Rodgers attends Feyenoord to scout De Vrij

Numerous reports today suggest Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers attended Feyenoord’s match against PSV Eindhoven on Sunday to watch centre back Stefan de Vrij in action.

backroomstaff

The Daily Mail report that “The 21-year-old central defender has been on Rodgers’ radar for a number of months.”

“We can confirm that Brendan Rodgers was here on Sunday,” Sky Sports quote a Feyenoord spokesman.

Here’s our scout report on the ball playing Dutchman.

Stefan de Vrij
Date of Birth: 5th February 1992 (Age 20)
Place of Birth: Ouderkerk aan den IJssel, Netherlands
Club: Feyenoord
Position: Centre Back
Height: 6ft 2

Stefan de Vrij is a highly rated Dutch defender who plays his trade for Feyenoord Rotterdam. He is considered by many as the best defensive talent that has come out the Dutch football in a long time and the answer to the national team’s defensive woes.

Taking over the captains armband from Ron Vlaar, who left for Aston Villa, de Vrij has been nothing short of a revelation, putting in strong and dominant displays from the back. He is quick and physical in defending, good in the air and the ground, composed on the ball very much typifies the talent we should be after. G

ood at marking and tracking players, what strikes me most about de Vrij’s game is timing of the tackle. He reads the opposition well and chooses his time to produce a tackle. Another pleasing aspect of his game is that he more often than not tries to play his way out of trouble. He active takes part in the build-up play and is adept at recycling possession.

He started off as a midfielder and is very comfortable and patient on the ball. He has also played a couple of seasons as right back, so he brings with him versatility too. Similar to Pearce, he can push up from defence and play the ball maintaining a high line. Composed beyond his age and with an impressive reading of the game, I very much expect him to develop in to a very good player. However he still suffers from those lapses of concentration and the occasional poor touch that are characteristic of a young defender but those should get weeded out with time and experience. He also needs to develop a little more patience on the ball to pick his passes. He has constantly kept improving since making his debut 3 seasons ago, and if he continues at the same rate the he will definitely become a good premier league level player.

His contract is set to run out at the end of the 2014 season, and would cost us a reported £8 million. I can’t really see us going after him at that price but rumours are rife that Feyenoord sporting director Martin Van Geel has advised the owners to sell de Vrij if they are not able to reach an agreement regarding his contract soon. So while it would surprise me to see him make a move to Liverpool this season, he could very well be a realistic prospect in the summer transfer window. From the players perspective too it will be better for his devolvement too if he stays at de Kuip and gains some valuable experience.

More from This Is Anfield

Fan Comments