Ronald Koeman spoke upon his selection, and specifically spared some thoughts for Joey Veerman. Veerman, a player who struggled at times at this summerโs Euros, recently withdrew from the Nations League squad due to injury complaints following PSVโs match with Go Ahead Eagles.
Speaking more broadly on the midfielder, whose place has been taken by the twice-capped Justin Kluivert, Koeman widened the conversation to that of Veermanโs club career. The national team coach believes Veerman shouldโve moved away from the Eredivisie in order to improve:
โJoey is a player who needs to be challenged. I agree with him that it is too easy for him,โ Koeman said at his press conference. โPlayers in the Premier League become stronger because they have to play at full speed every three days. That is not the case in the Netherlands.โ
These comments followed after Veerman himself noted that due to the lack of resistance and competition in many Eredivisie matches, he can sometimes become a bit lazy. Koeman continued, โThese are players who are so good on the ball that they get more time. For him it would be a much-needed step that he has to take. Otherwise I think we will continue to see this.โ
