With Rajiv van La Parra confirmed as Boro's first signing of the January transfer window, we spoke to Huddersfield Town fan Luke Beaumont to get the inside track on the Dutch winger. Here's what he had to say:
Rajiv van La Parra signed for us from Wolves but he didn’t arrive with glowing references from their fans; many reacted positively to his departure whilst insisting he had a poor attitude. I didn’t see that straight away.
Ironically, he scored his first goal for us against Wolves and celebrated in great fashion by knee sliding in front of their fans with his finger on his lips. He became an instant hit with Huddersfield fans and we liked what we saw from him.
However, there were instances during his spell with us that his attitude has come into question. During our promotion season, in a game against Reading, he took the ball after we were awarded a penalty (despite not being the designated taker) and he went on to miss.
Last season, in the middle of a relegation battle, he stated he was using Huddersfield as a “stepping stone” to a bigger club which didn’t go down too well with our fans.
I’m not sure what his attitude is like behind the scenes but there has obviously been a falling out between him and David Wagner. There is no other reason to let him leave as he remains the best winger in our squad despite signings such as £12m former Monaco player Adama Diakhaby.
Overall, van La Parra is a useful and exciting player, especially in the Championship. I know Middlesbrough are crying out for an injection of pace and creativity on the flanks and he can certainly provide that.
He likes to run at full-backs and he has a lot of skill and trickery in his locker, although it can become frustrating when he tries to do too much. He isn’t prolific and he doesn’t score as many goals as he perhaps should, but he will provide Boro with flare, pace and creativity that they currently lack.
What do you think of van La Parra? Let us know what you think via our Twitter account, and thanks for reading.
0 comments:
Post a Comment