Eight months ago, Coventry City completed the permanent signing of Milan van Ewijk, spending a reported €4m on the defender who made the move from Heerenveen. Since then, the Dutchman has featured 42 times for the Sky Blues across all competitions, registering seven goal contributions in a crucial campaign for the club. The 23-year-old has quickly become a fan favourite at the CBS Arena, but is he the best right-back in the second tier at the moment?
PSV, Anderlecht and Sporting Lisbon were all admirers of Milan van Ewijk before his move to Coventry. At Heerenveen, he featured 67 times in the Eredivisie, starting every single one of those games as the club recorded back-to-back eighth-place finishes. Van Ewijk was the only outfield player last season to play every single minute of league football. Eventually, he was rewarded with a senior Netherlands national team call-up.
This season the former Den Haag defender has shown much of what he put on display last year. He’s been a dangerous attacking outlet under Mark Robins, while also proving himself as a solid defender for the side currently occupying 7th place in the Championship table, four points off the playoffs. His pace and relentless overlapping runs have made him a nightmare for opponents this season, and he put that on display during Monday’s match against Cardiff, when he set up Ellis Simms for the opening goal.
At just 23 years old he’s got bags of potential and could end up playing Premier League football next season. Another national team call-up could be on the cards ahead of this summer’s Euro’s, but he would have to beat plenty of competition. An FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United awaits Coventry City. A massive matchup at Wembley Stadium should give Milan van Ewijk the perfect platform to perform, and show Ronald Koeman among other managers exactly what he’s capable of.
