René van der Gijp tempers hype around Veerman: no world‑class player

René van der Gijp has tempered the enthusiasm around Joey Veerman, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder who recently returned to the Oranje. Despite an impression in four internationals, analysts say he is not a world‑class player and that will remain so.

Analysts doubt world class

"Veerman is simply a good player, but not a world‑class talent", said Van der Gijp. The assessment is shared by Kieft, Jansen, Egmond and Gijp, who jointly state that Veerman is not world‑class and that he will never become so.

Veerman was still on the bench against Germany, but then got a good substitute appearance and started the rest of the international period in the starting eleven. Van der Gijp thought it normal that he is back in the squad and added: "It's also nice for the boy".

The analyst referred to national team coach Ronald Koeman and said that Veerman has been "served out in a somewhat annoying way". His performances were especially scrutinised after the many ball contacts against Serbia, to which Van der Gijp joked: "We might not have reached 140, but we did reach 130".

Wim Kieft emphasized that Veerman is "already 27 years old" and that he "won't develop much further". These remarks underline the scepticism surrounding his further development.

Coming Friday, October 9, Veerman, if everything goes as planned, will be back in action for Borussia Dortmund against Werder Bremen at the Signal Iduna Park.