Big last couple days for Zirkzee.... made his debut in Oranje yesterday, and is reportedly about to complete his long-awaited transfer to Man Utd. He will be playing for fellow Dutchman Ten Haag, and coached by forward legend Ruud Van Goal (who recently joined Ten Haag's staff).
Lazio have officially picked up Tijjani noslin from Verona. Keep a tab on him next season. Versatile forward can play anywhere up front
124510 Let's see where Memphis ends up on his free transfer. To make Koeman look credible playing him over Joshua, he must either sign for Bayern, ManCity or ...
Agree… as like everything else in life, I think it’s all about managing expectations. I hope fans will quickly recognize (and appreciate!) that Zirkzee is not a typical poacher. I don’t see him banging goals left and right. He is not the second coming of the legendary Ruud Van Goal. He’s more a link-up (secondary) striker with abilities to drop down, dribble and and create passing space. He will be suited to pair with another ST (Hojlund), but as a lone striker I think Zirkzee will be quite limited, at least for the time being. That said, it’s up to Ten Haag (and interestingly Ruud himself!) to figure out an attacking system that fits his best XI, otherwise Zirkzee will soon be forgotten.
He is not a traditional #9 and maybe the only one who it at this point is Brobbey. From what I've seen of Zirkzee, he will be best if he is part of a two up front.
Zirkzee has been described like Patrick Kluivert in his positional play. Not a True 9 but more like a 9.5 as he drops off and combines between the lines and can come in from wide positions as well showcasing his athleticism, skill, and technique. Manchester United has become dysfunctional in recent seasons, and it won’t be easy as they have lacked playmaking and good football in recent times. If Zirkzee can match Kluivert’s ability and production we will all be very happy. In comparison Memphis is clearly not a typical 9 either, but his clear lack of pace now from many injuries and turning 30 is pushing him out. It does not help Memphis that he has not played regularly the past 2 years either, and is currently shopping for a new club once again. He has been linked with AC Milan and Roma but I read he’s looking for 5 million per season and both clubs are not interested in that so Memphis better come back to reality. Brobbey a traditional 9 who can link up play and get in the channels has been linked with Manchester United and Arsenal, but Ajax have said he’s not for sale. He will need help there as Ajax lack badly in terms of their football and quality playmaking with the exceptions of Bergwijn and Berghuis who have been linked with other teams themselves. Brobbey’s power/pace & excellent combination play can become a massive problem for his opponents and hopefully he can continue to improve his technical ability and production this will only benefit Oranje eventually. Time for Koeman to see the light and move forward with Zirkzee and Brobbey.
It could not be any easier than this for Koeman... it's a very straight-forward decision, as the replacement is like-to-like. Memphis --> Zirkzee. Weghorst --> Brobbey. But.... if history is any indication, Koeman will manage to mess up transition He would hold on Memphis/Wout too long, and give too little playing times for the youngsters to acclimate before the next major tournament (WC '26). Sigh. My concern, and wish-list, for the Oranje attack is a proper RW. An inverted winger (left-footed) would be ideal, but I don't see anybody worth mentioning at the moment, not even from the pipeline/youth team. Ironically (and good news!), the LW are too well-stacked and extremely competitive... Gakpo, Bergwijn, Lang, then there are Summerville and Van Bommel who are showing signs of breakthrough. So I guess for RW, Koeman would stick with Malen (who can still grow), though I think Frimpong could be the best bet here. He does need to get tested in RW a lot more than just the limited minutes he got at Euro.
125091 For that right wing position Koeman had Calvin Stengs at his disposal, who scored some great goals from there for Feyenoord in the league and the CL.
It seems to me that Stengs’ best position is the central attacking midfielder, given his passing and creativity. I think he would be a great competitor (and back-up) for Xavi in the “no. 10” role, definitely a legit successor for Wijnaldum (who should not be picked anymore from this point forward). I’ve been a fan of Stengs, I hope he’ll get regular call-ups in the near future.
125196 Unfortunately FC Twente can't afford Myron Boadu, as Monaco wants 17 million for him. Regular play for Twente in the league and CL/EL would have been great for him and the Orange Squad, as from our pool of strikers he's by far the fastest... Let's hope they will put him on loan again at FC Twente.
It is very hard to perform at the highest level for the national team without playing regularly at the club. I hope Koeman thinks again about Memphis.
Thijs Dallinga is moving to Italy. Great move… moving from bottom-dweller Toulouse to Bologna, which will be playing in the Champions League. He will fill in Zirkzee’s spot quite fittingly there. Dallinga was capped once already in Oranje. Only 23 years. Scored 18 and 19 goals in the last two seasons, respectively. The race for future Oranje Striker is on!! Dallinga, Zirkzee and Brobbey - three nice options.
Summerville agrees to term to move to West Ham; it is just the 2 clubs' negotiation for transfer fees now which is reported to be close. Hopefully Summerville, Dallinga and Zirkzee all can raise up their performances to the next level.
Nice all around activities for the Dutch attackers this Summer. The youngsters are moving up to the next level!! Need Brobbey to elevate his game as well, now that he has a couple years under his belt at Ajax. Excited to see Gakpo thriving under Slot, and more importantly, Ruud Van Goal.
Summerville to West Ham done deal. Sum is €30 million. Part of that fee will go to Feyenoord. He will be one to monitor this coming season… can make a jump to Oranje if the stars are aligning!
Danjuma is loaned to Girona, and played his first 45 minutes today. Hope he's getting plenty of opportunities there. He's been all over the map in past few seasons, he needs stability and consistency! Apparently, Girona is a magnet for Dutchmen.... they have Blind, Van De Beek, and Misehouy. The latter two were on the bench today, but did not play.
128812 Bergwijn has stated he will not play for the Orange Squad as long as Koeman is in charge. Well, he signed a 3 year contract in the sanddune league, which is longer than cowhead's 2026 ending and cowhead wasnot going to select him as long as he's playing there, so it's not a shocking message.