Inter‘s new signing Denzel Dumfries has had highs and lows during his first months at the club and Giancarlo Rinaldi thinks the Dutchman still needs time to fully adapt to Serie A.
Anyone who watched the European Championships would have been in little doubt. If there was anyone who shone – in the opening rounds in particular – it was probably the marauding full-back for the Netherlands. A big move duly ensued for Denzel Dumfries, but he has found it much harder to terrorise defences in Serie A after tearing up international opposition in the summer.
There already appear to be two camps among Inter fans with little common ground between them. On the one hand, you have the slap-your-forehead-in-despair brigade every time his name pops up on the team sheet. For them, you feel, he will never adapt to playing in Italy – despite grabbing a goal in the recent rout of Roma. Though apparently much less vociferous, the other school of thought is that he might yet be the brilliant attacking weapon he was for his country if he gets the benefits of a little more game time and patience.
To those able to exercise a more objective view, there seem to be a number of issues at play here. It is notoriously difficult – particularly for defenders – to adapt to the more tactical climes of Serie A.
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Dumfries enjoyed great freedom to flourish for both club and country which he was never likely to be given in a nation where fans discuss formations and defensive diligence over the morning cappuccino and brioche. Catenaccio may be long gone, but losing the man you were meant to be marking is still considered a mortal sin.
It also feels he is being judged on who he isn’t as much as on who he is. Anyone replacing Achraf Hakimi was likely to struggle in comparison and so it has proved to be. The cruellest critics might suggest it was like replacing your fine-tuned Ferrari with a rumbling Sherman tank. Certainly, the Moroccan international was a hell of a hard act to follow.
Yet those with slightly longer memories might recall that he, too, took time to adjust to the Italian game. If you wanted to trawl back through the reviews of his initial displays, you would find many of the same criticisms currently being levelled at Dumfries. That is not to say that the Dutchman will ever be on his level – very few are – but it at least makes a case for perhaps giving him a little more time to prove himself.
More damaging, though, has been the form of Matteo Darmian in Simone Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 formation and the coach’s resultant reluctance to use his new acquisition. The Italian might not have the same physical presence, but he knows how to play his role precisely as his manager wants and that is worth a lot. You get the feeling Denzel will have to spend a lot of nights poring over his tactical notes in order to catch up.
Anyone with eyes would surely have known that this kind of situation was likely to arise. Both with PSV Eindhoven and his national team, Dumfries enjoyed the kind of roving role he was never likely to be allowed in Serie A.
His lung-bursting runs and freedom to roam often made him appear more like an extra attacker rather than a last line of defence. But if you leave those gaps in Italy’s top-flight they will be exploited ruthlessly by even the lowliest opposition. There have been signs, of late, that Simone Inzaghi has understood this and has virtually freed his new man of defensive duties.
Full disclosure, I am a little bit biased in the full-back’s favour. His surname is the same as my hometown and it still tickles me a little to see his name pop up as the first place in Scotland to score in Serie A or at the European Nations. However, that novelty value is unlikely to buy him a long-term future in the league.
Instead, it will take a little bit of come and go from both club and player. Dumfries must learn – and quickly – the qualities that his role demands in his new surroundings or face the risk of constantly being found out as a weak link. At the same time, Inter – both the club and its fans – ought to cut him a little slack in terms of expecting him to be the finished article, which clearly he is not. At the age of 25, though, there is still time for him to develop into a much more polished performer.
His future, probably, is on something of a knife-edge. His recent goal could help him kick on and establish himself as a first-team regular and injury to Darmian has presented him with an opportunity he has made a decent fist of trying to grab with an upturn in form. However, if he fails to adjust, it could be a fatal blow for his Serie A fortunes.
The league is littered with the stories of defenders who could not cope with its more tactical demands and have been flung clear more quickly than a James Bond ejector seat in the face of an imminent collision. Plenty of them have gone on to have glowing careers elsewhere but always, perhaps, with a niggling regret over what might have been. Calcio might not be the big hitter it once was, but you still get the feeling – like with Fikayo Tomori at Milan – it can help make a defensive footballer a more complete player overall. Both Dumfries and the Nerazzurri have a bit of work to do to ensure they can achieve that goal.