Why Man Utd scouts are watching Netherlands versus Senegal
Karan Tejwani
- 21 Nov 2022 10:00 GMT
- 4 min read
Netherlands kick off their World Cup campaign today with a clash against Senegal and they are in an optimistic mood ahead of the clash.
The Dutch haven’t been at the World Cup since 2014 having missed the 2018 edition in Russia, but have a youthful group ahead of this winter’s tournament in Qatar.
Manager Louis van Gaal has been bigging his team up, suggesting it’s better than the group he had in 2014 and his side could go all the way to bring the World Cup to Netherlands for the first time.
READ: Depay in, De Ligt out: How will Netherlands line up at the 2022 World Cup?
There will also be heavy interest in this clash from England, where Manchester United will be closely watching with an eye on three players in particular.
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Man Utd have interest in Netherlands squad
The Red Devils have been keeping a keen eye on the Dutch market since the arrival of Erik ten Hag as head coach earlier this year and his transfers have been reflective of that.
They will have one representative in the Dutch squad in Tyrell Malacia, however, could add to that in January if they are willing to make moves.
READ: What is The Netherlands' World Cup squad?
The player they will have a big focus on is Frenkie de Jong, who they chased for 17 weeks in the summer transfer window but were unable to complete his transfer from Barcelona.
Interest in him hasn’t died down as of yet and Ten Hag still remains hopeful of getting a deal done – how he performs at the World Cup could push a transfer through.
Another player they will be looking at is Cody Gakpo, who has shone for PSV this season, being involved in 30 goals across all competitions – 13 goals and 17 assists.
He is of interest to various clubs across Europe including Manchester United’s Premier League rivals Arsenal, but Ten Hag’s side will look to him to improve their attacking options.
21 – Cody Gakpo scored nine goals and provided 12 assists in the first 14 matchdays of this Eredivisie season, the third-highest tally of goal contributions after 14 Eredivisie games since 1999-00 (Ruud van Nistelrooij 27 in 1999-00 & Luis Suárez 25 in 2009-10). Star. pic.twitter.com/wVghgpUJlk
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) November 18, 2022
Finally, they will be focusing on Jurrien Timber, who has had a tougher campaign than last season with Ajax but is still being kept tabs on by Ten Hag and Manchester United.
He was of interest in the summer, but chose to stay in Amsterdam hoping to boost his World Cup chances – now, he can prove why he did so.
The World Cup return is big for many reasons for Netherlands and Manchester United representatives will have a big vested interest in their opener against Senegal, as well as the rest of their run.
