2020 was supposed to be the year of Ilai Almkeys’ breakthrough. He started it with a new three-year contract at Hoffenheim and in May even made his Bundesliga debut against Hertha Berlin. Even before that, he was called up to the Israeli national team at the age of only 19, and even scored his first goal in the blue-and-white uniform, a dramatic 1-1 draw against Slovakia.
All predictions that predicted a bright future for him as a cloning of Thiago Alcantara and noted that he is being closely monitored by Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola seem to be starting to come true. To take another step towards them, Almkeys was sent to the year of questioning in The Hague. This is a modest club, one that can help him rub and get as many minutes of play as possible, and the open style in the Dutch league, it was explained, would suit his size in the best way.
But halfway into the 20/21 season, from those predictions not much remains. In four months in the Den Haag uniform, he managed to get a chance in the squad, issue some disappointing performances, lose his place and become a surplus at the club, while on the road he also fell ill in Corona. Almkeys is currently training with the reserves and is not in the plans of Dan The Hague, who is hoping for a mutual parting in the transfer window. It should be remembered, Almkeys is still 20, all his future ahead of him. But the short term in the Netherlands should light a red light for him.
Of the warm words not much remains
Let’s go back four months. Following the announcement of his signing, Dan Hague’s technical director, Martin Yule, made it clear how determined the club was to join: “He is very versatile and plays in a mature way for his age. We are glad he chose us,” he said, revealing he was not the only one chasing him. “Almkeys at Manchester City, and there was a fear that he would go with former Hoffenheim coach Alfred Sakharoder to Barcelona and develop in the club’s sub-team, but in the end the deal fell through. Then Hoffenheim, impressed by our determination, wanted to cooperate and loan him out.”
Almkeys slowly got into things, and in his first five games in the Den Hague uniform came on as a substitute. The coach, Rod Brod, initially placed him as a midfielder (position 6) in midfield, but in his lineup debut, against Twente, moved him back to the back contact position. In a team that is mostly defensive and does not hold the ball, the feature in which he excels, transferring the weight of the game from defense to attack, was not reflected, and he was mostly engaged in physical struggles with the opponent’s players, not his strong side.
The foreign position and the fact that the club fought against the news made every mistake seem critical, and there were many such, but this one against Utrecht was one too many. Broad dropped Almkeys to the bench at half-time and at the end pointed an accusing finger at him in front of the media: “I’m very angry about this pass back from the center of the pitch. It’s something that should not happen.” It was his ninth game overall in the Den Hague uniform in the league, and also his last.
“He should play as an offensive midfielder”
Almkeys then fell ill at Corona, and even after returning, Dan Hague added two acquisition players to his position and sent him to train with the reserves. “He made some crucial mistakes, lost the ball in a silly way and it went up to the team in points,” AD reporter Marien Ebenhaus said, “You can’t survive like that when you play in a team that fights against relegation.”
Almkeys’ biggest problem at The Hague, according to Ebenhaus, was the fact that it was not clear what position he was playing in: “He’s number 6? He’s 8? He’s 10? I think he should play as an offensive midfielder, with two players of a defensive nature behind him, and he should do That in a team that holds more of the ball than The Hague. “
Meanwhile, the European window is closing and Almkeys’ options are dwindling. Staying in The Hague is out of the question, and it is quite clear that even at Hoffenheim he will not get too many opportunities. Although he is still young, his next step may be critical to his career. Another wrong turn, and all the superlatives heaped on him in the beginning will be forgotten and again we will talk about wasted talent and lost potential.
