One of the few players who managed to stand out for SBV Excelsior was Couhaib Driouech. The striker is very close to leaving Rotterdam and signing for PSV. The Kralingers are looking to improve their budget to compete in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie next season and selling Couhaib Driouech to PSV will be key to making that happen.
PSV must pay 3 million and 500 thousand euros to sign Couhaib Driouech from SBV Excelsior.
The Boerens have not yet reached an agreement with Couhaib Driouech. Initially, PSV is negotiating the purchase of the striker’s rights with SBV Excelsior, and will then negotiate terms with Couhaib Driouech.
At 22 years old, Couhaib Driouech has attracted interest from clubs such as Sevilla, Racing Club de Lens, Red Bull Salzburg and Leeds United.
There are so many new posts, I am not sure where to comment!
Dear Friends (and also Aloysius),
Below is my further tactical analysis of Turkey and my recommendations. Under Montella, Turkey have generally set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation (although they played a more traditional 4-3-3 against Austria). Given the absence of the talented players I mentioned earlier, it’s not completely clear how they will line-up against Oranje, but I suspect they will play in a deeper and more defensive alignment, so perhaps they will favor the 4-3-3 again.
Also as discussed, Montella brings an overall pragmatic style and will look to prevent our attackers making runs forward and getting behind them. In attack, their midfield is focused on integrating with their front line to create wide overloads. Yet, the overall emphasis is on balance. I believe that without the ball, Turkey will sit back and remain in a compact structure, perhaps dropping into a deep block at times to eliminate through balls and passes lofted over the top.
Going forward, it is my perception that Turkey always look to maintain their structure to avoid problems when eventual turnovers do occur. Now that Calhanoglou has returned, I would look for him act as a withdrawn playmaker who will spray longer, diagonal passes to teammates making aggressive attacking runs. I expect Turkey to break out quickly against the Netherlands, utilize a fast build-up and quick transition, and generate most of their attacking output from wider areas. Corners and free kicks will also likely be very important.
Gunok, their goalkeeper is outstanding, and an excellent shot-stopper. However, he tends to stay back on his line and rely on that shot-stopping ability rather than venturing out to intercept crosses. Helpfully, Turkey’s center backs have generally handled those types of aerial threats themselves, although with Demiral now suspended, some uncertainty and potential confusion may be introduced in that area. The full backs, Kadioglu and Muldur, are both very attacking oriented, and while Muldur tends to overlap on the right, Kadioglu looks to invert more and often combines with teammates in interior areas. We can definitely exploit the space behind both fullbacks if we are able to successfully draw them out or isolate them.
Turkey’s midfield will be another area of uncertainty with two of their three regular starters suspended. The combination of those three worked well for the Turks, as the Haarlem-born Kokcu often looks to attack from the edges and drifts wide to create overloads, while Yuksek plays as more of a holding mid and Calhanoglou serves as the playmaker and tempo-setter. The man from Inter will now be teamed with some new midfield partners (perhaps Ozcan and Ayhan), and I imagine their regular movement and automations will be less fluid and some mistakes in timing and positioning may be made. Ronald will need to play a midfield trio that can capitalize on these types of errors and find diagonal passing options to slice through Turkey’s back line.
Finally, up top, Yildiz from Juventus normally features on the left, has a high work rate and helps back defensively, but still manages to penetrate the opposing back line frequently. On the right, Guler is a young and talented wing looking to break in at Real Madrid. However, he often plays more of a free, roaming role and drifts inside to act as a second number 10. Finally, the frontline is led by Yilmaz from Galatasaray, who runs into the channels but does not necessarily play as the tip of the trident. He often drops deeper and plays as somewhat of a false 9. The challenge for us presented by these attackers is they are all skilled, mobile, quick and particularly dangerous in transition. Yildaz and Guler are two of the players already on yellows as well, so they may be somewhat subdued in their willingness to challenge our build-up.
As for recommendations, I prefer consistency in our approach, so I would likely persist with the majority of our starting eleven against Romania, but I struggle with Dumfries, as he is also on a yellow. Geertruida or Frimpong might be a better choice, although Denzel was so active in the prior match. If Bergwijn is not available, Ronald will have a tough choice but I believe will select Malen, who is not as helpful in possession but may be the man to break through Turkey’s back four.
I look forward to your thoughts and to watching this matchup play out tomorrow!
I really hope Oranje overcome Turkije and progress further in this tournament, not least so we are treated to the further wise counsel of Nicolaas, Aloysius and Hendrik!