Ahead of the Johan Cruyff Shield between PSV and Feyenoord on Sunday, we look at five players who have either moved from the Eredivisie to other leagues this summer, or still could.
The Dutch Eredivisie has always been a breeding ground for big talents on their way to the top.
There have been elite overseas players like Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) and Luis Suárez, while homegrown talents such as Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder are a few of many to have conquered Europe after growing up in De Hollandse School – inspired by Johan Cruyff’s Total Football principles.
In the summer transfer window of 2023, Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig) and Tijjani Reijnders (Milan) transferred from the Eredivisie to big clubs and made an instant impact.
The folks at OptaJohan have taken a look at current Eredivisie talent who could be on the move or have already moved and could be set to shine in 2024-25.
Mats Wieffer
The biggest transfer out of the Eredivisie so far this summer – moneywise at least – is the move of Mats Wieffer from Feyenoord to Brighton and Hove Albion. For a reported fee of no less than €30 million, the Premier League side have acquired themselves a defensive midfielder who had a major role in Feyenoord’s Eredivisie title win in 2022-23, as well as in their glorious domestic cup campaign in 2023-24.
Wieffer became a Netherlands international in March 2023 (9 caps, 1 goal) and if it wasn’t for an injury picked up at the end of last season, the 24-year-old would likely have been regular starter for Ronald Koeman’s team at Euro 2024.
Wieffer climbed up the Dutch football pyramid via FC Twente and Excelsior. He only featured in Twente’s first team for four minutes in the Eredivisie, so took a step back to Excelsior, Feyenoord’s neighbours and former satellite club. Two impressive seasons in the second tier saw Wieffer earn a move to De Kuip, where he became a fundamental player, linking up defence and attack.
When comparing Wieffer’s player radar to midfielders in Europe’s five biggest leagues in 2023-24, his playing style was most comparable to Mikel Merino’s at Real Sociedad (83%), Conor Gallagher’s at Chelsea (81%), Lucas Paquetá’s at West Ham (81%) and Rodri’s at Manchester City (80%). With the latter three being accomplished Premier League players, and Merino being heavily linked with a move to Arsenal, there’s reasons to think Wieffer could be a success in England.
Wieffer also proved himself at the highest club level last season in the UEFA Champions League. In the group stage, only one player won possession more often than him (50), while only six midfielders broke the opposition’s midfield line more often (39) before the knockout phase. One of those 39 midfield line-breaking passes came in the first half of the 3-1 win against Lazio, regaining possession himself and pushing forward before finding striker Santiago Giménez in the box to open the scoring.
In Eredivisie history, no player has won more points per game on average (minimum of 50 games played) than Wieffer (2.52), beating the likes of Cruyff and Clarence Seedorf.
Wieffer has shown the numbers to take a step up to the Premier League and prove the Dutch league – again – to be a stepping stone to the top.
By Joris van den Ban
Vangelis Pavlidis
If recent Eredivisie seasons have proven one thing, it’s this: if you’re looking for goals, find a Greek striker. In three of the last four Dutch top-flight campaigns, a Greek forward has finished first (or joint first) in the competition’s goalscoring chart.
After Giorgos Giakoumakis left VVV-Venlo following his prolific 2020-21 season, he has continued to score goals for Scottish giants Celtic and MLS side Atlanta United, before making a move to Cruz Azul in Mexico this summer. Tasos Douvikas made a big-money move from Utrecht to La Liga side Celta Vigo in 2023, but despite scoring seven times in just 885 minutes last season, is yet to really make his mark in Spain.
While Giakoumakis and Douvikas only played in the Eredivisie for one and two seasons respectively, Pavlidis built up his career in the Netherlands at a much steadier pace. The 25-year-old joined Willem II on loan from VfL Bochum in January 2019, scoring five goals for the Tilburg side in the remainder of the 2018-19 season. Willem II had quickly seen enough and signed the Greek striker on a three-year deal until 2022.
During his time at the club, Pavlidis scored 28 goals for Willem II, at least 15 more than any other teammate over that period (ahead of the 13 goals of Alexander Isak).
When AZ were looking for a striker to replace Monaco-bound Myron Boadu in the summer of 2021, they snapped up Pavlidis as soon as possible – which proved to be a brilliant choice. In Alkmaar, Pavlidis continued his goalscoring form and proved to be incredibly consistent season after season, finding the net 10+ times in each of his most recent five Eredivisie campaigns; that put him in a star-studded list of just 11 players with 10+ goals in each of the last five seasons in any of Europe’s top six leagues.
It came as no surprise that Pavlidis made a big move this summer after finishing the 2023-24 Eredivisie campaign as joint-top goalscorer (29 goals – level with PSV’s Luuk de Jong). The Greek led all other players in the top-flight last season for touches in the opposition box (284), attempted the second-most shots (122) and shots on target (62) and proved once again to be a lethal finisher – just one player recorded a greater overperformance based on expected goals (5.3 – 29 goals from 23.7 xG).
In the 2024-25 campaign, we will see Pavlidis try to keep his scoring touch in Portugal with new club Benfica. The Greek has already found the net five times in his first four pre-season games.
Pavlidis left the Eredivisie as one of its best strikers in recent years. Since making his league debut in January 2019, he leads all others in almost every relevant offensive metric.
Historically, the Eredivisie has proven to be the starting point for many world-class strikers – ranging from Van Nistelrooy and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Van Persie and Suárez. Could Pavlidis be the next one to join that illustrious list?
By Wesley Victor Mak
Osame Sahraoui
Some find it admirable and see it as the entertainment they were promised, while others find it infuriating and a waste of possession; a winger persistently attempting to dribble past one or more opponents, regardless of the previous results. Osame Sahraoui epitomises this type of player who brings flair to the pitch.
Known as a prolific dribbler during his time in Norway, Sahraoui’s style has remained unchanged since his move to sc Heerenveen in January 2023. Since making his debut in February 2023, the 23-year-old has attempted more take-ons than any other player in the top six leagues (387), while only Jérémy Doku (170 out of 305) bettered him for successful take-ons over that period (155).
Additionally, Sahraoui had 47 take-ons where he attempted to get past more than one opponent, a figure only bettered by Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala (53). A prime example of this was his game against Almere City FC in December 2023, when he attempted the most take-ons in an Eredivisie match on record (22, including 8 multi take-ons).
Sahraoui’s audacity to keep attempting dribbles, as well as his unwillingness to back down, extends higher up the field as well. His average of 8.2 take-ons in the opposition half per 90 minutes was only bettered by three players in the top six leagues among those with at least 500 minutes in the 2023-24 season; Doku (8.7), Vinícius Júnior (8.6) and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (8.3).
However, this kind of bravado comes with risks. The Norwegian winger isn’t good for ball retention, or the patient game, favoured by managers like Pep Guardiola. Sahraoui lost possession with 32% of his touches in the Eredivisie last season, the ninth-highest percentage of all outfield players with at least 1,500 touches in any of the top six leagues.
He lost possession 19.9 times per 90 in the Eredivisie 2023-24, the eighth-most for a winger with at least 1,500 minutes in any of the top six leagues. And, of all the 125 players with 100+ take-ons in the top six leagues in 2023-24, 103 had a higher success rate than the Norwegian (36.2%).
Despite these challenges, Sahraoui was a standout player in Heerenveen’s otherwise unremarkable Eredivisie campaign. He was directly involved in the most goals (12 – 8 goals, 4 assists) and had the most shot involvements (122 – 76 shots, 46 chances created), the third-most for a player outside of Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV.
Sahraoui sealed a move to France with Lille on Thursday, and it will be fascinating to see how he takes to life in Ligue 1.
By Kasper Spruijt
Brian Brobbey
When assessing a centre-forward of Ajax, the unfair comparisons with club legends of the past always come up: “Does he tick all striker boxes like Marco van Basten and Patrick Kluivert?”
Few players in world football do, especially in the first stages of their career. Like many before him, 22-year-old Brian Brobbey has had to deal with such huge expectations, and after struggling initially, he seems to have found his footing. He was one of the few bright spots for Ajax in an otherwise dismal 2023-24; with 18 goals to his name, Brobbey finished fourth in the Eredivisie goalscorer charts and was voted Ajax’s Player of the Season by fans. He also became the Dutchman with the most goals for the club in a single league season since Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in 2007-08 (33).
Looking at his shot profile, Brobbey could typically be described as a fox in the box. Among all players with 30+ shots in the Eredivisie last season, he took all but four of his attempts from inside the box (95.3% – 81/85), including all 18 goals. In fact, Brobbey has netted 41 times in the Eredivisie throughout his career and none have come from outside the box. This century, only former teammate Sébastien Haller (73) and Cristiano (51) scored more goals in the Eredivisie exclusively from inside the box.
However, with Brobbey scoring 18 goals from 19.8 xG last season, there is room for improvement as a finisher.
But apart from being someone who gets into good shooting positions, Brobbey is proving himself more and more as the well-rounded striker the Amsterdam crowd demands. On top of leading the goalscoring charts for Ajax, Brobbey also had the joint-most assists (8), the second-most duels won (153) and the second-most completed dribbles (28) for the club.
A multi-faceted striker, Brobbey has been a nightmare to contain for his opponents. Only five players won more fouls than him in the Eredivisie last season (53), and just four players bettered him for fouls won in the final third (16).
Brobbey causes so much danger to his opponents that he provoked 11 cards, the second-most in the Eredivisie 2023-24.
After having such an impact in a down season for Ajax, one wonders what Brobbey can do in a better-functioning team, either in Amsterdam or in a different environment.
By Joost Berger
Olivier Boscagli
PSV won the Eredivisie title last season in dominant fashion, with a Dutch manager whose main inspiration as a coach is the most influential Dutch football figure of all time in Johan Cruyff and a team mostly moulded in the Dutch academies.
However, one of, if not the key cog of that title-winning team was a non-Dutchman. In his first four seasons at the club, Olivier Boscagli developed into a solid if fairly unspectacular defender who was tidy in possession. But Peter Bosz seemed to unlock a new gear in the Monegasque-born centre-back.
Boscagli added much-needed verticality to the team, progressing the ball up the pitch through carries more than all but five players in the league (4,358 progressive metres in total) but mainly through his passing. He recorded a whopping 567 line-breaking passes, at least 100 more than any other player in the league. More importantly, the passes were not just to break the opponent’s forward line.
Boscagli had more forward-line breaking passes (254) and more midfield line breaking passes than any other player last Eredivisie season (343), while only teammate Joey Veerman managed to break the opposition defence with a pass more often (79 times) than the 26-year-old defender (60). Incidentally, Veerman is the only player who produced more line-breaking passes that led to a shot (73) than Boscagli (54).
While Boscagli’s passing – with, given the risks he often takes, a very respectable 87% accuracy – is the eye-catching feature of his game, his defensive prowess is not to be neglected. He won 63.8% of his duels in the 2023-24 Eredivisie season, won possession (249) more often than everyone except Peer Koopmeiners (285) and recorded more interceptions than any other player in the league (66).
Boscagli’s broad skillset, fuelled by his ability to read the game well both in and out of possession, has turned him into a versatile player who at a very high level is able to contribute in various roles and positions.
And while Peter Bosz will be thrilled if he can rely on Boscagli for PSV’s title defence for the whole of their campaign, there are plenty of other teams who could do with a left-footed defensive-minded player who contributes on both sides of the ball.
By Michiel Jongsma
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