The 20/21 Eredivisie season begins this Friday and we will preview the expectations of each Eredivisie club. In this article, we look at PEC Zwolle.
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PEC Zwolle has ambitions of challenging for a European spot but last season they found themselves in a battle at the bottom and were sitting just above the bottom three on goal difference before the season was ended.
Under head coach John Stegeman, PEC Zwolle look like a club heading backwards at the moment, and it is unclear whether their new signings will be enough to prevent another season in relegation trouble.
Transfers
It has been a quiet transfer window in terms of transfers coming in for PEC Zwolle with Rico Strieder (Utrecht) and Jesper Drost (Heracles) the only permanent signings. Manchester City striker Slobodan Tedic has joined on loan but three new recruits is worrying for the fan base.
Especially since PEC Zwolle has lost a number of players including Gustavo Hamer, Vito van Crooij, Zian Flemming, Rick Dekker, Etienne Reijnen and striker Lennart Thy.
Fans will be hoping that many more players are brought in before the window shuts next month.
Head Coach
When Jaap Stam left last summer, John Stegeman wasn’t exactly an exciting choice to replace him.
The former Heracles and Go Ahead Eagles boss didn’t have a great first campaign in charge of PEC Zwolle and will be looking to guide the club to a top ten finish this season.
Key Player
The playmaker of the PEC Zwolle midfield, Mustafa Saymak is key to the club’s season. The 27-year-old is in his second spell with PEC Zwolle having returned to the club from Turkey last summer, and is their main source of creativity. Saymak will be needed to create the chances for Reza Ghoochannejhad and Slobodan Tedic up front.
Youngsters to Watch
Slobodan Tedic (20) joins from Manchester City with a good reputation from his time in Serbia and the powerful striker could be a revelation in the Eredivisie if he gets enough service.
Midfielder Dean Huiberts (20) and attacker Jarno Westerman (18) are also breaking into the PEC Zwolle first-team.
Pre-season
It has been a largely positive pre-season for PEC Zwolle this summer with wins over AZ Alkmaar (1-0), Groningen (2-0), Heracles (1-0), Emmen (1-0) and Heerenveen (1-0).
They did lose 2-0 to Cambuur and 2-0 to Utrecht, but Stegeman will be mostly happy with his sides performances.
Strongest line-up
Mous, Van Polen, Paal, Lam, Kersten, Saymak, Leemans, Strieder, Van Duinen, Tedic, Reza
Predicted finish
PEC Zwolle is a hard club to predict this season with their transfer business looking poor and the squad looking thin. Another season struggling at the bottom does look on the cards, but pre-season has been okay.
Stegeman does have some good players at his disposal and it really could go either way this season. A 17th spot finish is possible but so is a mid-table finish around 12-13th.