AZFanpage talk Alireza Jahanbakhsh
When you are Brighton and Hove Albion, £17m for a player is a lot of money. It’s only 20 years ago that we were forking out £1000 and a set of kit for Gary Hart.
In order to find out more about the Albion’s record buy Alireza Jahanbakhsh, we spoke to Maarten from AZ Alkmaar fan site AZFanpage for the Cheeseheads view on the Iranian forward and whether they think he will be a success in England.
(Before reading the interview, can we all take a minute to appreciate what a bloody fantastic nickname ‘the Cheeseheads’ is? Let’s sincerely hope they have someone dressed as a big block of Gouda wandering around the pitch as a mascot)
Brighton have broken their transfer record to sign Alireza Jahanbakhsh. Is he worth the £17m we’ve paid?
It’s a lot of money, the highest transfer money ever received by AZ Alkmaar. But that’s the current situation with the market. He was definitely the best player last season for AZ, and also one of the best in the Dutch league.
What are Jahanbakhsh’s strengths and weaknesses?
His strengths are his passing, his shot accuracy, his speed, and his technique. He is a very good technical footballer. His weakness is that he is a little bit sensitive to injury.
What is his best position?
On the right wing. Although he can play out on the left or as a number 10 as well.
Jahanbakhsh scored three goals in his first season with AZ and then 12 in his second. What changed to make him score 21 last season?
The team has got better each year he has been there and his improvement has matched that. He also received more freedom last season and was able to create and take far more chances.
A lot of successful Eredivisie players like Vincent Janssen, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Memphis Depay struggled in the Premier League. Do you think Jahanbakhsh will be a success in England?
Only time will tell. It’s a big difference in leagues with a different kind of approach to football which is why some players who are good here struggle there, but he’s a great player and for sure a great addition to the Brighton squad.
Brighton have signed lots of players from the Netherlands and Belgium over the last four years. Is there anyone else at AZ or in Eredevisie that would be a good signing?
I don’t want to tell you, otherwise you might buy them as well! Without kidding, we have a lot of home grown Dutch talent coming through. Guus Til scored 11 goals from midfield last season and another midfielder Teun Koopmeiners is also very impressive.
We’ve seen a big increase in social media interest from Iranian supporters since signing Jahanbakhsh. Is that something that AZ also experienced?
Yes indeed, he is a massive star in Iran and we received a lot of new social media followers from Iran as a result.
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