Aston Villa and Spurs have already capitalised and now Newcastle, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have been linked with some of the Dutch league’s best talents.
Despite the recent propensity to move to the German Bundesliga such as the recent transfer of Luuk De Jong to Borussia Monchengladbach the Premier League has also been a haven for the stars of the Dutch Eredivisie to shine. This summer has seen the arrivals of Ron Vlaar, Karim El Ahmadi, Brett Holman and Jan Vertonghen into the Premier League and time will tell if they can be a success.
But for every Van Nistelrooy, Overmars or Dembele there has also been the odd Kezman, Samaras or Afonso Alves who has not met the grade. But who could be candidates for a future Premier League career?
Douglas Teixeira –FC Twente
The powerful and occasionally hot-headed centre half is perfectly suited for the Premier League. Strong and incredibly mobile for his 6ft 4in frame the Brazilian born centre back has a Dutch passport so there would be no issues with work permit’s considering he has no international caps. Newcastle have been strongly linked with the Enschede centre half and this one should happen.
Dries Mertens – PSV
Despite only signing for PSV last summer the Belgian is already being linked with a move away after an incredible season where he scored 21 goals in 33 games as a winger. Well known in England for his push on Gary Cahill that left the Chelsea man with a broken jaw therefore missing Euro 2012, a move to the Bridge might be unlikely. But Liverpool are keen on a deal despite having competition from Bayern Munich and Internazionale who can offer the diminutive trickster Champions League football.
Kevin Strootman – PSV
Another man linked with a move away from PSV after just one season is 22 year old Dutch international Strootman. The centre midfield player has come of age in the past 18 months and Manchester United and Tottenham have been linked with his signature
Christian Eriksen – Ajax
Mixed reports from Amsterdam Arena on this one as some say he won’t leave whilst others are certain he will. Apparently has his heart set on a move to Manchester United but the interest so far has only been concrete from Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg.
Gregory Van Der Wiel – Ajax
The ‘bad-boy’ of Dutch football has long been linked with a move away from Amsterdam but, with promising youngsters coming through in his position, Ajax now seem ready to move the right back on. He had quite a dismal Euro 2012 but his apparent class shines through with Newcastle and Chelsea linked with the fullback but competition in Europe will come from Bayern Munich, Valencia and Lokomotiv Moscow.
image: © jikatu
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