Scout Report: Viktor Fischer

Frank Arnesen, Jan Molby, Michael Laudrup and more recently, Christian Eriksen, are just some of the Danes who chose Ajax as their platform for development. Now another name to add to this list is Viktor Fischer. The young Dane is fairly versatile and plays predominantly on the left of a three-pronged attack, but can also play through the middle, or as an attacking midfielder.

The 19 year old began his development early, in his native homeland of Denmark, scoring 81 goals in a season at the age of 10, playing with kids two years older than him. He eventually made his debut in professional football for FC Midtjylland before moving to Ajax for a fee of around €1.3 million in 2011. Fischer joined the Ajax U-19 squad, but really gained plaudits following his phenomenal performance in the inaugural NextGen series two seasons ago, scoring a brace against Barcelona in the quarter-finals and a hat-trick against Liverpool in the semis. Following this, Ajax manager Frank de Boer drafted Fischer into the first team for the 2012-13 season, making his debut against rivals PSV in the Johan Cruyff Shield. The season turned out to be a memorable one for the Dane, netting 10 league goals in 23 games, including two in the derby game against Feyenoord. He also made his Champions League debut and topped off the season by being named Ajax's 'Young Talent of the Year'.

Like any Ajax youngster, Fischer possesses incredible technical ability and is just as good at providing goals as he is at scoring them. Despite his young age, the Dane has a good footballing brain and floats between the lines in order to create space for his team-mates. His pace, determination and dribbling ability mean he has somewhat of the 'full package' in turns of raw talent, and it will be down to him to continue improving his game so he can make it to the top. He seems to be a mature individual, moving in with a host family when he first joined Ajax in order to settle into his surroundings, learning fluent Dutch in just over 6 months. Fischer is a confident young player, but to say he is arrogant would be way off the mark. Perhaps the only criticism that can be leveled at the young Dane is that his confidence means he often tries 'too much' and looses the ball slightly too easily. However, this is something that can be coached and is arguably expected at a young age, particularly from someone of his natural ability.

The 19 year old has a contract at Ajax until 2017 and has regularly stated that he feels the Dutch club is the best place for him to get regular games in order to learn and improve. Furthermore, the transfer of fellow countryman Christian Eriksen to Tottenham may prove as an opportunity to become Ajax's key player over the next few years and if he continues his form from last season, he could well end up joining the likes of Laudrup and Molby in the list of Ajax trained Danes to become one of  Europe's elite.