Dutch defenders Daryl Janmaat, Bruno Martins Indi, and Stefan De Vrij are all in different stages of transfer negotiations after the World Cup put the youngsters on the map.
The trio, all of Eredivisie club Feyenoord, could be leading an exodus from the club after the young Netherlands squad finished a surprising third in the major tournament.
22 year old Martins Indi has completed a switch from the Dutch side to Portuguese giants FC Porto, Feyenoord confirmed.
Indi didn’t have as good a performance in Brazil as some of his young teammates, but it was enough to convince Porto to splash nearly $10 million, according to Goal.com’s Stefan Coerts.
Also according to Coerts, Indi’s contract with Porto includes a $54 million release clause should he make the jump to among the world’s elite defenders.
Indi was born in Portugal, but moved to the Netherlands when he was just three months old.
He made six appearances in the World Cup with the Dutch side, missing one match after getting knocked unconscious by Australia’s Tim Cahill. However, he recovered in time to make the knockout stage and helped the Netherlands to a third-place finish. However, he was subbed off in three of his five starts, a poor mark for a defender even if one of those is due to injury.
The central defender made over 100 appearances with Feyenoord, joining the senior side from its academy in the 2010/11 season at just 18 years old.
Right-back Daryl Janmaat is nearing a move to Newcastle United, multiple reports in England are corroborating. For a reported fee of around $8.5 million, Janmaat is headed to St. James Park pending a medical today.
The medical would have taken place earlier, but apparently he got sick from the long flight back to Europe from the World Cup, where the 24-year-old made five appearances, including three full-90’s.
Janmaat would be a direct replacement for Mathieu Debuchy at right-back, after the French defender leaves for Arsenal. Debuchy’s departure has not been made official yet, but it’s just about a foregone conclusion at this point.
Finally, Feyenoord could also lose World Cup standout Stefan de Vrij, who is rumored to be on a number of teams’ shortlists.
Dutch paper De Telegraaf quoted Feyenoord sporting director Martin van Geel as saying, “Stefan is a player who came through our youth academy and played in the first team for five years. He played an amazing World Cup and his contract is due to expire in one year. “If the right club comes along and puts in a good offer, we will definitely look at it.”
The 22-year-old was the Netherlands’ best defender in Brazil outside of standout Ron Vlaar, playing in all seven matches and picking up a goal in their opener against Spain.
De Vrij was stellar in the air, winning 18 of his 21 aerial duels according to Squawka statistics. He also was exceptional on the ball, winning all six of his attempted take-ons.
He is rumored to be the most coveted by Manchester United, where his national team boss Louis van Gaal is taking over this season. Also reportedly interested is Serie A side Lazio.