Feyenoord fans are already drawing a damning conclusion: ‘What a bad signing this is!’
Nacho Ferri again did little to impress in a Feyenoord shirt on Sunday. The 21-year-old striker came off the bench in the 5-2 away win over SC Cambuur but, just as he had against Sparta Rotterdam, he failed to convince and came in for heavy criticism from ESPN analyst Kees Kwakman and on FR12.nl.
Thrown on in the closing stages in Leeuwarden, Ferri saw virtually everything he tried go wrong. During a promising counter-attack, the Spaniard waited too long to slip the ball through to Gjivai Zechiël and in the 86th minute he rounded goalkeeper Thijs Jansen before missing an almost empty net.
Afterwards, Kwakman again saw little to encourage him from the summer signing. “You only get one chance to make a first impression and it is not a good one,” said the analyst. “You simply hope to see a bit more from someone who arrives in the Eredivisie as an unknown player.”
He also drew a comparison with Mika Mármol, who arrived at De Kuip this summer too. “With Mármol, in his first match against Sparta, you immediately saw the quality and we could highlight things. With Ferri, you just do not really see that yet.” The former footballer stressed that the striker had already looked “very poor” during his previous cameo against Sparta.
Still, Kwakman is not ready to write Ferri off just yet. He sees the 1.92-metre attacker as a possible weapon when Feyenoord need to force something late on. “If you are behind, he can be an extra weapon as a battering ram. This is a very young lad who still has a lot to improve, so give him a bit of time. It does not say anything yet.”
Patience among supporters is wearing much thinner after two substitute appearances. Hundreds of critical reactions to Ferri appeared on FR12.nl. Feyenoord signed him last summer from KVC Westerlo for nine million euros and the deal could ultimately become even more expensive through bonuses. “If you buy a striker for this kind of money, you should still expect him to be able to do something to some extent,” one supporter wrote, while another asked: “Who scouted that Ferri?”
Now the word ‘flop’ is being used more and more emphatically among the fanbase. “Simply a flop,” one supporter wrote, short and sharp, while another said after the latest weak cameo: “What a flop this is.”
What has surprised fans most is his laboured-looking first touch and that late miss. “I am not writing him off completely yet, but it really has to improve a lot,” read one of the milder reactions, while another fan concluded: “Coming on as a striker is often difficult, but Ferri is showing remarkably little.” Calls are also growing on the Feyenoord platform for Shaqueel van Persie to get his chance sooner.
