Category Archives: EREDIVISIE TO PREMIER LEAGUE

Huddersfield Town will bask-in Carel’s talents

Yes it’s a ‘Tiger King’ pun but Will Burns suggests that Huddersfield Town have captured a good cat from Ajax in Carel Eiting.

News emerged this weekend that a deal to take young Ajax midfielder Carel Eiting to English Championship side Huddersfield Town was finally completed and the 22-year-old will spend the season in Yorkshire.

Eiting will head straight into The Terriers squad for Friday night’s home clash against Nottingham Forest and he must be in contention to make his debut. The defensive midfielder should be a big hit in England and the pace and feracious nature of the English second tier should fit Eiting’s style.

Eiting is a left-footed deep playmaker who possesses tremendous versatility – similar to Daley Blind. Naturally a midfielder, he has been known to sit in at left-back, left wing-back, an advanced attacking midfielder role and even at the heart of the defence. Although, he may struggle at centre-half in England if he were to play there due to the physical nature of the forwards.

Carel Eiting is níét de nieuwe Remco Evenepoel, maar heeft wél een goed  verhaal | Wielrennen | AD.nl

In midfield or at left-back he can excel. He has great technical ability with a wide range of passing at his disposal. Although he only appear in six Eredivisie games in the curtailed season for Ajax, he achieved a 94% passing accuracy in his own half and 75% in the oppositions.

Despite standing at just 5ft 8 inches, he is carries great strength to carry the ball through the tightest of spaces and muscle many off the ball to intercept when not in possession. His power gives him strength in the tackle and he is not afraid to stick his foot in, a trait that will win many fans at The John Smith’s Stadium.

Creatively, expect Eiting to float to left side of the pitch when in possession and whip a ball from deep into the penalty area. However, for Huddersfield’s Carlos Corberan, their new coach, its Eiting’s aforementioned versatility that makes him an asset for the team that are yet to win a game this season.

Corberan’s men are adjusting to playing a new style with many new recruits and are yet to score a goal in the three competitive games this season. Eiting will be aiming to make an instant improvement to those results this Friday, but goal scoring is not his forte. Although, his team mates might see their roles freed to press forward with his addition to the eleven.

The future is unknown for Carel, his first aim is to overcome the bad luck of the past few seasons with injuries and get some time on the pitch under his belt. A player that can play in many positions comfortably is a raritery and he could be an asset for the future of Ajax.

Although, the willingness to allow Eiting to go out on loan seems to be a suggestion that the Amsterdammers would be willing to allow his career to progress elsewhere.

TotalDutchFootball.com

Feyenoord Cry “Don’t Leave Me This Way” As Leeds United Sign Summerville

Sorry for the Communards reference but Will Burns thinks given time, young winger Crysencio Summerville could be a big hit at Elland Road.

Leeds United’s new winger Summerville is an 18-year-old (19 in October) who was born and raised in Rotterdam, and he started at local amateur club R.V.V. Noorderkwatier.  It was not long before scouts were buzzing round him for his signature and he opted to sign Feyenoord in 2008 at a young age of seven years old.

Appearing at international youth level for Holland, Summerville moved through the ranks and stayed in the headlines for all the right reasons, until December 2018. He was involved in a training ground bust-up that ended up in a locker room fight with teammate Mats Knoester.  Although he apologised publicly, Feyenoord punished Summerville by suspending him and sent him on loan to Eerste Divisie side FC Dordrecht.

Despite the setback, on the pitch Summerville knuckled down and appeared 18 times for Dordrecht grabbing five goals and one assist. Dordrecht fans were buoyed by his fierce pace and cleverness with the ball at his feet.

Een van grootste talenten van Feyenoord speelt nu bij ADO: 'Ik ben een  jongen met pit' | Den Haag | AD.nl
Summerville notched two goals and three assists while on loan last season in Den Haag.

He returned to Rotterdam in the summer of 2019 but was loaned out to ADO Den Haag last season due to the global pandemic.  At only 17, he gained some great experience of Eredivisie football and managed to create three goals and scored twice in 21 outings in a struggling ADO side.

Pundits tipped him to go out on loan again this year before potentially making his mark in Feyenoord but Marcelo Biesla’s Leeds United have stormed in for his signature.  Reports emerged earlier this week that a fee of £1 million had been agreed between the two clubs, after Summerville rejected a new contract offer at De Kuip.

Fans of the newly promoted Leeds need not to think that Summerville will be able to step into the first team, he is at least a year away for being a consistent Premier League player.  With his lean build, he is comfortable on either wing but not the strongest player. However, along with his tricky feet, he uses this to his advantage and wins free-kicks in abundance.

He will be a dangerous player for The Whites and under a top coach like Biesla, he will progress at a rapid rate but give him a year to settle and learn the English game. Then you will see the impact of this talented youngster.

TotalDutchFootball.com

What does Donny van de Beek bring to Man Utd’s midfield?

Ajax midfield maestro Donny van de Beek is on his way to Old Trafford to join Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United on a five-year deal. Will Burns explains how Donny can improve the Red Devils.

Manchester United linked with Ajax's Donny van de Beek - The Busby Babe

History

The 23-year-old Van de Beek has been an influential figure over the last few years at the Johan Cruyff Arena and helped the Amsterdammers reach the semi-finals of the Champions League semi-finals and lift an Eredivisie title in 2018-19 season.

Manchester United have parted with a reported £40m to bring the young Dutchman to the Premier League but can he fit into a midfield which already boasts Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes – well yes, I believe he can.

Van de Beek rose through Ajax’s De Toekomst academy until he made his first team debut on 26th November 2015, as a substitute away to Celtic in a 2-1 Europa League victory. By the next season, he cemented his place in the Ajax midfield but it was the 2017-18 season where Donny started to shine.

Scoring eleven times in 34 Eredivisie appearances, Donny started to gain some serious plaudits and was tipped to move into the big leagues in the near future. He managed to supply a further six assists and primarily played as a box-to-box midfielder.  Head coach Erik ten Hag then moved Donny further forward the season after, where the then-21-year-old played in an attacking midfielder role and scored 17 times, with 13 assists in 57 games in all competitions.

His goals and creativity helped Ajax win the league title and the Amsterdammers unexpectedly found themselves one win away from a UEFA Champions League final. Last season, which was abruptly ended due to ongoing global pandemic, Donny shared his time as a number ten role and back into the middle of midfield. He still managed to nab ten goals in 37 appearances with 11 assists before the season was cut short.

Scout Report: What Donny Van de Beek brings to United – utdreport

Attributes

As mentioned above, Van de Beek possesses the ability to play as a perfect box-to-box midfielder but he can advance forward or sit in front of the defence.  His versatility has proven that he can be the perfect link between the defence and the attack, and although he is more than adept at sticking a foot in to help out the defence, he is more comfortable going forward. However, defensively he is sound. He averaged 2.2 tackles per game in the Eredivisie last term.

Going forward, time and time again, he has shown that awareness that will see him arrive on the edge of the box late to surprise the opponents. Van de Beek shows a rare intellect with his capability to drift between the lines of the opposition, linking together team mates and finding dangerous space in the final third. The front three at Old Trafford are going to find Donny a joy to play with.

Ajax and Manchester United see eye to eye on Donny van de Beek

His Future

Now the deal has been confirmed, Manchester United fans can get excited that one of the best young midfielders in European football is going to be wearing their red shirt.

Van de Beek is suited to the English game and I can see him initially sitting in a deeper role than he usually used to for Solskjaer’s side.  As experience and knowledge of the Premier League comes to him, then you will see Donny been given the green light to play more advanced.

In a 4-2-3-1 formation, van de Beek could be alongside either Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in the middle and on paper, Man Utd have one of the strongest midfield’s in the league with an exciting young forward line ahead of them.

However, Donny will not be without a fight for places with Nemanja Matic, Fred and Scott McTominay also competing for the central midfield role but long-term, the position will become his own.

TotalDutchFootball.com

Depay, Wijnaldum, Clasie and Co – Eredivisie to the Premier League

With Holland being a constant production line of talent, here is a post that profiles some of the players making a move from the Eredivisie to the Premier League this summer writes Oliver Baise.

Memphis Depay: PSV to Manchester United- £25 million

By far the most high profile and expensive move across the North Sea, Memphis (as he likes to be referred to as) arrives at Manchester United with huge reputation following a season where he scored 22 Eredivisie goals, thereby cementing his status as one of the most exciting young players in the world.

Though he was primarily deployed by PSV as a left-winger that cuts in on his right foot, it is being suggested that Memphis may well be groomed as the eventual heir to Wayne Rooney as the man to lead the line at United, a rumour that has been strengthened by the fact that he has been handed the number nine shirt for pre-season games. For now, however, it is likely that he will compete with Ashley Young for the left wing spot in Louis van Gaal’s 4-3-3, as well as backing up Rooney up top.

Memphis will have to deal with the pressure of making a step up to a club of United’s stature, particularly with comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo being made by sections of the Old Trafford faithful, due to his trickery and eye for the spectacular. However, his most impressive trait that he shares with Ronaldo is his obsessive desire to fulfil his immense potential and to improve day in and day out. It is this factor, beyond all else, which persuaded Van Gaal to part with £25 million for the 21-year-old.

Georginio Wijnaldum: PSV to Newcastle United- £14.5 million

With Ligue 1 long being Newcastle United’s Chief Scout Graham Carr’s quarry for bargains, the capture of Wijnaldum may be the start of a shift of focus towards trawling the Eredivisie for additions to Mike Ashley’s investment portfolio. This is because even at £14.5 million, a sizeable transfer fee for the Magpies’ standards, Wijnaldum has to be one of the coups of the season, as is the player’s immense quality. Not many can claim to have captained their club to a league and cup double at 24 but this, alongside having been a regular starter for the Dutch national team for several years now are but two feathers in Wijnaldum’s cap.

More impressively still has been the fact that he has excelled in a number of roles during his short career, including the right wing, central midfield and number ten position, emphasising both his completeness as a player and his professional attitude. He has however stated that his favoured position is playing just off the striker, and there may be concerns that he, Siem De Jong and Moussa Sissoko may cause an overload in one position for The Toon. Questions may also be raised in why a player who has achieved so much in the last two years on both the domestic, European and international stage has moved to Newcastle United.

One certainly hopes that his relatively modest destination ensures that he remains a regular first team starter as his presence should be a real treat for Premier League fans (except maybe the Sunderland ones).

Jordy Clasie: Feyenoord to Southampton – £8 million

A player who has followed in the footsteps of Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic in following Ronald Koeman from the Eredivisie to England. Saints fans will certainly be hoping that Clasie can emulate the success of his new team-mates. Given his most recent season at Feyenoord, they certainly have every reason to be hopeful. A defensive midfielder, Clasie has seemingly been signed to take the place of Morgan Schniederlin, although he is by no means a like for like replacement for the Frenchman.

At 5”7 and resembling a 12-year-old boy, Clasie lacks Schniederlin’s physical presence. Although he more than makes up for this with his tenacity (cue a lazy comparison to Edgar Davids) it will be interesting to see how he handles the step up in physicality that the Premier League presents him with. Where Clasie does offer an improvement to Schniederlin is in his technique and intelligence. He is one of those players like Michael Carrick or Xavi who always seems to have time on the ball and can dictate play to a level that belies his 24 years.

Though he is a shy and introverted character who displayed nerves when he came onto the scene at both club and international level, his close relationship with Koeman should ensure that Clasie does not disappoint Southampton fans — that is until Liverpool or Manchester United inevitably utilise their newest feeder club.

Cuco Martina: Twente to Southampton – £1.5 million

While certainly the less exciting Southampton import from the Eredivisie, Cuco Martina may yet play an important role for the Saints this season, particularly given their involvement in the notoriously squad-stretching Europa League this year.

The player had an unremarkable season in what was a poor campaign for FC Twente last season, and it is his versatility rather than his individual quality which likely brought him to St Marys. He is a natural right-back but can play anywhere across the back four or in defensive midfield.

Though he is unlikely to start regularly in any of these positions, barring injuries to team-mates, he may yet prove to be an important signing following the departures of Nathanial Clyne and Toby Alderweireld. Don’t expect fireworks though.

Steven Berghuis: AZ Alkmaar to Watford – £4.5 million

A free scoring winger who had a trial at Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur as a youngster, Steven Berghuis is a player that AZ fans will certainly miss following his 11 goals for them last year. Despite this, there are some concerns about his suitability in joining a club like Watford.

Although he is by no means a lazy player, he may well prove to be too lightweight to be effective in a team regularly playing on the back foot in games, and although he has the creativity to unlock defences in tight games, he is by no means complete enough to carry a struggling team.

In short, his personal success may be heavily predicated on the success of the Watford project as a whole. If they can thrive in the Premier League continuing their attacking style, Hornets fans are in for an exciting prospect as he certainly compliments this strategy. However, in games where Watford need to sacrifice inspiration for perspiration Berghuis may well be the fall guy.

Kristoffer Nordfeldt: SC Heerenveen to Swansea City – £800k

Though not likely to be a starter ahead of Lukas Fabianski, especially considering the Pole’s fine form last season, Swansea City’s signing of Kristoffer Nordfeldt is a further example of the value that can be found in the Eredivisie this window.

The goalkeeper was Heerenveen’s player of the season last campaign, keeping ten clean sheets and making the most amount of saves out of everyone in the league. He will certainly be one of the better second choice goalkeepers in the Premier League this coming season, despite being one of the least expensive. If Fabianski were to suffer an injury or dip in form Nordfeldt would certainly offer a solid replacement and may prove hard to dislodge, particularly given the fact that his ability with the ball of his feet endears himself to Swansea’s possession based style.

For now, however, it is likely that the principal of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” means that Nordfeldt will begin this coming season on the bench.

Name-OliBaise

Click on Oliver’s name above to visit his blog.

PSV’s Jetro Willems – the perfect fit for Man Utd

Header-Eredivisie2PremierLeague

Will Burns presents a new series looking at current Eredivisie players that could fit right at home at your Premier League club.

The Dutch Eredivisie has been used as a stepping stone to the Premier League and other top leagues across Europe for years. For so long, young talent has been exported into England with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Edwin van der Sar, Jaap Stam, Marc Overmars, Robin van Persie, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Luis Suarez excelling in their new surroundings. Dutch club football used to provide us with great teams challenging for top European honours with Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax clinching the European Cup (now the Champions League, to you youngsters out there) in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

However, since the Amsterdammers defeated AC Milan in May 1995, with a soon-to-be all star cast involving Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Jari Litmanen and the De Boer twins, Dutch football has saw a decline. Mainly due to the failure to keep up with the other leagues financially, the Eredivisie has seen their top players moving onto bigger sides and helping those sides become huge successes. With all the money flying about and regardless of what some may dispute, it’s hard to see UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rule creating a level playing field across Europe, allowing other leagues to catch up.

In recent transfer windows, Tottenham Hotspur have took advantage seeing Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen leave Ajax for White Hart Lane for big money moves and earlier, Liverpool picked up Luis Suarez for £22.8m and no-one can argue that he has not already paid a large chunk of that back.

You will not see the Premier League’s importing stars from the Eredivisie ending anytime soon, with low wages and Dutch clubs struggling financially, it’s an easy market for England’s top clubs and in this series I will pick English clubs and which players would suit them and make the short journey across the North Sea.

JETRO WILLEMS

CLUB – PSV
POSITION – LEFT BACK
AGE – 19

At just 19 years of age, he has cemented the left-back position at Phillip Cocu’s PSV and between him and Ajax’s Daley Blind, the left side of the Oranje’s defence for the upcoming World Cup and years beyond is looking strong. At just 18, he broke a 28-year-old record to become the youngest ever player in the history of Euro Championships when he started all three of the Netherlands games at Euro 2012.

Willems’ big break came in 2011 when he was part of the Oranje Under-17 team that demolished all competition in the UEFA European Under 17 tournament for the first time in their history. Willems’ contributions were standout and the fact that the Dutch did not concede a goal on the road to the final, where they defeated bitter rivals Germany by five goals to two.

After the tournament, a big transfer move was inevitable and Willems, who had begun his career in Dutch amateur football at Spartaan ’20 and then moved to Eerste Divisie side Sparta Rotterdam in the summer of 2010. The sharks were circling and Sir Alex Ferguson was ready to snap him up and wanted to bring the young Dutchman to Manchester United. However, as the majority of Dutch youngsters believe, he stayed in the Eredivisie to further his career and moved to PSV for a sum of €800,000. During that season, he ousted Erik Pieters out of the left-back position and made it his own, and PSV were quick to extend the youngster’s contract until 2016.

He started twenty Eredivisie matches, scoring a goal and assisting two. He became the youngest Dutch player ever to appear in a European match in a UEFA Europa League tie with Hapoel Tel Aviv. Then Netherlands national coach Bert van Marwijk included Willems in the 23-man squad for Euro 2012, it was thought to give him some experience being part of tournament squad and nothing more with Vurnon Anita, the first choice left-back.

To many’s surprise, on the team sheet for the opening game, Marwijk kept faith in the young 18-year-old, and it was a baptism by fire. The Dutch crashed out of the tournament losing three games out of three. However, as Willems started all three games, it was the experience that he needed to progress his game and has only grew stronger from it.

Of course at such a young age, Willems still has mistakes to make and a lot to learn yet but as of writing he has made 91 Eredivisie appearances and mastered perhaps the key area of the pitch in modern football. His rapid improvement in a short space of time has been incredibly impressive and his progress so far suggests he’s going to handle any tests coming his way.

Could he match the speed and strengths of the Premier League? Yes, physically strong with great pace, Willems would slot into Patrick Evra’s boots for seasons to come. Going forward he has the skill to beat any defender and his physicality and technique will hold him in good stead at Old Trafford. With names like Southampton’s Luke Shaw being bandied around as potential successors for Evra, Jetro Willems could be a cheaper and better all around replacement.

Name-WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com

Eredivisie to Premier League: Jetro Willems – Man Utd

Header-Eredivisie2PremierLeague

Will Burns presents a new series looking at current Eredivisie players that could fit right at home at your Premier League club.

The Dutch Eredivisie has been used as a stepping stone to the Premier League and other top leagues across Europe for years. For so long, young talent has been exported into England with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Edwin van der Sar, Jaap Stam, Marc Overmars, Robin van Persie, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Luis Suarez excelling in their new surroundings. Dutch club football used to provide us with great teams challenging for top European honours with Feyenoord, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax clinching the European Cup (now the Champions League, to you youngsters out there) in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

However, since the Amsterdammers defeated AC Milan in May 1995, with a soon-to-be all star cast involving Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, Jari Litmanen and the De Boer twins, Dutch football has saw a decline. Mainly due to the failure to keep up with the other leagues financially, the Eredivisie has seen their top players moving onto bigger sides and helping those sides become huge successes. With all the money flying about and regardless of what some may dispute, it’s hard to see UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rule creating a level playing field across Europe, allowing other leagues to catch up.

In recent transfer windows, Tottenham Hotspur have took advantage seeing Jan Vertonghen and Christian Eriksen leave Ajax for White Hart Lane for big money moves and earlier, Liverpool picked up Luis Suarez for £22.8m and no-one can argue that he has not already paid a large chunk of that back.

You will not see the Premier League’s importing stars from the Eredivisie ending anytime soon, with low wages and Dutch clubs struggling financially, it’s an easy market for England’s top clubs and in this series I will pick English clubs and which players would suit them and make the short journey across the North Sea.

JETRO WILLEMS

CLUB – PSV
POSITION – LEFT BACK
AGE – 19

At just 19 years of age, he has cemented the left-back position at Phillip Cocu’s PSV and between him and Ajax’s Daley Blind, the left side of the Oranje’s defence for the upcoming World Cup and years beyond is looking strong. At just 18, he broke a 28-year-old record to become the youngest ever player in the history of Euro Championships when he started all three of the Netherlands games at Euro 2012.

Willems’ big break came in 2011 when he was part of the Oranje Under-17 team that demolished all competition in the UEFA European Under 17 tournament for the first time in their history. Willems’ contributions were standout and the fact that the Dutch did not concede a goal on the road to the final, where they defeated bitter rivals Germany by five goals to two.

After the tournament, a big transfer move was inevitable and Willems, who had begun his career in Dutch amateur football at Spartaan ’20 and then moved to Eerste Divisie side Sparta Rotterdam in the summer of 2010. The sharks were circling and Sir Alex Ferguson was ready to snap him up and wanted to bring the young Dutchman to Manchester United. However, as the majority of Dutch youngsters believe, he stayed in the Eredivisie to further his career and moved to PSV for a sum of €800,000. During that season, he ousted Erik Pieters out of the left-back position and made it his own, and PSV were quick to extend the youngster’s contract until 2016.

He started twenty Eredivisie matches, scoring a goal and assisting two. He became the youngest Dutch player ever to appear in a European match in a UEFA Europa League tie with Hapoel Tel Aviv. Then Netherlands national coach Bert van Marwijk included Willems in the 23-man squad for Euro 2012, it was thought to give him some experience being part of tournament squad and nothing more with Vurnon Anita, the first choice left-back.

To many’s surprise, on the team sheet for the opening game, Marwijk kept faith in the young 18-year-old, and it was a baptism by fire. The Dutch crashed out of the tournament losing three games out of three. However, as Willems started all three games, it was the experience that he needed to progress his game and has only grew stronger from it.

Of course at such a young age, Willems still has mistakes to make and a lot to learn yet but as of writing he has made 91 Eredivisie appearances and mastered perhaps the key area of the pitch in modern football. His rapid improvement in a short space of time has been incredibly impressive and his progress so far suggests he’s going to handle any tests coming his way.

Could he match the speed and strengths of the Premier League? Yes, physically strong with great pace, Willems would slot into Patrick Evra’s boots for seasons to come. Going forward he has the skill to beat any defender and his physicality and technique will hold him in good stead at Old Trafford. With names like Southampton’s Luke Shaw being bandied around as potential successors for Evra, Jetro Willems could be a cheaper and better all around replacement.

Name-WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com