Ex-Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce has revealed that he believes that Patrick van Aanholt’s inconsitency defensively is his major problem.
Speaking to The Athletic, Allardyce said that the Dutchman could be one of the best defender’s in the country, but only if he could fix his defensive errors that have plagued his game for so long.
The ex-England and Everton boss said:
It is his major problem.
His ability can never be questioned, with his touch, his tackling, his crossing, and his goal-scoring is very good — he normally provides four or five goals a year. But he will switch off.
Whether he will ever deal with that now is entirely up to him. In my time, I was always talking to him about it. Whether managers do that now or he just drifts away into not taking that responsibility, I don’t know, but it is something that has held him back from being one of the top left backs in the Premier League.
Read Crystal Palace’s verdict
It’s hard to disagree with Big Sam here.
van Aanholt is a fantastic footballer, and going forward has to be considered one of the best-attacking fullbacks around.
However.
At the back, he’s very much a liability that has been exposed time and time again by many teams.
He could be world-class, but he really needs to stop switching off during games, and stay focused for 90 minutes.
If he can, then he can truly realise his potential.
