Chelsea signed Ajax 19-year-old defender Harto, with a transfer fee of 44.18 million euros. The official website of the Blue Army introduced several outstanding traits of Harto.
Physical fitness
Harto has excellent physical fitness that perfectly adapts to football. He is strong in shape, with both speed and strength. Harto's pursuit speed is fast and has abundant physical energy. He can maintain a high-intensity game rhythm within 90 minutes and effectively cover the court.
Hato also has a specialty in defense. Although his height is not outstanding (1.82 meters), he has a good grasp of the timing of jumping and his jumping power is also very strong. In the Dutch Ligue last season, Harto won about 2/3 of the aerial confrontation. These characteristics will help Harto adapt to the Premier League, which is considered by many to be the most intense physical confrontation.
all-around attribute
Hato demonstrates excellent multi-position adaptability, which is an important quality that Maresca emphasizes. During his time at Ajax, he spent almost half of his games as left back and most of the rest as left center back.
This flexibility is partly due to Harto's physical condition, who also has an excellent sense of position and tactical discipline, and is able to keenly predict dangers and make corresponding changes. As a left-footed player, Harto is easy to play in the high and low defenses, four and three defenders. Such a versatile trait will undoubtedly be favored by Maresca.
Attack attributes
Whether in the center back or left back position, Harto's possession is very useful to Ajax. His pass success rate in the Eredivisie reached 90.3% last season, with only 8 players ahead of him. Harto played for Ajax for the first time in the 23-24 season, and one of his tasks was to launch an attack from the center back. Harto was very skilled and brave in possession, and Dutch legend Frank Debord once praised his positive attitude.
This mentality was also reflected when Harto was the left back. Last season, Harto contributed 6 assists at this position, which is unmatched by all the defenders in the Eredivisie. Several of these assists were done in the midfield after he cut inside, which was much like Cucurella.
Hato is not afraid to go deep into the opponent's hinterland, which helps Ajax create a numerical advantage and an open pass route in the offense. He once dribbled the ball from the backcourt and finally scored after cooperating with his teammates. Additionally, Hato's other 3 goals in Ajax came from set pieces, including a nice left-footed arc set piece.
Leadership
In February 2023, Hato made his debut in the Eredivisie at Ajax, making him the third youngest player in the club's history. By the end of the year, Harto had already been captaining the UEFA Cup and the Dutch Cup, when he was only 17 years old. Harto's leadership is also recognized in the international arena. In the U21 European Cup this summer, Harto led the Dutch youth team to the semi-finals, and they lost to England in the semi-finals, and Harto was willing to assume the leadership responsibilities of the team.
Chelsea Meritor Haselbaink said of Harto: "He is a very good player and has good left foot skills. He played for Ajax at the age of 17 and was selected for the national team at the age of 19. He is full of fighting spirit and ambition and willing to learn. Harto has been improving and he will be an important addition to the Chelsea roster, which is a top signing."