Ajax forward Marcos Leonardo faces immediate pressure to deliver on the pitch following a severe knee injury to teammate Kasper Dolberg, fcupdate.nl reported. The 23-year-old Brazilian, who joined the Amsterdam club on July 17 from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for a reported fee of around twenty million euros, has endured a difficult start to the Eredivisie season and slipped behind competitors under manager Míchel Sánchez.
Marcos Leonardo Faces Pressure After Big-Money Transfer to Ajax
When Ajax commits a substantial transfer fee, the club and its supporters expect an immediate return on the pitch. Yet, in his early appearances, the former Al-Hilal attacker has struggled to establish himself. He has scored just one Eredivisie goal—a close-range finish against Telstar—while frequently missing chances and losing his footing during shooting attempts. His general build-up play has also lacked precision, leading Sánchez to leave him on the bench and eventually omit him from matchday minutes entirely prior to the recent international break, preferring Tolu Arokodare and Kasper Dolberg in the central striker role.
That dynamic shifted significantly when Dolberg underwent surgery for a severe cruciate ligament injury that will sideline the Danish forward for the remainder of the season, soccernews.nl reported. With Ajax facing a demanding fixture list that includes the opening of the UEFA Conference League phase, Sánchez will need more than just Arokodare to shoulder the attacking burden. This packed schedule opens the door for Leonardo to reclaim playing time and justify the heavy investment made by the club.
Analyst Marciano Vink Questions Basic Technical Flaws
Despite the opening in the squad, television analysts have voiced serious concerns over whether the South American forward possesses the required level for Dutch top-flight football. Speaking on the ESPN program Voetbalpraat, former player Marciano Vink highlighted fundamental errors in the player’s performances, as reported by VoetbalPrimeur.
As a striker, you can miss chances and go through a period without scoring, but here entire basic things like a first touch went wrong,
Vink said on the broadcast. All things a striker does standardly, he did all wrong. I really wonder what happened during those two years that he played in the sandbox [Saudi Arabia], because the years before that he was truly lethal in the penalty box. When I see this, it is quite strange.
Fellow ESPN reporter Cristian Willaert offered a different perspective during the same discussion, describing the player as an enigma. Willaert suggested that the quiet weeks could be interpreted either as a player dropping his head or as a managed recovery period designed to get him fully up to speed following the international break, according to Soccernews.nl. Vink, however, maintained his skepticism, emphasizing that technical fundamentals must improve drastically if the newcomer is to succeed in Amsterdam.
Upcoming Fixtures and the Path Ahead in Amsterdam
The coming weeks present a congested stretch of matches that will test the entire squad. Ajax is scheduled to face NEC, Hajduk Split, FC Groningen, and Atalanta Bergamo in quick succession. These fixtures will provide Leonardo with the minutes necessary to dispel doubts and answer the questions surrounding his hefty price tag.
