Daniel Arzani’s rapid rise has surprised Michael Jakobsen, but the attacker’s former team-mate backed the Australia teenager to have a big future.
Arzani, 19, is already being linked with a move from Melbourne City to the Eredivisie after just 24 A-League appearances.The talented winger impressed enough to earn a spot in the Socceroos’ World Cup squad to be the youngest player at the tournament, and came off the bench in Australia’s 2-1 loss to France on Saturday.
Jakobsen, now at Adelaide United after spending two seasons at City, said Arzani’s quick progression had come as a shock.
“I’m a bit surprised to be honest,” the former Denmark international told Omnisport.
“I think it’s a good thing that they’ve taken some of the young guns and he has some X-factor or some abilities that some of the other guys in the team don’t have. One-on-one he’s very, very good. But there are some downsides when you play with a young guy and that’s just how it is. I think it’s a good thing that they’ve taken him early because he’s just going to learn from it.
“If he’s a man for the future, he can get a very good lesson out of this. It’s not his last World Cup, so going into the following years, I think he will be one to watch for Australia because he has very big potential.”
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