Koeman advises Xavi Simons to stay with PSV for a year longer: ‘Great talent’

National coach Ronald Koeman was in the Philips Stadium on Sunday afternoon and saw a bad top match between PSV and Ajax (3-0). Xavi Simons, who just turned 20, was once again the star of the Eindhoven side.

“He is a great talent. What Simons shows today in such a match with such major interests…”, says Koeman. “It is a player who plays football uninhibited, and you do not see that at Ajax at all.”

At Orange, Koeman still sees a left winger in the PSV player. “Simons can certainly grow to a number 10. But first he has to show himself on the left in Orange.”

“He is already very important for PSV,” says the national coach, who advises the talent not to return abroad next summer. “I think it’s good if he stays in the Netherlands for another year.”

Koeman does not expect the former (youth) player from Barcelona and PSG to leave the premier league again in the summer. “I estimate Xavi as a boy who weighs his choices very carefully. The most important thing is that he starts playing. You develop the best from that.”

The Orange will meet again in June for the Final Four of the Nations League. Despite his lesser form at Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk is a certainty in the selection. “But he will have to play better,” says Koeman, who disagrees with the harsh criticism that Marco van Basten previously had on the captain of the Orange. “Because Liverpool are now playing less well than before, Van Dijk is just more often in a situation where he may make a mistake.”

Despite the weak performances against France (4-0 defeat) and Gibraltar (meager 3-0 win), the national coach does not intend to select heavily. “Maybe in one or two positions. Tijjani Reijnders from AZ is a player we are looking at.”

What the young Simons did well, Ajax striker Steven Bergwijn left behind, Koeman saw. The national coach cites two moments from the top match. Bergwijn first failed to bring teammate Steven Berghuis into position. Later, Simons kept the overview and offered Johan Bakayoko a great opportunity.

“Those are crucial moments. Bergwijn has to give that ball”, Koeman judges. The 25-year-old Ajax player symbolizes the failed season with the team from Amsterdam.

The defending champion played a very weak match in Eindhoven and must even be careful not to lose third place to AZ. “It was certainly miserable in the first half,” said analyst Pierre van Hooijdonk.

Commentator Arno Vermeulen does not expect Ajax to reach the level under Erik ten Hag again soon. “A number of players lack quality. And some, such as Bergwijn, have really been playing far below their level for months. There is really something going on there, you can’t just get that back on track.”

Whether John Heitinga is the right trainer for Ajax is seriously doubted at the table. “Heitinga has not won any major matches, except for the cup match against Feyenoord,” says Vermeulen. “Because of those seven victories in a row, it seemed that way, but they were all teams from the right row.

Van Hooijdonk: “Ajax was five points behind Feyenoord when Heitinga took over, right? Now there are eleven…”