Record number of Dutch players in Premier League pleases Ronald Koeman

AMSTERDAM – Barcelona and AC Milan used to be glamorous ports of call for Dutch footballers but these days the Premier League is the destination of choice for most of the Netherlands squad, who will be playing two World Cup qualifiers this week.

Acclaimed coach Rinus Michels took his ‘total football’ to Barcelona, and Johan Cruyff went on to become an icon for the Catalan club, while Milan’s Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, and Marco van Basten propelled the club to the top of the European game in the late 80s and early 90s.

But it is across the English Channel where the top Dutch talent heads to these days, as reflected in the fact that 13 of coach Ronald Koeman’s 25-man squad for the qualifiers against Poland on Thursday and Lithuania on Sunday are based in the Premier League.

This season, a record 36 Dutch players are at Premier League clubs, prompting Koeman to joke he should consider moving to monitor them all.

“It’ll be even easier if they all play in the Manchester and Liverpool area. We only have to go there then,” he said in a recent television interview.

The last player on the books of a Dutch club to start for the national team was teenage defender Jorrel Hato against Spain in the first leg of the Nations League quarter-final in March. There were none in the three subsequent games, and Hato has since signed for Chelsea.

Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs is the latest English-based player to win a call-up from Koeman, while Xavi Simons is the latest Dutch squad member to move to England, signing for Tottenham Hotspur last week.

“We spoke about it in June already,” Koeman said on Monday. “I think Spurs is a great move for him.”

Hato also asked Koeman for his opinion about his move from Ajax Amsterdam.

“He called me to ask if he was making the right choice,” the coach added.

For Koeman, who never played in England but managed Southampton and Everton, it was an easy choice.

“In my opinion, the Premier League is the best competition,” he said, while clarifying that there was still an opportunity for home-based players in his squad.

“The really good ones, yes, but they quickly move on to another league. In foreign leagues, you’re tested every three days, which automatically makes you stronger and better.

“But that doesn’t mean you should leave quickly. Because you do get the chance to play matches here (in the Netherlands).”

Turning his attention to the World Cup qualifiers, he said he will be putting his best side out against Poland before experimenting with emerging talent in Lithuania three days later.

Poland are regarded as the Dutch side’s biggest threat for a place at next year’s tournament in North America and the match in Rotterdam is a chance for both to lay down a marker in their qualifying group.

“The first match is the most important of the two we’ll be playing. Poland is our rival for the top spot and we want to qualify as quickly as possible. We know we can take a huge step forward with success against Poland,” Koeman said.

Elsewhere, Alexander Isak was finally back on the training pitch following his £125 million move to Liverpool that made him the most expensive player in Premier League history.

Sent to train on his own by former club Newcastle United while the uncertainty over his move rumbled on, he smiled and laughed as he warmed up with his Sweden teammates in Stockholm ahead of their World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Kosovo.

“That’s what you want,” fellow striker Viktor Gyokeres said when asked if he was relieved that the whole thing had been resolved.

“It’s not really something you want to be stuck in forever, (playing) is what we all live for, and we’re looking forward to the games we have now.” REUTERS