According to a recent report by Sky Sports, Hull City are closing in on PSV Eindhoven centre-back, Jordy de Wijs. Hull City are in desperate need of a quality defender with Michael Dawson returning to his former club, Nottingham Forest after his contract expired and it seems that de Wijs is set to be targeted to fill the void left by Dawson.
Hull City leaked 70 goals in the Championship last season as they finished at the 18th spot in the league standings with 49 points to their name. To better their credentials this time around, the Tigers need to tighten the screws at the back and there is no denying that. Although de Wijs is unfamiliar to English football, he is keen to make a move to the Championship.
Italian outfit, Perugia is also monitoring him closely but Hull City have the edge owing to the player’s desire to move to England. The Dutchman spent his youth career with Vlijmense Boys, RKC Waalwijk and PSV. He has had just one senior appearance with PSV but has played regularly in the Dutch second division and excelled during his loan spell with Eredivisie side, Excelsior, last season.
Besides, he also represented the Dutch youth sides on a number of occasions. In 19 appearances for the Kralingers in the previous term, de Wijs made 1.1 tackles, 2.1 interceptions, 8.3 clearances and 1 block per game on an average. His statistics are impressive and considering that he isn’t likely to get much game time at PSV, moving to a new club would make a lot of sense.
Moreover, he has just one year left on his current contract and to keep his developmental process on the right track, he should aim to move to a club where he can ply his trade regularly. Tall and physically very strong, the defender is good in the air and reads the attacking endeavours of the opposition in a decent fashion. Further, he is an astute interceptor and has the necessary pace in his legs as well.
He has not played in England before but he has the ingredients to excel. Max Clark, Michael Dawson and Moses Odubajo have turned down the chance of staying on at the KCOM Stadium whereas Michael Hector, Ola Aina and Fikayo Tomori have returned to their parent club, Chelsea. Impliedly, someone like de Wijs would be a welcome addition to Nigel Adkins’ arsenal.
Statistics Credits: WhoScored