Leeds United or Aston Villa may be ideal destinations for Perr Schuurs if the reported Newcastle target hopes to swap Serie A for the Premier League during the summer transfer window.
The Dutchman has come on leaps and bounds since joining Torino from Eredivisie giants Ajax; rediscovering the form that had some labelling him the second coming of Matthijs de Ligt during his early days at the Johan Cryuff Arena.
But according to Emile Schelvis – a Dutch football reporter with a specialist knowledge of Italian football – Schuurs is not yet the finished article, even if he has learned plenty of important lessons from playing in the heart of Torino’s three-man backline.
Agent says Liverpool, Tottenham and PSG like Perr Schuurs
“Perr has gotten a bit better,” Schelvis tells VoetbalPrimeur.
“It’s very simple; if you play in a system with three defenders, as a central defender you always have to pick up the striker. Then you compete in the duels.
“At Ajax, he could sometimes move from his position, from his zone. Now, if you always have to win duels, you become stronger.
“From an offensive point of view, too, a few things are expected of you. I have also seen him make the necessary passes.”
Schuurs has certainly developed into a more complete, well-rounded centre-half in Italy. The home of Catenaccio, lest we forget.
Fabrizio Romano reports that a number of clubs some way higher up the footballing pyramid are now taking note of a man who – according to his agent – has admirers of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain.
Inter Milan and a deep-pocketed Newcastle scouted Schuurs recently, Romano adds.
But, according to Schelvis, the 23-year-old would benefit more from taking an ‘intermediate’ step. Not so much a leap upwards, but more of a diagonal one.
“It is not the case that it is one big success story,” Schelvis adds. “If I were him, I would stay in Italy for one more year, maybe on a slightly higher level than Torino. If you start testing him seriously, then maybe he could be suitable for England.
“I honestly think (Schuurs is best suited) to the category of Leeds United or Aston Villa.”
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