PSV Eindhoven

The transfer saga surrounding Dutch star Memphis Depay came to a sudden end on Friday when the winger signed an extension with PSV to keep him at the club until 2018.

The Eredivisie club announced the news on Twitter (in Dutch), with Sun Sport confirming the new contract is a four-year deal:

Several Premier League clubs were interested in the services of Depay, who was one of the breakout stars of the 2014 World Cup. Tottenham were often identified as the team most likely to land the coveted 20-year-old, but a transfer now seems out of the question.

PSV and Depay released a joint statement via the club's website, and the player made a very clear commitment to his current club, saying he wants to continue his development in the Netherlands and win silverware with PSV (statement in Dutch).

Both parties will sign the new deal on Saturday, which will add one additional year to Depay's current contract, set to expire in 2017. As shared by Bleacher Report's Dutch football expert Elko Born, a summer transfer now appears to be off the table:

Depay has long been touted as one of the Netherlands' biggest attacking talents, combining excellent pace and technical ability with a keen eye for goal. While plenty of clubs were interested in his services, the youngster is still very raw and likely needs a lot more minutes before he's ready to contribute at the Premier League level.

An extension with PSV makes perfect sense in that regard: The team's start to the 2014-15 Eredivisie campaign has been superb, all but eliminating memories of the disappointing 2013-14 season.

The World Cup hero will get the chance to continue his development in a league that is very friendly to attacking football, and PSV should be among the Netherlands' main title contenders this season.

If he continues to grow at the same spectacular rate, the top Premier League clubs will surely be back with improved offers in the 2015 summer transfer window. A better, more mature Depay would then be ready to make an impact on the highest level, while PSV will reap the financial benefits of their excellent youth setup.

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Belgian winger Zakaria Bakkali is one of the hottest young talents in Dutch football right now, but Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven may be set to lose the 18-year-old this summer amid intense transfer speculation.

Rumours surrounding Bakkali’s future are nothing new. The likes of Arsenal have been touted as potential suitors for months, via Jamie Sanderson of Metro, and there has been wide belief that the winger’s long-term future may lie away from the Philips Stadion.

However, the talk of Bakkali’s potential departure has stepped up a notch with the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Valencia, as per Dutch outlet Sport/Voetbalmagazine (h/t talkSPORT), all being heavily linked to a summer switch.

One of the believed reasons behind Bakkali’s reportedly imminent sale is the player’s unwillingness to commit his long-term future to the Eindhoven club. According to Football Oranje’s Twitter account, the young winger has refused to sign an extension to his contract, which has just 12 months left to run.

With the talented youngster available to leave the Dutch club on a free transfer next season, the club may be forced into accepting a cut-price deal for one of their most prized assets.

The youthful winger burst onto the scene at the start of this season with three goals in the August victory over NEC Nijmegen, becoming the youngest player in Eredivisie history to achieve the feat, aged just 17 years and 196 days.

Since then, he has gone on to make his debut for Marc Wilmots’ national side, and despite not being named in Belgium’s 23-man party for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, he is already being heralded as a future Red Devils star.

The fact Bakkali only started seven Eredivisie matches gives a clear indication that he is still some way short of being ready to emerge as a world-class player, but he is certainly one of Europe’s most exciting young prospects. It is inevitable that the teenager will move on to bigger and better things at some stage in the future; it just appears that time may come sooner rather than later.

Is Bakkali ready for the big move to one of Europe’s elite teams? Post your thoughts below.

Netherlands full-back Jetro Willems has been ruled out of this summer’s FIFA World Cup with knee ligament damage.

The 20-year-old defender limped out of PSV’s 2-0 home defeat to Feyenoord on Saturday after sustaining damage to his inner knee and has since had the disastrous news of a forced World Cup withdrawal confirmed by club doctors.

A statement on the club’s official website stated, “Willems had a scan at hospital on Monday to discover the extent of the damage. He will now miss the rest of the season.”

With just two games remaining, PSV will cope without their impressive left-back. However, the consequences for the player are far more severe.

Since breaking through to the national side in 2012, Willems has made 11 appearances for the Oranje army and had been a likely candidate for a spot in Louis van Gaal’s 23-man squad this summer.

However, the youngster will now be forced to watch the tournament at home and will have to wait another four years to represent his country on the grandest stage of all.

The defender is targeting a pre-season return for PSV. The Eindhoven club are now fifth in the Eredivisie standings following that first league defeat to rivals Feyenoord in over a decade.

Meanwhile, as reported by Soccerway, manager Phillip Cocu is also expected to return for the start of next season following the successful removal of a back tumour.

Stats from Soccerway.

Do you think Willems' absence will affect the chances of Louis van Gaal's team in Brazil? Post your thoughts below.

Bryan Ruiz, PSV Eindhoven’s on-loan Costa Rican forward, has indicated his desire to remain at the Eredivisie club beyond his current deal as he looks for a permanent exit from Craven Cottage.

Ruiz made the temporary switch to the Philips Stadion in January after then-manager Rene Meulensteen deemed the 28-year-old an unnecessary member of the Fulham setup. His brief time with the Eindhoven club, which has included four goals and two assists, has been a major success, and the attacking player is very eager to complete a permanent switch this summer.

This is Ruiz’s second spell in Eredivisie. The first was a fruitful two-year stint at FC Twente, which is what alerted Fulham to his services in the first place. During his stay with the Enschede club, the Costa Rican star scored 24 league goals during their title-winning campaign of 2010 and additionally played a significant role in helping the club to the KNVB Cup just 12 months later.

His time in England has been far less prosperous, though, and as Fulham prepare for an almost certain relegation to the Championship, Ruiz would certainly welcome a permanent departure.

However, per Gerrit van Leeuwen of Sky Sports, the player still has a year to run on his contract at Craven Cottage and has vowed to respect the wishes of his parent club—regardless of which division they are in next season. Nonetheless, Ruiz did not hide from the fact that he would love to remain in Holland.

The temporary PSV man told Fox Sports Eredivisie, via van Leeuwen, “I am really happy here at PSV. They have a new project for next season to become champions with a strong squad. I would like to be part of that.”

PSV remain in the hunt for automatic Europa League qualification but are currently fifth in the Eredivisie standings after suffering back-to-back defeats during manager Phillip Cocu’s absence. The 43-year-old is currently recovering from surgery, as reported by the team's official website.

Stats from WhoScored.com and Soccerway.

At the start of 2014, PSV Eindhoven appeared to be set for one of their most disappointing seasons in history; fast-forward just a few short weeks and Phillip Cocu's side hold genuine aspirations of securing Champions League qualification for the second successive season.

As Eredivisie football resumed following the winter break, the Eindhoven club were languished in seventh place and facing a genuine battle even for a place in the end of season play-offs. However, as we enter the final seven matches, PSV are now up to fifth and could close the gap to just two points if they can mastermind victory at the GelreDome on Saturday.

Cocu's men have come a long way from the side that so unspectacularly dropped out of the Europa League group stages with a humiliating defeat to Ukrainian side Chornomorets on December 12. It is no secret that Rood-witten struggled to juggle the commitments of European and domestic football, but nobody could have predicted this dramatic resurrection.

Whilst the majority of Eredivisie fans would have tipped the Philips Stadion club to enjoy a better second-half to the season, it appeared that they were cut too far adrift from the top four. But somehow Cocu has managed to turn the team's fortunes around and suddenly a Europa League spot would arguably be a slightly disappointing outcome.

PSV are now flying high on the back of six consecutive triumphs, beating FC Twente in the process, and are easily the form side of Dutch football. Ryan Ferguson of Football-Oranje.com believes that having a full week to prepare for matches has allowed Cocu the chance to showcase his astute tactical knowledge and cites the dominating display against Utrecht as the perfect example. If you compare results before and after their Europa League exit, it is hard to argue that the added preparation time has had a major impact.

Whilst PSV know that this weekend's contest is perhaps their hardest remaining fixture, particularly as Vitesse have recovered well from their minor blip to record three consecutive wins heading into Saturday's clash, they can be confident of getting the desired result.

The Arnhem club may have claimed an emphatic 6-2 victory at the Philips Stadion in December, but that game did come just days before PSV's important game with Chornomorets and also came at a time where Cocu's side were missing key defenders Bruma and Willems.

With Ajax on course to retain their crown, it is now down to Vitesse, PSV, Feyenoord and Twente to do battle for that second Champions League place.

Whilst Cocu's men do face a difficult task this Saturday, they know that victory would pile the pressure on both Twente and Feyenoord, who do not play until Sunday, especially as they face the tough challenges of AZ and Heerenveen respectively.

If you'd have said PSV would finish second six weeks ago, you'd have been laughed out of the building. However, the Eindhoven club have hit form at the perfect time. If they can pick up three points in Arnhem then they'll have to be considered as genuine contenders for a second-placed finish.

It could be a gripping end to the Eredivisie season.

Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven have stepped up their interest in Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi to become favourites for the youngster's signature.

The 20-year-old Standard Liege player has been exceptional for his club side, scoring an incredible 17 goals in just 23 league starts this season as the club race toward a first Pro League crown since 2009.

Batshuayi's individual displays have garnered admirers from across Europe with English Premier League side Arsenal as one of those rumoured to already be interested in acquiring his services. However, according to talkSPORT, PSV have emerged as the new front-runners as they prepare themselves for a £6.5 million bid that would trigger a release clause in the Belgian's contract.

In January, as per John Edwards of the Mail Online, speculation suggested that the 5'11" forward was ready to link up with compatriot Romelu Lukaku at Everton before the player announced his desire to remain in his homeland at least until the summer.

Batshuayi is unlikely to force his way into Belgium's plans in time for this summer's FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but the youngster retains an outside shot for a shock inclusion so long as he continues his fine form, which currently sees him lead the Jupiler scoring charts. The Liege man has already registered five goals for the Under-21s and must at least be on Marc Wilmots' radar for a senior call-up.

A move to PSV would be a step in the right direction, and Batshuayi is likely to view the potential move as a stepping stone on the road to greater things. It may be too premature for a move to Arsenal, and he is far more likely to gain first-team experience by plying his trade in the Eredivisie.

Meanwhile, Phillip Cocu would inherit one of European football's finest young talents.

The Eindhoven club have recently reignited their hopes of automatic Europa League qualification after climbing up to fifth in the table thanks to five wins on the bounce. The addition of Batshuayi would certainly give them a lift next term.

Would the proposed transfer be a good move Batshuayi? Post your thoughts below.

PSV Eindhoven’s Zakaria Bakkali is unquestionably one of the hottest young talents in Dutch football right now and the chase for his signature is really starting to take off.

The youthful winger burst onto the scene at the start of this season with three goals in the August victory over NEC Nijmegen, becoming the youngest player in Eredivisie history to achieve the feat, aged just 17 years and 196 days.

Since then the 18-year-old has gone on to win many fans, including Belgium national team coach Marc Wilmots. Bakkali made his senior debut as a 78th minute substitute in October’s 1-1 draw with Wales, committing his international future to Rode Duivels in the process. Bakkali could yet force his way into Belgium’s World Cup squad, albeit as a reserve. Even if he doesn’t, the future looks bright for the Liege-born winger.

Already, the PSV man has drawn comparisons to compatriot Eden Hazard and the youngster is highly regarded throughout Europe, with some of the continent’s biggest clubs reportedly monitoring the youngster’s progression with plans of a summer bid.

Amongst those rumoured to be interested in Bakkali are Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, Benfica and Barcelona. However, perhaps the strongest link is to English side Arsenal.

The Gunners are believed to be extremely eager to acquire the services of Bakkali during the next transfer window.

Jamie Sanderson of the Metro claims that a PSV source has said: "Bakkali is a player that Wenger rates highly."

"Arsenal have kept an eye on him and are aware that other teams want him, so could move in the summer to buy him."

No official bids have been made yet and the Belgian’s contract at PSV runs until 2015. Nonetheless, coach Phillip Cocu may already be resigned to losing one of his most promising youngsters.

Since the winter break, Bakkali has made just two cameo appearances. In recent weeks, the 18-year-old hasn’t even been named amongst the substitutes. As his chances of making Belgium’s World Cup squad decrease, he might well start to think that his future lies away from the Philips Stadion.

If he does force a move, he won’t be short of options.

PSV head coach Phillip Cocu has suffered a torrid first season as the club's permanent manager but, after Saturday's 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar, it finally seems that things could be on the up for the Dutch giants. The Eindhoven club may still be able to salvage something from a very challenging campaign.

Last season's runners-up are already out of the title race, trailing leaders Ajax by an unassailable 14 points with only 14 games remaining. However, following their recent return to form, they can now at least think about securing European football for 2014/15—even if it is via the Europa League.

Holland's second most successful club are still an attractive proposition, but if they are going to attract top players then European football is an absolute must. Despite their inconsistency so far, Europa League qualification is still within the realms of possibility, and here's how they can achieve it.

Georginio Wijnaldum Back From Injury

The pending return of club captain Wijnaldum will be a huge boost for PSV.

Prior to injuring his back in September, the 23-year-old had started the season superbly, and his absence has clearly had a massive impact on Phillip Cocu's team. With four goals in just six appearances, Eindhoven fans have been desperate to see the No. 10 return to action, and it looks like their wait could soon be over.

Liverpool have been linked to a January move for the three-time capped Dutch international, but it seems unlikely that any deal will be agreed until at least the summer so, for now at least, Wijnaldum will be concentrating solely on helping PSV finish the season strongly. If he rediscovers his early season form then there may even be a spot for him in Holland's World Cup squad.

In Wijnaldum's absence, PSV have had to rely on the talent of youngsters Memphis Depay and Jurgen Locadia. While the pair have found the net 11 times between them, no player has really filled the captain's boots in terms of goalscoring, and problems in the attacking third have been Eindhoven's downfall this term.

However, according to the Dutch site Bet.nl, Cocu's side have scored 36 Eredivisie goals, at least seven fewer than each of the five clubs above them, and that will need to improve if they are going to force their way into European contention. With the return of Wijnaldum, along with the addition of Bryan Ruiz, that suddenly looks a lot more likely.

Eindhoven's Strong Defence Key To Success

While the team would love to be more prolific in the final third, head coach Cocu will be ecstatic with his side's defensive unit.

Only Ajax and FC Twente have conceded fewer goals than Eindhoven this campaign, which will be a source of immense optimism around the Philips Stadion. Having represented the club over 250 times during two spells as a player, Phillip Cocu knows that the PSV philosophy is based on a strong defence and will be pleased to see his back line making it so difficult for opposing strikers.

Summer addition Jeffrey Bruma deserves a lot of praise for how well he has settled into his new team, and the Dutch international has definitely shored up the Eindhoven defence. Former club Chelsea insisted that they would only sell the 22-year-old on the condition that a buy-back clause was installed and that alone tells you how highly the youngster is rated.

He made his Holland national team debut in 2010 and will be in Louis van Gaal's plans ahead of this year's World Cup in Brazil. Bruma has been a key member of the PSV team so far and could be pivotal to the club's ambitions between now and the end of the season.

However, the entire back line should take a share of credit. Another key influence has been defensive midfielder Stijn Schaars, who has put his experience to great use by helping the youthful defence throughout the campaign. The 30-year-old has made that holding role his own since joining from Sporting Lisbon last summer, and his impact cannot be overlooked.

Schaars is one of only two players within the PSV squad to have passed his 30th birthday—the other being Park Ji-Sung—so his input has been invaluable not only in assisting the defensive line but also in allowing the likes of Adam Maher to attack without worrying quite so much about individual defensive duties.

The spine of PSV's team is one of the strongest in Dutch football, and that should definitely help in their quest for European qualification.

Dark Days Finally Over

Toward the end of 2013, PSV simply couldn't buy a win. A string of woeful results saw them crash out of the Europa League and, more tellingly, drop into Eredivisie mid-table obscurity.

However, Cocu's side appear to have recovered from those troubles and are now back on the road to success.

Saturday's win was the third victory in four outings, with the only defeat over that period coming away to leaders Ajax. The three points saw PSV climb to sixth in the table and, while they remain 12 points adrift of Champions League qualification, a Europa League place is once again starting to look a far more achievable target.

The 1-0 triumph over AZ was impressive as not only did it allow PSV to leapfrog their Eredivisie rivals, but the manner of victory also demonstrated Eindhoven's ability to control games—particularly when they are leading.

After defender Jetro Willems opened the scoring just three minutes in, PSV looked comfortable throughout. AZ were limited to scraps in the final third, and although they did register more shots on target, they never really looked like scoring. Eindhoven stopper Jeroen Zoet was forced into a couple of fairly decent saves, but he would have been extremely disappointed if he'd been beaten by any of them.

While PSV's attacking problems were once again highlighted by the fact that they had to rely on a full-back's goal to get the full three points, their overall play was fairly decent. The game was far from spectacular for the neutrals, but that won't bother Cocu. The manager will have been pleased to see his side establish the early lead before running out relatively easy winners.

Next up for PSV are trips to 17th-placed RKC and Eredivisie new boys Cambuur. With confidence restored, you would expect Eindhoven to take a minimum of four points from those two games, and if they can follow that with victory over FC Twente in their next home game then suddenly they will look back on track to cement a place in the Europa League next season.

Everybody associated with the club will believe that the campaign's darkest moment is now in the past and will be optimistic about the rest of the campaign. Without the distractions of any cup competitions, PSV have no excuses for failure.

For me and for a lot of Dutch and Belgian football fans, the name Nii Lamptey has become synonymous with young super-talents that succumb to the pressure and are unable to live up the high expectations placed upon them by managers, media and fans. For instance, Freddy Adu is deemed the new Nii Lamptey.

But who was Nii Lamptey back in the days?

Lamptey was one of the driving forces behind the Ghanaian youth teams that were hugely succesful on the international stage in the early nineties. Ghana won the U17 World Cup in 1991, the African Cup of Nations U20 Edition in 1993, they lost the final of the U21 World Cup in 1993 and they grabbed a bronze medal during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. He was also named as one of Africa's greatest players, all before even turning 20.

Lamptey in action for the national team.

Despite the presence of talents like Juan Sebastian Verón, Marcelo Gallardo, Alessandro del Piero, Josep Guardiola, Andrej Juskowiak, Samuel Kuffour and Demetrio Albertini, Lamptey was almost always deemed the greatest talent in these tournaments.

His star shone more brilliantly than them all, as he dominated everyone in these competitions. He was subsequently touted as the next Pelé by the Brazilian legend himself.

His fast feet, speed of thought, and clever interplay with team-mates were on display for all to see. His willingness to get into the box was critical too, and his countless goals made him an attractive target for European clubs. Dutch coach Aad de Mos signed Lamptey as a 15-year-old and brought him to Belgian giants R.S.C. Anderlecht.

Just to prove how exceptional of a talent he was deemed back then, the age limit rules in Belgium were changed to allow him to debut at the age of 16 for Anderlecht.

Lamptey signed his first contract at Anderlecht when he was 16, becoming the youngest-ever player to play in the Belgian league. He quickly established himself as a prolific scorer, dazzling onlookers with his flashy play and obvious talent.

After two highly spectacular seasons, he was transferred to PSV Eindhoven, where he made a similar impact and awed fans and experts with his game.

At the tender age 19, Lamptey had fulfilled the dream of many African teenagers, namely becoming a professional soccer player, going into the Promised Land (Europe) and becoming rich and famous.

When he left PSV for Aston Villa however, things started moving down-hill. Many observers believed that the numerous back and forth travels to Africa for international matches, stalled his young career at club level. Lamptey wasn’t suited for football in the English leagues, he was too weak physically, his style of play was more technical.

After his departure from England, after unsuccessful stints at Villa and Coventry, Lamptey’s career progressed as if a drunken man was throwing darts arrows at a world map.

He played for Venice in Italy, Unión de Santa Fe in Argentina, Ankaragücü in Turkey, União Leiria in Portugal, SpVgg Greuther Fürth in Germany, Shandong Luneng Tai Shan in China, Al-Nasr in Saudi Arabia, Kumasi Asante Kotoko in Ghana, before finally settling in South Africa at Jomo Cosmos.

Everywhere he went, Lamptey was plagued by bad luck. Injuries, greedy managers making money of his back and personal tragedy, Nii Lamptey has seen it all happen to him and his family.

Poor deals with greedy managers especially hindered his career. When he first came to Europe, he signed an exclusive marketing contract with an Italian player agent. Naive as he was, he thought that the agent only acted in his best interest.

In fact, the player agent was a modern-day slave-trader. He thought only of where to sell Lamptey for the best price, to bag ~25% of the transfer sum for himself.

During various of his foreign adventures, Lamptey also lost two of his children to various illnesses. Plagued by injuries and grief, he returned to Africa, to setup a school for the lesser privileged children. In an interview, he claimed he felt like a survivor and not like the loser international media made him out to be.

Personally, I like to think he has a point. Despite all the bad luck he has encountered, he kept playing the game he loves. Still, his name has become synonymous for talents that haven’t been able to live up to expectations.

So the next time you hear someone being labelled as the next Nii Lamptey, you’ll know what people are talking about.