Most managers would openly admit that experiencing two injury-enforced withdrawals of key midfielders in the week leading up to EURO2024 would be nothing short of a nightmare.
For Ronald Koeman, that nightmare has become reality. Frenkie de Jong and Teun Koopmeiners have both left the Netherlands camp after picking up injuries, with Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen coming into the squad in their absence.
Having spent the latter half of 2023/24 on loan with Borussia Dortmund, Maatsen gained starting experience at a high level and reached the UEFA Champions League final – ultimately falling to a 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid.
Embed from Getty ImagesSpeaking on Maatsen’s recall to the final squad, Koeman told reporters on Tuesday that the youngster “is a versatile player, and a player who was only out of action for a week.”
“He was in the pre-selection and in the end, he was not initially included because we had others for his position.”
While Koeman could have recalled two players to the squad, the idea amongst the Dutch camp seems to be that Maatsen’s versatility will allow flexibility throughout the tournament. While left-back is his preferred position, the 22-year-old is capable in midfield too.
Koeman insisted that “with these 25 [players], we can go in any direction.”