Jetro Willems is open to a return to PSV, but has not yet heard anything from technical manager John de Jong. The 27-year-old left back can be picked up transfer-free after he did not renew his expiring contract with Eintracht Frankfurt. Willems hopes to return to his old level at his next club and is also aiming for a return to the Dutch national team.
Willems made an impression in the 2019/20 season as a mercenary at Newcastle United. Due to a serious knee injury, his season came to an abrupt end. He didn’t play in the past year, but he is now fit and ready for a new challenge. The left leg thinks it is a pity that he did not get a chance from Eintracht Frankfurt last season, but no more than that. “That’s how it goes sometimes. I could just extend my contract, but I decided not to accept the club’s offer. Given my sporting situation, the management understood, although they would have preferred that I had not left on a free transfer ”, he says in an interview with the Algemeen Dagblad.
With a transfer-free status, he can look for a new club. PSV is reportedly looking for a stand-in from Philipp Max, so a return to Eindhoven, the club he played for between 2011 and 2017, is not inconceivable. “I haven’t spoken to anyone at PSV yet. Only Mart van den Heuvel (former team manager, ed.) Has sent me an app to ask if I will come back. And that I am certainly not allowed to go to Ajax “, he jokes.” We will see. I have enough offers and first go on holiday to see what I want to do. England? I could go there, but I throw other things don’t go away in advance. Good clubs need two players in all positions. “
Willems is open to a discussion with PSV. “You can always talk”, emphasizes the left back, who is aware of the latest developments in the Philips Stadium. “It is great that PSV now radiates the ambition to compete with Ajax again. If they want to, they have to accelerate. Ajax has also brought in Daley Blind, Dusan Tadic and Davy Klaassen. I think you have to look for it in that category of players in terms of experience, if you want to progress. ” PSV has strengthened itself for the new season so far with Joël Drommel and André Ramalho. The names of Luuk de Jong and Davy Pröpper are also mentioned in the corridors.
Eventually, Willems hopes to get back to the level at a new club and then a return to the Dutch national team is not ruled out, according to the player himself. “If I had been a bad player, I would have said it wouldn’t happen. But I know what I can do and I think it is a realistic goal. Last year I was on a roll in Newcastle and on my way back to that direction. That was interrupted for a while due to the injury, but I have been available for competitions for a few months and have always been on the bench. It will really work out. “