With the January transfer window quickly closing in, fans and pundits are excited as ever. With all clubs setting their eyes on their targets, it would be interesting to see who goes where come the end of January.
It is a well-known fact that for Manchester United, the major area of concern in January would be getting a new centre-back. Although the rumours of Mats Hummels and Ezequiel Garay are doing the rounds, it is unlikely that their respective clubs would let them go off in January. In such a case, Louis Van Gaal will have to look for alternatives. Van Gaal has proved that he could bring out the best out of his own countrymen with the impressive showing of the Dutch national side at the FIFA World Cup and he has also proved that he is not scared to place responsibilities on youngsters by giving first team debuts to the young Paddy Mcnair and Tyler Blackett at Manchester United.
Considering both these factors, we take a look at three young Dutch centre-backs who could solve Manchester United’s defensive woes in January.
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JOEL VELTMAN
Veltman was a part of Louis Van Gaal’s World Cup side earlier this year and therefore would know each other quite well. The 22 year old Ajax centre-back is extremely good in the air and an average WhoScored rating of 7.21 from the 8 league appearances he has made is indicative of his abilities. An additional quality he possesses is his ability to go forward himself as well as start off quick attacking moves from the back. With Manchester United playing long balls and counter attacks quite often this season, this attribute of Veltman will definitely come in handy.
Veltman has averaged 2.5 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 0.8 blocks per game in addition to 6.6 clearances per game and 66.67% of his aerial duels won as well.
- JEFFREY BRUMA
Bruma is a Chelsea youth product who joined PSV Eindhoven only last summer and has been excellent for the Dutch side since then. His recent impressive performances have helped him make the national side for the European qualifiers against Iceland and Kazakhstan. A tough tackler who does not fear to dive in, Bruma offers a physical presence similar to Kurt Zouma with whom Bruma has been widely compared. Bruma’s aerial ability is equally good as Veltman’s with Bruma winning a similar figure of 66.67% of his aerial duels as well this season.
Bruma has averaged 1.9 tackles, 1.9 interceptions, 5.8 clearances and 1.3 blocks per game, and has only been dribbled past at a rate of 0.4 times per game.
- VIRGIL VAN DIJK
Yet another promising centre-back who has made it close to the Dutch national side is Van Dijk, the rock at Celtic’s backline that has only 7 goals from the 10 they have played so far. Although he has emerged as a strong target for Arsenal in January and he has shown interest in the move, a further slip-up in places for Arsenal and a surge for United before January might shift the tides for Van Gaal. Although in the less competitive Scottish league, Van Dijk has been an imposing figure and has very impressive defensive figures. Like the other two, Van Dijk also has an impressive aerial record and is also been a regular goal-scorer, mostly from set-pieces, with 7 goals apiece in 66 appearances each for Celtic and his former side, FC Groningen.
Also having featured in the Europa League competitions, the 1.93m tall defender has averaged 7.67 clearances, 1.33 blocks and 2.33 interceptions per game.
Here is a comparison chart:
[STATS CREDIT: SQUAWKA & WHOSCORED]