Dutch icon Pierre van Hooikdonk has urged the Netherlands to bring in Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven for the clash against England, to stop Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka.
The former forward has been speaking to Studio Fußball, relayed by Voetbal Primeur, and urged Ronald Koeman to make the change ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final.
The Netherlands take on England in the semi-finals of the tournament tomorrow after seeing off Türkiye in the quarte-finals.
Much of the talk ahead of the game has been about the Tottenham defender, who has been used as a substitute by Koeman throughout the tournament so far.
He’s only managed three minutes against Poland, 25 minutes against Austria, 21 minutes against Romania and then 17 minutes against Türkiye.
Some believe that has been a mistake and needs to be changed for the clash with England, specifically to counter the threat from Bukayo Saka.
The Arsenal star has undoubtedly been the star of the show for the Three Lions this summer, rescuing England in the quarterfinals with a superb solo effort before converting in the penalty shootout that saw Gareth Southgate’s side progress.
That’s led to some calls in the Netherlands for a change and for Van de Ven to come in, with the Tottenham man even asked specifically about his rival from Arsenal in a press conference this week.
And it seems Van Hooijdonk shares the opinion, calling for the change in his appearance on Studio Fußball this week.
“That really has to do with his (Van de Ven’s) duelling power,” he said when asked about the debate.
“He often takes the opponent with him in his tackle. He is just in pain; he is really bothered by it. Besides the fact that with his speed he also has a lot of can correct.
“In my opinion, Saka is the most dangerous player in the English team. You often hear trainers say: we look from match to match. Then you look very specifically at that opponent. Then you could well say: Saka is lightning fast, I put Van de Ven against that.“
