In less than a month, Netherlands are back in action and Michael Bell picks five players who deserve a call-up by Danny Blind.
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In November, Netherlands face Belgium in a friendly before travelling to Luxembourg for a crucial World Cup qualifier. Danny Blind’s squad failed to impress in the defeat to France last week and below are five players the coach needs to consider for his next squad.
Maarten de Roon
After the defeat against France it was clear that Blind needs to re-evaluate his midfield and add a more defensive minded player to sit in front of the back four. Nigel de Jong is past his best, Jordy Clasie is out of favour at Southampton and Kevin Strootman has looked less than comfortable when asked to play in the role. The man who could be perfect in the role is Maarten de Roon, who really should have been given a call-up after his excellent form for Atalanta last season, which saw him end the Serie A campaign having made more tackles than anyone else. The 25-year-old is a terrier and would add some bite to a midfield which has looked lightweight and passive recently.
Leroy Fer
One of the glaring absentees from the latest Oranje squad was Swansea City’s in-form midfielder Leroy Fer, who has netted four times in seven games so far this season. The 26-year-old, who has 11 caps for his country, was strangely overlooked by Blind in favour of Siem de Jong, who didn’t appear in either of the recent qualifiers. Fer offers Blind much more versatility, being able to play either as a DM or in the number ten position. His height and strength is a quality that would have helped against France with Wijnaldum and Propper both bullied by Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi.
If Fer continues to impress for Swansea City then Blind has no choice but to call him up.
Jeremain Lens
Arjen Robben and Quincy Promes are Netherlands undisputed first choice wingers at the moment, but Jeremain Lens form for Fenerbahce recently means he would be an asset to the national team. Since his move to Turkey, Lens has provided four assists in three matches and only an injury suffered in his last match prevented him from being called-up for the ties against Belarus and France. The 28-year-old looks like a player full of confidence and that’s exactly what the national team needs right now.
Ridgeciano Haps
Daley Blind and Jetro Willems appear to have the two left-back slots in the Netherlands squad nailed down, but the latter’s form for PSV recently has been disappointing and Blind should be considering Haps, who has been a star for AZ since the start of last season. The 23-year-old is a powerhouse at the back, making on average 3.6 tackles and 2.9 clearances per game, while he also loves to break forward using his excellent dribbling abilities. Haps doesn’t appear to be on Blind’s radar at the moment but he is the most in-form full back in the Eredivisie so far this season and its only a matter of time before he gets the call-up he deserves.
Eljero Elia
Elia has struggled to maintain form and regular first team football in his career so far, but the 29-year-old looked unstoppable for Feyenoord at the start of the season, scoring three goals in the opening two games. The winger was then struck down by injury but should return to action in the next few weeks and should come into consideration for the games against Belgium and Luxembourg. If Elia picks up from where he left on then he definitely a better option than either Steven Berghuis or Memphis Depay at the moment and offers the directness and pace the Netherlands sorely need.
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De Roon and Fer work, there is still PvA as leftback so I do not see any reason to bring in Haps and as for Lens and Elia, these are ageing players and besides the leadership that they would bring, I do not see them as the future de Roon and Fer are still young enough to contribute to the team in 2018, should they (hopefully) qualify for the World Cup.
Also, what about Reidewald? Bazoer?
Adam Maher
De roon and Fer for sure, Lens and Elia are good back-ups out wide, I also think Blind should beg kuyt to consider coming back and offer him an assistant manager role for the future
Van aannaholt should also be included
I think Maher still needs a bit of confidence. Van Ginkel when healthy even Hendrix!
Nice article, but if the writer was better informed he would have known Blind called up Fer, only to be informed he had a virus/flu (and then he called Siem de Jong), and Elia obviously was injured for weeks too. Same with Lens! There are flaws in Danny Blind’s performance for sure, but don’t think he doesn’t have these players on his radar.
I think Leroy fer is doing well in his club. and next games which strootman is suspended, he can fill his role
Well, I stuck up for Blind a lot, but I think it is time to move on perhaps. That or he uses the players he has. It’s time to look for the future and a bunch of the U-21’s are ready to push for the big team.
totally agree with this article 433 need at least 3 good wingers to be called up every time blind call promes and narsingh only and play with one and play with Sneidjer in the left flank !!! lens and elia are good solutions with Memphis and promes
the team is missing de jong so much i hope de roon can fill his place (if blind called him)
van ginkel also must return to psv we need him in the team