Roger Schmidt is convinced that Yorbe Vertessen can become a top player at PSV in the future. The Belgian attacker regularly gets opportunities from the PSV trainer this season. Due to the injury of Noni Madueke and Cody Gakpo during the lost Europa League match with AS Monaco (1-2), Vertessen beckons on Sunday afternoon in the top match against Ajax.
Due to a muscle injury, Madueke has to miss next Sunday’s match against Ajax. Vertessen seems to be a serious candidate to make up for the absence of the English youth international at the Eindhoven team. Schmidt is full of praise for PSV’s youth product, although according to the trainer he must work on his return. “Look at Lionel Messi or Robert Lewandowski, who weren’t that effective in their younger days either,” Schmidt is quoted as saying by the Eindhovens Dagblad.
In the final phase of the match against Monaco, with a 1-1 score, Vertessen missed a good chance at 2-1. He shot wildly wide from the penalty area. Vertessen’s gloominess also struck analysts ESPN after the game, but Schmidt has confidence in his pupil. “Yorbe will have to get into situations like this more often and then become less hectic. I am convinced that he has the potential to become a top player for PSV and do not forget that he has been standing still for two years due to an injury.”
Yorbe Vertessen’s missed chance against AS Monaco can be seen from minute 4:00.
After the Europa League match, PSV has two days less rest than Ajax before the top match on Sunday. However, Schmidt does not want to waste too many words on this fact. “We’re not going to talk about that anymore. We have to make the best use of the time we have. Earlier this season we also had little time when we went to Ajax, because we had played against FC Midtjylland. We did well then too”, the German coach referred to PSV’s 0-4 victory over Ajax in the battle for the Johan Cruijff Scale at the beginning of August.
However, Schmidt found his team to be better in the Europa League on Thursday evening. “The story of that match against Ajax was that we countered well twice and therefore scored two goals,” he writes Football International from the mouth of the PSV trainer. “After that we defended well and Nicolás Tagliafico got a red card. We played it smart in the second half. But I thought we were tactically better against Monaco yesterday than against Ajax. But Sunday is another test.” Finally, Schmidt says that he does not intend to change his playing style, following the big 4-0 defeat of Borussia Dortmund in Amsterdam. “Playing passively is not a solution, then we have no chance. Then they can play their game and dominate.”