The 20/21 Eredivisie season begins this Friday and we will preview the expectations of each Eredivisie club. In this article, we look at Vitesse Arnhem.

Last season did not go to plan for Vitesse with Leonid Slutsky quitting in November after five straight defeats. Edward Sturing came in to steady the ship and the club were sitting seventh when the season came to an early end.

Vitesse wants to be in the battle for top four spots eventually, and that will be the task for new head coach Thomas Letsch, who has seen some key men leave this summer. However, there is enough talent in Arnhem to guide the club to at least another European playoff spot.

Transfers

Vitesse lost key attacker Bryan Linssen this summer to Feyenoord, while Tim Matavz also left. Julian Lelieveld, Kostas Lamprou, and Khalid Karami are the others that have departed the club.

Oussama Tannane has made his loan permanent from Saint Etienne, and Maximilian Wittek has been brought in from Greuther Furth. The club have also turned to the loan market, signing attacker Lois Openda from Club Brugge, Armando Broja from Chelsea, Idrissa Toure from Juventus, and Fiorentina’s Jacob Rasmunssen.

Head coach

Thomas Letsch was announced as the new head coach of Vitesse in May as the replacement for Edward Sturing.

The German has previously coached a number of German clubs including Erzgebirge Aue, Rapid Vienna in Austria and was assistant coach of Red Bull Salzburg. He now heads to the Netherlands to try and guide Vitesse to the top four.

Key players

Oussama Tannane is the creative spark in the Vitesse midfield and he will look to provide the assists and goals that will be missed from Bryan Linssen’s departure. Tannane scored six goals and provided five assists in 20 games on loan for Vitesse last season. However, he will be aiming to double those figures this season.

English left-back Max Clark has been excellent since joining the club from Hull City and was linked with a move to Liverpool last January. Clark is key to the Vitesse attack with his crossing ability and he will rack up a number of assists this season.

Young players to watch

Lois Openda (20) looks to be a special talent and the Club Brugge attacker looks like he will add real pace and trickery to the Vitesse attack. He has looked excellent in pre-season and will definitely get goals in the Eredivisie.

Centre-back Danilho Doekhi (22) is a Netherlands U21 international and highly rated, while midfielder Patrick Vroegh (20) made his breakthrough last season. Thomas Buitink (20) will be looking to prove himself upfront, and mini-Paul Pogba, Idrissa Toure (22) could make an impact on loan from Juventus.

Pre-season

Vitesse Arnhem went through their pre-season unbeaten, recording wins over FC Volendam (5-0), Westerlo (4-2), and Heerenveen (2-1)

They also drew 1-1 at PSV Eindhoven, and ended with three consecutive 2-2 draws against ADO Den Haag, Fortuna Dusseldorf, and SV Darmstadt.

Strongest line-up

Pasveer, Clark, Hájek, Doekhi, Rasmussen, Bero, Tronstad, Bruns, Tannane, Darfalou, Openda

Predicted finish

Vitesse Arnhem are an intriguing side this season under the coach of Letsch. Bryan Linssen may be gone but the club have signed well and the arrival of Lois Openda is very exciting for the fans.

Vitesse are a club packed with talent and the players capable of reaching the top five and they will definitely be in the European playoffs this season.

Sixth to seventh is realistic but if everything clicks then a battle for fourth and fifth cannot be ruled out.




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