Leeds United duo Joel Piroe and Pascal Struijk need to be playing Premier League football, either at Elland Road or with other clubs, if they are to make it into the Netherlands squad moving forwards.
That’s according to Voetbal Zone, who cover 10 ‘shadow players’ who hope to make their debut under Ronald Koeman in 2024.
The Netherlands are now looking to the future after qualifying for the European Championships in Germany next summer.
The pressure is on Koeman to keep revitalising the squad and re-establishing the Netherlands at the top of the European game as they once were.
He has plenty of options available to him at this moment in time, with a strong base of international players currently topped up by a rising crop of players on the outside looking to force their way in.
On the defender, VZ say he has ‘continued to impress’ in the Championship following relegation last season but a place in the squad for the Euros ‘does not seem possible’ despite that.
However, were he to make a summer transfer to a club ‘in the sub-top of the Premier League’, then that would transform him into a ‘serious option’ for the Dutch team in future.
It’s a similar situation for Piroe, who has six goals for Leeds in the league this season following his summer move from Swansea.
That means he’s not an option for the Netherlands right now but if he were to get a chance in the Premier League next season and score there, he will ‘undoubtedly’ change that and become an option for Koeman and his team.
The sentiment is very much a clear one, if they continue playing in the Championship, it seems Koeman, and his team won’t be looking their way any time soon.
