Calum Mills says…
For the alleged £10 million we spent on him, he looks like an absolute bargain, and it’s no wonder the Royal Antwerp fans were up in arms over the sale of him.
Yes, he’s only twenty years old with limited first team experience but he looks an absolute man mountain in the middle of the park, breaking up play with ease and progressing with the ball effortlessly.
His run outs for the Lads have been against a weakened Hull City side and a team from the second division in Portugal, but it’s still first
team men’s football — even our own academy players haven’t yet managed to experience this.
On Thursday, he got to showcase his ability at both ends of the pitch.
Defensively (apart from the weak attempt at a tackle prior to their goal), he was a shield for our back four. He linked up play tremendously with the forward players, pinging passes out wide and deftly chipping balls over the top of oncoming Torreense players.
What I found most impressive was his willingness to run beyond players and act as centre forward at times, utilising his size and occupying defenders. This size and aerial ability came to fruition when he held off his man and nodded home the equaliser. In one game he went from a defensive midfielder, to box-to-box and finally a centre forward!
The understanding is that he was brought in to be Granit Xhaka’s understudy, but he appears to have a greater engine than our captain, much akin to his countryman Noah Sadiki, who also got on the scoresheet.
In the not-too distant future, I can see a formidable Xhaka/Ahoka partnership with Sadiki the more advanced player potentially given Sadiki’s role change to a number ten once the changes were made on Thursday and with our struggles on the left wing, Enzo Le Fée appearing there as he has done so often.
The ceiling, based on our limited viewing of our towering DR Congo man, is sky high. As Malc has said, if Jobe went for £28 million, just how much could Ahoka be worth in a few years’ time? I hope we see the big man start in the Premier League soon as I feel he can be a real presence and perform comfortably against seasoned opposition.
Also, just what do they put in the water in DR Congo?! Ahoka and Sadiki just seem to have endless banks of energy and run for days!
David Elliott says…
What an exciting start to his Sunderland career! Ahoka is showing exactly why the club was prepared to sign a young lad with very little top flight experience.
He really is a big lad — one of those people who messes with your sense of perspective when you actually see him from the stands. And yet he’s very mobile and has no trouble getting around the pitch.
Against Hull, he had more time on the ball, was assured and confident and was able to exert a degree of control on the midfield. Against Torreense, on a difficult pitch against awkward opponents, he stepped up and made the most of his chance.
He’s very strong, well capable of winning the ball on the ground and in the air and just like his compatriot Noah Sadiki, has an incredible engine and seemed to get stronger as the game went on.
The other encouraging thing was the number of times he got himself into advanced positions to cause a threat for Torreense. He took his goal really well, not allowing the defender to push him off, and could easily have had another.
All of this bodes well for us with all the games in this season’s schedule.
He needs to be managed carefully, which I’m sure Régis Le Bris will do. However, it would seem a sensible move to gradually give him time off the bench in the Premier League and play him in the Carabao Cup and maybe the Europa League so he gains experience.
He really could be an important player this season, let alone looking forward.
Malc Dugdale says…
I’m thinking that Ahoka could be the biggest player we have on the pitch in a couple of years time, and that says all you need to know, really.
His performance against Hull showed he’s already at the level we need to take on certain top level sides. They made changes for the cup game and so did we, and he’s shown that whoever he plays with and in whatever competition, he can perform.
He stood head and shoulders above most that day against Hull, and was among very good company despite rotation. Fast forward to Thursday and once again, he was magnificent in a game where a lot of people weren’t really that great, at least for parts of the game.
Strong in the tackle. Fit and mobile. Very capable on the ball, able to retain and hold possession, pass, move and even score. Every time we went for the jugular later on against Torreense, Ahoka was in the box. And the kid turned twenty in May of this year.
I’m not sure who he’ll kick out of the starting eleven.
Maybe he’ll give Xhaka more chances to rest at times and I’m sure eventually as an older player who’ll retire soon, either Ahoka or Noah Sadiki may take on Xhaka’s role.
Whatever happens, the kid is showing he’s star of the future, and if we can’t keep hold of him, he could well be our record sale very very soon. Jobe went to Germany for just under £28 million — Ahoka is probably worth about that before the end of this season. And we reportedly paid less than £9 million.
Another cracking bit of business and a real gem in the making to watch for the coming couple of seasons. I say give him more game time from now on.
Owen Sara says…
For me, something we’ve been crying out for is a real battering ram of a midfielder. It’s early days but Ahoka already looks like the answer.
We do have to caveat the level of opposition but you can only beat what’s in front of you.
He seems to just glide across the pitch and he makes it look so easy. There were certainly eyebrows raised when we signed him after just four senior games without the possibility of a loan, but it’s already clear to see why we took the gamble. He was allowed more freedom in the second half, popped up with the equaliser and could’ve had a second.
Many of the great Premier League midfielders had a knack of popping up in the box at the right time and Ahoka certainly showed early promise in that regard. Having his Congolese compatriot next to him in midfield, as well as Granit Xhaka as his mentor will certainly accelerate his progress too.
I wouldn’t be against having him the lineup on Sunday to provide some extra rigidity in midfield. Very promising early signs and we’re yet to see the best of him, but we shouldn’t get carried away just yet.
