Following Everton, Internazionale is also interested in Denzel Dumfries, so assured Football International. The right back of PSV was already facing a departure last year and after a third season in Eindhoven service and a meritorious performance in the first European Championship match of the Dutch national team, a transfer seems inevitable. With the transfer-free arrival of Philipp Mwene, PSV has already anticipated a possible departure.
Dumfries was involved in the first two goals in the European Championship match between the Netherlands and Ukraine (3-2 win) on Sunday and headed the winning goal against the ropes in the final phase. Boudewijn Zenden, specialist trainer at PSV, thinks that 25-year-old Dumfries is ready for the next step. “Whether he is ready for the European top? Denzel is ready for the next step, so I think: ‘yes”, says the former the Dutch international in The Telegraph.
“After the duel with Ukraine, you heard people say that he had a good run down the side. His final pass, the pass, he has really made progress in that,” emphasizes Zenden in the newspaper. “That and heading are aspects that we at PSV have paid attention to throughout the season. The fact that as a so-called wing back he could even have scored three times, also says how attacking the the Dutch has played.”
According to the Eindhovens Dagblad Everton still seems to be the main candidate to sign Dumfries in the short term. The English club will probably have to sell a player first to be able to permanently attract Dumfries and therefore the the Dutch international may have to be patient if he would like to go to the Premier League.
Lesley Esajas was the youth trainer of Dumfries in the A1 of VV Barendrecht six years ago. “I really think it’s a mistake that Denzel was not scouted at a younger age by a BVO. I really don’t understand that a club like Feyenoord has never gone through with it before,” says Esajas in turn. “When you see this, you also wonder how many talented guys are completely missed, because they never get a chance anywhere. There must be quite a few. Denzel is an example for such guys.”
Janus Braun was Sparta’s head of scouting when Dumfries was brought to Rotterdam-West. His enormous drive and physique were already noticeable then. “His skill left much to be desired, but we knew: this boy would never disappoint. We had no doubts about that with the scouting. ( . . . ) Now he is really more mature. But I didn’t expect all this. He didn’t have the velvet technique and the football talent, but look what he gets out of himself. We are really proud at Sparta.”