00:00Premier League clubs have signed players from the Dutch Eredivisie and Germany's Bundesliga
00:03for decades now.
00:04And for the most part, they've been hit or miss.
00:07For every Ruud van Nistelrooy or Raphael van der Vaart, there's an Alureta Jahanbachsch
00:11or Vincent Janssen.
00:12Equally, not every signing from Deutschland is as successful as Michael Ballack, for example.
00:17Sometimes they're Marco Marins.
00:18Can't be helped.
00:19But that shouldn't put clubs off, and it hasn't.
00:22Hugo Eketique joined Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer, Kai Havertz signed
00:26for Arsenal from Bayer Leverkusen, and they've both done pretty well for themselves in England.
00:30One of the picks of the bunch, van der Vaart, was a Dutchman who signed for Spurs from a
00:33team in Germany.
00:35Double whammy right there.
00:36Over here at 442HQ, we think we've found two players in Germany and the Netherlands who
00:40would immediately improve Tottenham next season, and the good news is, one of them already belongs
00:45to the club.
00:46Welcome back to the Boys a Bit Special with me, Joe Donoghue, where I'm spotlighting
00:49the best and brightest teenagers in world football.
00:51Spurs' season hasn't gone according to plan.
00:57You don't need to be an expert to work that one out.
00:59There's been something of a mutiny in the stands, and the team just don't look like
01:02hot stuff on the pitch either.
01:04Lads, it's Tottenham is having a revival in 2026.
01:07Spurs' XG is among the lowest in the Premier League this season, and that doesn't look
01:10like changing any time soon, because they're struggling to create chances.
01:14And if you can't create, you aren't going to score.
01:17Adding Conor Gallagher raises the ceiling of Spurs midfield, but does little for Tottenham's
01:20ball progression.
01:21Gallagher, João Paulinha, Archie Gray, Yves Bissouma, Lukas Bergwahl, Papisar and the
01:26injured Rodrigo Bentancur are not one progressive passer between them.
01:30Johan Lange, what have you been playing at?
01:33So that's where 4-4-2, doubling as transfer window consultants, come in.
01:36Generous, I know, doing all this for free.
01:38Dutch youngster Kij Schmidt has been linked with just about every top European club this
01:42season.
01:43And there's a very good reason for that.
01:45He's f***ing class, that's why.
01:47Schmidt is a central midfielder who does it all when he's on the ball.
01:50Especially playing at RZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, he won't be there for long.
01:53Chelsea, Newcastle, Real Madrid and Spurs have all been credited with an interest.
01:58So you can excuse RZ executives for diving into a pit of gold coins like Scrooge McDuck
02:02or having dollar signs rolling around in their eye sockets like a slot machine that's hit
02:06the jackpot, because they're going to make a killing.
02:09And let me be clear, this is not financial advice, but you might want to buy your Schmidt stocks
02:13now.
02:14I expect too many of you to have tuned into Crystal Palace vs RZ in the Conference League
02:18earlier this season.
02:19Why would you, if not a supporter of either club?
02:21Well, 4-4-2 did.
02:23Palace had clearly done their homework on Schmidt, trying to stop him at source by getting touch-tight
02:27where possible.
02:28Which was pretty much whenever he received the ball with his back-to-goal.
02:31Once he's got a feel for possession and is looking forward, that's when you as an opposing
02:34team are in trouble.
02:35Nevertheless, Schmidt still managed to make five progressive passes, three passes into the penalty
02:39area, three into the final third, and register RZ's only assist on the night.
02:44Not amazing numbers, but this was his first test against elite Premier League opposition,
02:48and he passed with flying colours.
02:50This shouldn't be a surprise though, because he's been doing it for years.
02:53In 2022-23, Schmidt was arguably the best player in the UEFA Youth League, which is a cloned
02:58version of the Champions League for under-19 teams, plus some domestic title winners who
03:02go through a different path.
03:04En route to the final, where RZ comprehensively beat the Hydric split 5-0, more on that later,
03:09Schmidt and RZ had seen off Eintracht Frankfurt by the same scoreline, defeated Real Madrid
03:134-0 and Barcelona 3-0.
03:15During that Barcelona game, Schmidt lobbed the keeper from the half-way line.
03:18I'd sum that up by saying the Dutch equivalent for cojones, but I'm worried about sounding
03:22like Steve Steve McLaren, so just look it up for yourselves.
03:26Schmidt is all action, and there's little hesitation to his game.
03:29He's got a certain ticky-tacker about him.
03:31So naturally, comparisons have been drawn to Pedri.
03:34Others prefer to describe him as the Dutch Kevin De Bruyne though.
03:37He's got great feet and all-round technical ability.
03:40He's flighty and robust, and he operates well in tight spaces, rarely over-complicating
03:44it.
03:45He's great at taking players on as well as threading passes through for wingers, cutting
03:49inside or centre-forwards, which, as luck would have it, currently includes former Spurs
03:54man Troy Parrott at RZ.
03:55Maybe don't ask him what he thinks of Tottenham.
03:57OK, so why is this explicitly good for Spurs, beyond the obvious, he creates chances and transports
04:02the ball well?
04:03Well, that's because progressive players like Schmidt are usually good at one or the
04:07other.
04:08Passing or carrying.
04:09Because Schmidt does both, it makes him especially useful in a transitional side, as well as in
04:14a team that sees more of the ball.
04:16When the opportunity arises to carry into space, he'll take it.
04:19But faced with a low block and teams setting up defensively, he'll bide his time and then
04:23pick a killer pass.
04:24If you see where the De Bruyne comparisons come from now.
04:27Rarely is there a sure thing in football.
04:29Because players can promise so much and see their progression derailed by injury, intra-club
04:34politics, ill-discipline or any number of external factors.
04:37But if we were to hedge our bets, we'd say Schmidt is a future Premier League star.
04:42And so if Spurs are serious about their interests, they'll need to move fast and make their argument
04:46a watertight one as to why he should pick North London.
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05:04Speaking of watertight, how about that Spurs defence?
05:06Despite their anemic attacking output this season, Tottenham's defence has largely been
05:10one of the Premier League's best.
05:12At least in terms of the number of chances they've been conceding.
05:15You could probably attribute much of that to Miki van der Ven, because when he isn't
05:18going on Masey's 70 yard dribbles and turning into Jurgen Klinsmann in the opposition
05:22penalty area, he's actually a pretty competent defender too.
05:25But that comes at a price and if Spurs fail to make the Champions League, which looks increasingly
05:30likely, then you have to say there's a chance at least that van der Ven could be off in
05:33the summer.
05:34Just about every top club it feels is after a new centre half, not least Liverpool who could
05:39be in need of two.
05:40So hypothetically speaking, what should you do when your aerially dominant, quick over the
05:44ground centre back is signed by someone else?
05:46Well, recall the gargantuan Balkan teenager you signed a few years ago who dominates in
05:51both penalty areas.
05:52That should do it.
05:54The Croatian teenager is on his third loan spell since agreeing to sign for Spurs, and
06:00he's doing stupidly good things, especially in the air.
06:03Vuscovic is averaging an aerial success rate above 80% in the duels he contests, which is
06:08quite a few.
06:09And if that doesn't mean much to you, consider this.
06:11Virgil van Dijk averages around 75% success, and fellow elite central defenders are having
06:17a great season if their average tips above 70.
06:20Vuscovic skipped adolescence altogether, presumably.
06:23He went from child to adult and made his senior debut for High Ducks play to 15, then became
06:27the club's youngest goalscorer five days after his 16th birthday.
06:31By this point he was already well over six feet tall.
06:34Must be nice.
06:35Not long after, Spurs decided they must have him and dropped £11 million on the 16-year-old,
06:39who probably received a chunk of change as a sign-in-on fee.
06:43That must be nice too.
06:44He's 6'4", if you were wondering, and comes from a family of footballers.
06:48Just don't ask him about why his elder brother Mario is currently banned from playing alongside
06:52him at Hamburg this season.
06:54Something something failed a drugs test.
06:56Anyway, he was sent on loan to Poland, graduating from the extra class as School of Hard Knocks,
07:01then joined Belgian club Vestalo on another loan last season.
07:04He finished the campaign as Vestalo's second top scorer with seven goals, which is not
07:07bad going for a centre-back.
07:09You can guess how the majority of those have scored, can't you?
07:11This year, besides dominating Bundesliga forwards in the air, he's coming into his own in a
07:15top European league.
07:17So much so that talk around his inevitable Spurs return is beginning to pick up the pace ahead
07:21of next season.
07:22All roads lead to Seven Sisters.
07:23Do you remember Top Gear's star in a reasonably priced car leaderboard?
07:27No?
07:28YouTube audience is probably not the best place for that reference.
07:30Well, Voskovic is pretty high on 4-4-2's do not mess with leaderboard.
07:34He's well hard.
07:35That's why, if Spurs do sign Keijs Schmidt, the baby-faced Dutchman probably has some
07:39making up to do.
07:40Because remember that UEFA Youth League final, which AZ won 5-0?
07:44That was against Hajduk Split.
07:46And in that Hajduk Split team was Luka Voskovic.
07:48Yikes.
07:49So to recap.
07:50Elite box defender.
07:51Check.
07:52Coming to a league near you?
07:55Also check.
07:56Don't make us look like Mugspurs.
07:57Make it happen.
07:58And remember, subscribe to 4-4-2 for more Boys A Bit Special, unique stories, wonder kids
08:03and so much more.
08:06Until next time, bye for now.
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