Ajax RB, Mazraoui has been asked whether he is interested in playing for the NT. He has never received a call up by Morocco and would be eligible.
The RB position for NT is super-loaded. Hateboer and Janmaat in current selection... Dumfries is up and coming, Kardsorp returning from injury, and Fosu-Mensah escaping M.U bench to gain valuable minutes on-loan. I personally don’t mind having another contender in Mazraoui, there will never be enough of options (injuries, loss form, etc.), and competition always pushes one to give the best. The question is if he has the right heart and pride to wear Oranje. Or if we would fickle like those before him (Ziyech, Amrabat x2, etc.)
Strootman off to Ol. Marseille for 25 million €€. 5 years contract. Edit: Isnot done yet, it appears.
This transfer shows it. We all expected Roma was a step before going to some Manchester or Juventus as it was often announced, but in fact it was really more than enough for him and now he's heading to an inferior club because Roma has brought some other options He will not even be remembered as one of the top 30/40 dutch midfielders I think. Knowing he was considered to be one of the best elements of his generation, it is not hard to understand why the NT has been through some horrible times recently.
Kenny Tete is now the third choice in Lyon. The club is looking to sell him before the end of the transfer window. This is a real disappointment and I think he pays his weak offensive qualities.
That was what kept him on the bench at Ajax too. In modern football you can't be a one trick (=very good defender) pony. Others bring that too and then something more.
I think there was something more than this. Veltman moved over to the RB position when Sanchez transferred in. Veltman is a touch too slow to play outside and was only marginally better on offense than Tete and not nearly as good a defender. For some reason he fell out of favor with Bosz. It's also possible that Tete was unconcerned about developing his offensive skills. In contrast, van Rhijn worked hard on developing offensive skills but was a horrible defender. Tete should have stayed and fought for his position at Ajax. We'll see where he ends up as he is still young.
I didn't realize Tete has lost his place that badly in OL... last year I recalled his earning some good reviews. More bizarre is that he's still selected for provisional Dutch NT team... An apparent flaw in NT scouting process? There are other RB's with more consistent playing times and better attacking qualities - Dumfries, TFM, and Mazraoui (whom reportedly Koeman talked to).
^^ Mazraoui has been called up by Morocco. He's not played for them and I haven't seen a firm report whether he will accept. I think Ziyech wants him on the squad.
Koeman had a talk with him regarding Oranje apparently. Just because he got called up by Morocco doesn't mean he'll accept
Mazraoui has made up his mind... turned down Oranje, and going to represent Morocco. I am not surprised, and am not disappointed, as I thought Koeman has a decent pipeline for RB selection. Bring on Dumfries!
Dumfries is a poor defender, he does not look very smart tactically too. Nevertheless he is a good counterattacker.
Quincy Promes heading to Sevilla. Great move... La Liga is more challenging than the Russian league, he will get further tested, and can only improve!
They also do very well in the Europa League and have what should be an easy group in today's draw. Great move!