The Netherlands national team have a good system in behind the scenes , when it comes to giving young players chances at international level. Yes, this also is credit to the exceptional academies at clubs such as Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV etc , but the national team set-up has it’s fair share too. The country is home to many young bright talents, some of whom will undoubtedly be the stars of tomorrow. The current list consisting of these young talented players, on whom there are quite big expectations have the likes of Blind, De Vrij, Willems , Clasie, Maher etc.
A main stand in that list is Stefan De Vrij, who is a promising Centre back with great potential. He plies his trade at Feyenoord Rotterdam. A club which has a reputation of having the 2nd best youth academy in Holland, of which De Vrij is a product of.
As far as his playing style goes, De Vrij has earned a reputation of being a very reliable Centre back who can also fill in at Right back if needed. He’s very composed with the ball at his feet and is a fine passer too as he often likes to switch play from one end to the other. This season, he’s managed a pass success rate of 87.3% as per whoscored.com. At 6’2 , he’s stands an imposing presence at the back and wins a high percentage of headers in his own half. He’s remarkably good at dealing with teams who press high up the pitch and often brings the ball out of defence on his own in a serene way.
Tackling is an area De Vrij excels at. He’s a classic no-nonsense old school tough tackler who shines out in one on one situations. Blessed with great positional sense, he has a tendency to be in the right place at the right time in the penalty box when it comes to clearing final balls/crosses put in the box be it at ground, or in the air. This is one his biggest assets. De Vrij’s and Janmaat’s good performances are one of the major reasons behind feyenoord’s success in the past two seasons.
The 22-year old Feyenoord captain does have a strong authority over his players and is a leader on and off the pitch. When judged on Individual performances , De Vrij seems to be ready for a move to one of Europe’s elite clubs. Also, his performances have attracted huge interest from some big clubs. Reportedly, there were many scouts present to watch him this season. Most notably from Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton. After the world cup (if given a chance) or in a season or two De Vrij will be a target for many big clubs.
Recently, Feyenoord’s technical director Martin Van Geel told Algemeen Dagblad on the future of De Vrij : “Talks have stopped and we will wait for the summer. With De Vrij, we have already made the decision to wait until after the World Cup (before re-evaluating the situation).”
His market value at this moment and time stands at £5.3m, but feyenoord won’t let leave him for a fee less than the £10m mark. A move to England looks very likely at this stage considering the reported interest.
It would be a valuable acquisition for any club who manages to get De Vrij. His performances justify that.