I was comparing playing style, not necessarily career/achievement. I happen to like Blind the DM. I think some of his moments are when he is deployed in midfield. Blind is disciplined, hardworking, intelligent and good at ball distribution. Leading with example. Very decent defensively even though he is not built like a tank. And yes, slow-footed at times and can be exposed. Certainly not a "generational" talent (like Frenkie de Jong) by any stretch of imagination, but every team needs a blue-collar, team player like him. And I think that's a fair comparison to Koopmeiners at this stage. Obviously Koopmeiners has a long runway ahead of him, and who knows, with more time and experience, Koopmeiners can someday eclipse Blind. We shall see. BTW, for all his limitations, Blind's longevity at Oranje NT is quite amazing, he has 80+ caps, already in the top 20 of most caps player!
Dumfries to Inter. 15m Euro. Big shoes to fill after Hakimi sold to PSG for some outrageous price - but Dumfries should be able to slot into starting line-up right away. Playing with De Vrij is a plus. Also like the fact that Inter is in UCL, and should be in the league title race again. Great move all around... a deserved "promotion" for Dumfries after a strong past couple seasons captaining PSV, and a beast performances at Euro. He's matured considerably.
Trouble is Inter has lost all their key players from last season. I doubt they will make it through the group stage of the CL this year. Italian League is poor these days. He would have done better to move to the Bundesliga.
they have only lost Lukaku but then they have also signed Edin Dzeko (Roma) who is not a bad striker at all and Joaquin Correa another underrated striker from (Lazio) to partner Martinez if needed. they have also captured Hakan Çalhanoğlu from Milan as well. I also think their Backline will hold the key to their success as to how far they can go. Well De Vrij will definitely come into the spotlight there.
this is the problem with the Dutch mentality, they think a particular skillset (ball distribution in Blind case) is enough to build the team around them. from NT perspective, Blind no matter where he plays, has only has looked good with averages teams especially where he gets freedom to go forward. you can go back an look at any game you want, with teams where he is able to move up, he looks like a world class but unfortunately he cant replicate it in high tempo pressing game and that's where he either gets neutralized or simply becomes a liability given this is where his weakness comes into fold. its not being negative or not recognizing his one skill set super intelligence, because if he is an exception given his weakness then others should be as well and this is where it has been controversial. you look at the situation at LB and what it has yielded from persisting with him at LB. compare that to the RBs. Dumfries, Hateboer, Karsdorp, Tete, veltman. the competition has got the better of the players compared to the LB where its thriving. if this would have also been done at LB, there would have been better options out there today. eventually if you go back and look at blinds time at CB and at DM , he has only blocked other players from coming up but then in some cases the tide has turned back on him as well. Van Dijk early days in NT, then the rise of Frenkie. the only place left now for him now is the LB and im sure under van Gaal and Daddy he will get the nod and, players like Bakker, Malacia and wijndal will again be overlooked. the justification as usual will be versatility, experience and so forth.
Inter has a good backline - Skriniar, Bastoni, De Vrij & Dumfries (if he does well). Dzeko is nowhere near Lukaku. Eriksen is also out indefinitely (who knows till when). It is not a bad team but not as good as it was with Lukaku, Hakimi gone but who knows !
Weghorst being linked with Inter. That would be a good club for him https://football-italia.net/inter-turn-to-wolfsburg-striker-weghorst/
Danjuma off to Villarreal. Thats good, cause now I can watch some of his games live and see how good he is https://www.telegraaf.nl/sport/5305...elspits-arnaut-danjuma-op-weg-naar-villarreal
ESPN US have a note that Koopmeiners is headed to Atalanta for €20M. I'm not sure how true this is as the fee seems too high. Comes from this Italian source: https://www.calciomercato.it/2021/08/28/calciomercato-atalanta-az-koopmeiners/
https://www.calciomercato.com/news/juve-vicino-un-colpo-a-sorpresa-raiola-porta-ihattaren-25336 Ihattaren rumored to possibly move to Juve. I'm doubtful. EDIT: apparently a done deal and he has been loaned to Sampdoria. We'll see how this works out.
Koopmeiners to Atalanta, confirmed! I don’t follow Atalanta, and I don’t know how they line up… but they do have now two Dutch DM’s at their disposal!! Maybe one is deemed as a successor to the other.
It's probably the best move for him. Atalanta play fast attacking football, usually with a three man back line.
Excellent move for Mo Ihattarren overall. His situation in PSV is beyond repair. He needs a completely fresh start, which is exactly what he’s getting with this move. Glancing briefly Sampdoria squad, it doesn’t look like they have a lot depth in the AM department. Should be ideal for Mo. The biggest question is his state of mind. Hopefully he has the mental fortitude to get back on his feet, and (soft) reset his career.
Azor Matusiwa moves from Groningen to Stade Reims in France. He was just elected captain of the squad at Groningen. I guess they need money.
He should have a good look at his mate Madueke, who also was in conflict with Schmidt for a short time about the demands the coach had to wards him. Madueke however chose to listen to him and pick up the glove to fight himself into the starting eleven. Mo decided to go into tantrum mode. Anyway, this could become a good move as he now has no excuse that someone has a (true or imagined) bias against him. The only person left to blame now is staring at him from his bathroom mirror.
Bad transfer deadline day for Donny van de Beek Reportedly close to a loan move to Everton, but was blocked by Solkjaer. So far this season… in three MU league games, Donny has registered a big fat zero minute. Sucks.
That would explain the signing, but it doesnt explain why Solksjaer blocked that loan move to Everton