has been a successful one and he has been a key player in the Amsterdam team rising from the pits of the table to challenging for a Champions League qualification place under the charge of temporary manager John van't Schip.
Brobbey has all the raw ingredients needed to be a Premier League forward. He's always been blessed with great physical attributes. Extremely strong, powerful, occupies two defenders but he become more refined in recent times and possesses great control, ball manipulation, movement, link-up play and the ability to finish with both feet. He has ten Eredivisie goal contributions to his name this season (6G, 4A) and his form has earned him a recall to the Dutch national squad. Premier league clubs such as Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Fulham, West Ham should all have Brobbey on their radar. Their could even be a case made to suggest him as a good fit for Chelsea, Newcastle and Man Utd.
Premier League clubs should be in for him in January for the same reason Ajax should resist any offers. His market value is going to rise sharply in the next twelve months. Let me tell you why I think this.
Brobbey is playing in a division with two elite strikers. Feyenoord's Santiago Gimenez and AZ's Vangelis Pavlidis both already have eighteen league goals to their name this season and are competing in a mega quality race to be the 2023/24 Eredivisie top goalscorer. Both forwards are performing to a level that will see the big dogs of football want to acquire their services. Probably not in January, but I think the two hitmen will be on the top of of a lot of teams shortlist come the summer and they'll make their clubs big dollar. If, as I suspect, these two players move to pastures new ahead of next season then they'll be a big gap to fill as the Eredivisie top marksman, a gap that Big Brian Brobbey is capable of jumping into. I don't think it's unreasonable to foresee Brobbey having a 2024/25 campaign that sees similar number to what Gimenez and Pavlidis are putting up right now. If that comes to fruition and with Brobbey under contract until 2027 then the fee Ajax could receive compared to right now could be multiplied.
Let's not forget, Brobbey has already moved on from Ajax once in his career. In the 21/22 season he moved to Germany with RB Leipzig. The move didn't work out, Brobbey wasn't the finished article, mature or, at the time, talented enough to establish himself in the Bundesliga. He returned to Ajax quickly, initially on loan and then in a permanent transfer. Brobbey should take lessons from this failed move. His developmental curve is on a upward trajectory again now, remaining at Ajax, maturing further, refining his skill set and trying to make himself the starting forward for the Netherlands at next summer's European Championships will not only increase his market value but also the number of potential destinations for his next step.
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