The new season has started, and there are a lot of reasons to look forward to the top 5 competitions, the Premier League where the top 6, apart from Tottenham Hotspur, have all spent big money. Ligue 1 has exploded following Paris-Saint Germain’s somewhat controversial signing of Neymar Jr. Seria A supporters will experience the comeback of AC Milan, the Bundesliga showcase Dortmund, Leipzig and Hoffenheim as they challenge Bayern for the title and of course La Liga with all the big superstars: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and now Ousmane Dembele.
The Eredivisie 17/18 season has also begun and it seems like it will be a very exciting year with a lot of new talent. Subsequently, I have decided to make a list of 4 players to watch in the Eredivisie 17/18 season.
Frenkie De Jong
To start off looking for young talent in Holland it is impossible to not look at the Ajax-squad. But with so many talent in this young team it was very difficult to pick one, think about De ligt, Kluivert, Van de Beek and of course, Dolberg . But I have decided to pick someone a bit more unknown. His name is Frenkie de Jong, after winning the award for talent of the year in the Jupiler league (Dutch 2nd division), playing a few games in the Eredivisie and coming on in the Europa league final last year, this must surely be the breakthrough season for the young central midfielder who left Willem 2’s youth academy two-years ago to play for Ajax. Frenkie de Jong can play in all positions in midfield, from a deep playmaker roll to playing as a no. 10. But he shines most at the “8 spot” in a midfield three, with his technical prowess and ability to read the game he is very much capable of playing this role in the first team of Ajax. One player Dr Jong reminds me most of is Andres Iniesta, because they both help their team play out from the back, while also creating chances in the final-third. They also both boast good vision and the technical ability to make it happen. There are of course also points where he needs to improve upon. The first is his defensive awareness, sometimes he stays forward and because of this he leaves his man free, normally this won’t be that big of a problem but with Ziyech and Schone (and Nouri and van de Beek in Jong Ajax last year) the midfield is already offensive. And because in Holland almost every team plays man-marking this leaves often a 3v2 situation in the midfield. The second thing is the fact that he sometimes overplays, sometimes Frenkie De Jong needs to be a bit calmer on the ball and choose a more safe option, whereas now he plays a lot of risky passes which is also one of his strengths. But there are times (mainly when he plays as a “6”) where needs to be a bit more patient.
Jeremiah St Juste
Feyenoord, one of Ajax’s great rivals, also bought a lot of talent this summer and one whose name is Jeremiah St Juste. St Juste is a 21 year old Centre-Back who used to play for SC Heereveen. St Juste is very comfortable playing out from the back, he used to play a lot in midfield in previous seasons. But the last few seasons the Dutchman also improved his defensive game. SC Heereveen is a team that puts a lot of emphasis on possession-based football (last season, they had third most possession in the league, while also having 80,4% pass accuracy, 5th in the league, and 82% off these passes are short-passes). So in this view St Juste does not have to adjust much, because a lot of teams in the lower end of the table will sit back against Feyenoord. The question will be if the defender is able to gain a starting spot, last year the two center-backs Jan-Arie van der Heijden and Eric Botteghin played a big part in the season where Feyenoord became champions for the first time since 1999. There are of course a few things where he needs to improve on; the most important thing I think he needs to improve is his concentration. This could prove fatal in European competition
Hirving Lozano
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano might be the most known name on this list, being linked with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Celta Vigo. As a result, it was quite a surprise the Mexican chose PSV Eindhoven above a step to the Premier League or La Liga. But, he opted for playing time and experience instead of money which is perhaps a very mature choice. Lozano is a very exciting young prospect who can play in various attacking positions/roles, but will mostly likely play as a left-sided forward for PSV. In Mexico, Lozano was renowned for his dribbles and his ability to score from distance. In his career so far, Lozano has played 148 games in total, scoring 43 goals. This is admirable considering these also feature games where he came on as a substitute, and he is only 22. He also has 19 caps for the Mexican national team, hitting the net three times. Lozano’s ability in 1v1 situations is what makes him a special talent, but for a young wide player he scores well. But if you take a closer look, this could be a bit of misinterpretation, because he takes a lot of shots from long distances. Sometimes it is unnecessary to shoot from outside the box, whereas choosing for a smart pass instead might be the better option .
Martin Ødegaard
The Norwegian wonder kid who made his national team debut aged 15 and made his la liga debut for Real Madrid at the age of 18 is now playing in the North of The Netherlands for SC Heereveen. Since his big move to Real Madrid in 2015, Ødegaard hasn’t lived up to all the hype (which is understandable with excessive expectations and pressure), I in fact thought his move to Real Madrid wasn’t very good for his development. Last year he decided to join SC Heereveen, in the hope to play more minutes at the highest level. Ødegaard endured a mixed season, SC Heereveen in general had a very disappointing second half of the season, finishing ninth and not winning the play-offs for Europa League football. What makes this truly disappointing, is that at the winter break SC Heereveen were fourth in the league just 5 points behind PSV. Ødegaard started playing in a three men midfield with Kobayashi and Stijn Schaars. But after a few losses trainer Jurgen Streppel decided this midfield trio was too attack-minded and Ødegaard again had to take place at the bench. But when he played he showed why all the top teams were after him, showcasing his dribbling and passing, which are his best traits. The 2017-18 pre-season oversaw Ødegaard play the ‘Isco -roll’ as a right-winger with the license to drive inside and make things happen. So far this new role is suiting the Norwegian excellently. If he is able to be consistent, Heereveen fans have something to look forward this season.
The Conventional Playmaker 