BEFORE even kicking a ball for his new club, Zian Flemming had already gone down in Millwall’s record books.
Flemming, 23, became the Lions’ club record signing when he joined from Fortuna Sittard for a fee of £1.7 million just over a week ago.
However, the Dutchman is no stranger to shouldering heavy expectations at such a young age. Flemming is, in fact, a graduate of De Toekomst, the esteemed academy of AFC Ajax.
Aside from De Godenzonen‘s staggering trophy cabinet, which boasts 30 Eredivisie titles, 20 KNVB Cups and four Champions League’s, their world-class youth system might be what really puts them on the map.
Speaking to NewsAtDen, Flemming explains that there were two separate generations of Ajax superstars that he idolised when growing up.
“The first generation was before I joined Ajax. It was the team of Zlatan Ibrahimovi?, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart. These are kinds of names which I looked up to.
“When I grew a little bit older and played in the academy, it was more Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld. Those were the two generations of my childhood.”
A recurring theme with these former Ajax players is that they’ve all played in England at some point in their careers, and Flemming is now following the same path that his heroes did all those years ago.
But back then, there was a sense of normality about his extraordinary youth career. The attacking midfielder saw it as playing for his boyhood club rather than one of the biggest teams in world football.
“For me, it was fun actually. It was a dream to play at Ajax when I was a young kid. I got invited to join the squad and I enjoyed every single moment of it.
“To be honest, I didn’t really realise how special it was to play at Ajax because I’m from Amsterdam. Ajax is just my club and I was lucky to play there. When you go internationally, you know people think of Ajax as this really big club, especially the academy.
“I don’t want to say that it’s normal, because it wasn’t, but it felt like home and I had a lot of fun.”
Flemming’s Eredivisie statistics are impressive, scoring 12 goals and providing a further four assists in 28 games for Fortuna Sittard last season. However, he knows that there’s a big difference between Dutch and English football, and admits that it may take time for him to adapt to the Championship.
“I know how the Dutch people compare the Eredivisie to the Championship. Players that have played in both leagues have said that the Championship is way more physical with way higher intensity, so the game is played quicker and stronger. Harder duels, tougher games and more games.
“The Eredivisie is more about patience in general. Almost all the teams try to play the ball on the ground with possession play to create nice attacks. So the games are a little bit slower and more tactical I guess. The Championship is more direct and more powerful.”
*Read more from Zian Flemming in Thursday’s Southwark News where he talks about his best position, why he decided to join Millwall and his aspirations for next season.
Photo: Millwall FC