The characteristics of a championship are crucial to understand if a player is ready for the next level, especially for the jump from the big five leagues to the second level. In this sense, there are certain positions that need a certain combination to generate credibility in the scouting of powerful teams. This is the case of full-backs or wingers in leagues such as the Eredivisie or the Belgian Jupiler League.
In this text we wanted to select U21 players who play as wingers or full-backs in both leagues and who meet reliable parameters in one-on-one defence. One of the peculiarities of Dutch and Belgian football is the attacking vocation and willingness of almost all positions, which often means that they may not fit in a football where defensive consistency and resistance in duels will be much higher.
One of the few examples of extrapolation to more demanding contexts of a young or very young full-back playing in such countries is that of Hungarian Milos Kerkez in the Conference League. His ability to measure up in the defensive duel in the final third explained the player’s enormous potential.
One of the key factors is that in Dutch and Belgian football, these positions enjoy a lot of attacking frequency, they go forward a lot and, in the cases of more ball-dominant teams, the difference in quality is so great that they do not get used to defending for longer, something that can happen to them if they are transferred to teams in a higher league that do not have the ball as much or whose status in the standings is low and therefore not as prominent. Measuring them in defensive consistency and dueling situations is paramount to figure out the real potential of the player if such a transfer occurs.
Hugo Siquet
On loan from Freiburg, Hugo Siquet has proven to be one of the best wingers in the Belgian championship. Unlike the full-back, Siquet has proven to be able to contribute offensively in those parameters more suited to a full-back, such as completed crosses and key passes, but has also shown good numbers in the individual defensive department. A very complete player who serves as a sample for a search that will allow us to know if he is capable of measuring himself at a higher level.
Devyne Rensch
Although he has been injured recently, a very complete profile, and one that is sounding for big English clubs, is that of Devyne Rensch, a very physical profile, very involved in attacking plays, typical of Ajax’s offensive vocation, but very reliable in defensive tasks. His ability to show similar attacking power with concentration and reliability in the first third makes him one of the most capable full-backs to perform in more demanding contexts.
Quilindschy Hartman
Quilindschy Hartman is another good example of a full-back who fulfils the defensive responsibilities of a team that attacks a lot. This is evident in his ability to win duels in the opposition half as well as in his own half. A Feyenoord youth player, Hartman has the ability to perform in higher leagues.
This graph corresponds to another full-back or winger from Dutch or Belgian football. In our database, filtering by grouped metrics that reflect a player’s level in different playing situations makes scouting work easier in just seconds of time.
