Brighton and Hove Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen is a ‘gift from heaven’ for the Netherlands national team and could be as good as Manuel Neuer.
That’s according to former Netherlands goalkeeper coach Frans Hoek, who believes the Brighton man is destined for the absolute top of the game.
Verbruggen has been enjoying a rapid rise in the game in recent years, establishing himself as a rising star at Anderlecht before securing a €20m move to Brighton last summer.
He’s been in and out of the Seagulls team this season thanks to Roberto de Zerbi’s preference for rotating his squad throughout a campaign.
That’s not made a difference in the national set up, with he 21-year-old making his debut in October and picking up five appearances since that point, starting four of the last five games.
All indications are that he will be Ronald Koeman’s first choice in the position at Euro 2024 and he’s not done his chances any harm on that front, keeping clean sheets in three of his five appearances and only conceding a goal each to France and Germany.
Hoek has certainly been impressed by what he’s seen so far and believes the Brighton man could become as good as Manuel Neuer.
“If you look at the present: Bart Verbruggen is now there, a gift from heaven and also settled in the Premier League. This also applies to Flekken at Brentford,” he said.
“He (Verbruggen) is potentially the very best we have and the most all-round in all areas: depth, crosses, shots on goal, build-up. Flekken has also developed well.
“It is always about who will be the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Apart from Neuer, everyone is evenly matched, but I also recognize Manuel’s naturalness in Verbruggen. A natural. Is he that good yet? No, but he can be. That is good news for the Dutch goalkeepers.”
