'The central pairing of Nick Verschuren and Dies Janse is better than that of Josip Sutalo and Youri Baas'

The central defensive pairing of Nick Verschuren and Dies Janse is better than Josip Sutalo and Youri Baas. Every day on Voetbalzone, we put forward three claims about the top Dutch clubs. We also regularly feature teams outside the traditional top three. The Ajax loanees Nick Verschuren (FC Volendam) and Dies Janse (FC Groningen) are making an excellent impression. Do you think they are a better central pairing than Sutalo and Baas, or do you completely disagree? Leave your opinion in the comments!

Verschuren and Janse are gaining valuable experience away from Amsterdam this season and are developing strongly. The two Ajax talents also made their mark last weekend. Together, they form the central pairing in Voetbalzone’s Team of the Week. The 21-year-old Verschuren quickly secured a starting spot at Volendam and is on course to help keep ‘Het Andere Oranje’ in the Eredivisie.

ESPN analyst Bram van Polen was wildly enthusiastic about the centre-back on Dit Was het Weekend. He even described Verschuren as a better defender than Sutalo. The Ajax loanee managed to keep Feyenoord at 0-0 with Volendam on Sunday. “Verschuren has received compliments on several occasions, but he’s a man possessed when he throws himself at the ball,” said Van Polen, who believes many other Eredivisie defenders could learn from him. “He’s a bit reckless at times and goes down easily, but he really throws himself into everything. And he reads the game well too.” In Van Polen’s view, Verschuren still has room for improvement when it comes to the ball, but defensively he considers him better than Sutalo.

The Croatian international made a mistake on Saturday during Ajax’s 1-2 defeat to FC Twente, Van Polen noted. “When you see that goal by Bart van Rooij and how Sutalo turns there, I hardly ever see that from Verschuren.”

Dies Janse

Whilst Verschuren managed to keep Feyenoord from scoring, Janse was the standout performer in FC Groningen’s 2-0 victory over Telstar. The Ajax loanee broke the deadlock after half an hour with a powerful header. Thanks to his fine performances, the left-footed centre-back has for months been seen as a potential successor to Youri Baas, who may be playing his final season at Ajax. Twenty-year-old Janse made his debut for the Dutch Under-21s at the end of March and has so far played six competitive matches for the first team in Amsterdam.

With Groningen, he has managed to win the last two league matches, meaning qualification for the play-offs for European football remains a realistic target. Coach Dick Lukkien’s side are currently tenth, just one point behind eighth-placed Sparta Rotterdam.

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