Arsenal, Newcastle United, and Chelsea have all been linked with moves for the right-back.
The Mirror reported yesterday that Arsenal are preparing a £7 million bid for the Ajax defender, who has just one year left on his contract.
Here are five facts about him…
1) Dutch international van der Wiel is at 24 already the veteran of a successful World Cup run, featuring as Holland reached the World Cup Final in 2010. He played too at Euro 2012, but the least said about his country’s performances the better…
2) There is one Premier League boss the Dutchman is familiar with, Martin Jol. Jol managed him at Ajax, winning the Eredivise in 2009-10. He even tried to sign him for Fulham but was unsuccessful.
3) Following the Dutch exit at Euro 2012, he criticised teammate Arjen Robben, arguing the winger was not prepared to track back and put him under undue pressure. Van der Wiel almost signed with Bayern Munich a couple of years back, and its probably best all round he didn’t.
4) Three years ago he inadvertently made the front pages in Holland when he pulled out of a Dutch international friendly, and later Tweeted a picture of himself at a L’il Wayne concert. Oops.
5) He made 30 appearances last season for his club, scoring three goals and providing five assists. His goals came against Heerenveen, Twente, and Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
Would you like to see the Dutchman sign for your club? Or do you not need him?
image: © crystiancruz
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