Yorbe Vertessen and Mohamed Ihattaren formed a feared duo in the youth of PSV. The two played in various youth teams of the Eindhoven club and made an impression. It would have been the ultimate crown on the youth academy for PSV if Vertessen-Ihattaren had become the attacking duo of the first team, but it all turned out differently. Vertessen regularly takes his playing minutes, but Ihattaren left Eindhoven ingloriously.
“It was a fantastic duo. As soon as Mo got the ball, Yorbe started sprinting. Those two were able to find each other blindly,” said former PSV coach Peter Uneken on Sunday NOS. “Mo was the more explosive of the two, always present. Yorbe was quite timid, but so dangerous because of his speed and scored wildly in the youth. They should have become PSV’s dream couple.”
A little bit of magic from Mo???????#PSVBAR pic.twitter.com/MBO5s49jIM
— PSV (@PSV) Nov 28, 2018
Ihattaren made his debut in the first team of PSV at the age of sixteen, but Vertessen needed longer. “Yorbe is a calm boy and has always been raised quite protectively and often had to be taken out of his comfort zone when taking the next step. That all takes time,” explains Uneken. Injury also played a role, partly due to his explosive way of playing.
Vertessen is doing well this season with five goals and three assists, but Uneken remains critical. “Yorbe is very goal-oriented, but should keep the overview much more. He needs too many chances. Once Yorbe calms down in front of goal, he can get much better. He has to score many more goals.” A teammate like Ihattaren could have helped with that. “It’s a shame how Mo is doing now,” Uneken acknowledges.
“Hopefully he can get his career back on track and he and Yorbe will meet again. Perhaps at PSV, I would in any case like it.” Ihattaren was sold by PSV to Juventus last summer, which then rented him out at Sampdoria. The Genoa club soon found that the attacking midfielder was a few pounds overweight and gave him an individual training schedule to get fit. Last month, Ihattaren suddenly returned to the Netherlands. It is unclear how he is doing.