The Dutch Pirlo: In Joey Veerman, Dortmund have a flawed but formidable creative force

[infobox id="c5ce5f5a-ccb6-468f-9fce-bb4a330c372a" /][p]Since joining [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/psv/M9UEHJWi/"]PSV[/a] from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/heerenveen/EDjXSyWG/"]Heerenveen[/a] in 2022, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/veerman-joey/AgXeAAQR/"]Veerman[/a] has been right up there with the best players in the Netherlands, being one of the key reasons as to why the Eindhoven side have won three consecutive league titles.[/p][p]His performances have caught the eye of clubs across Europe, and after moves to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brentford/xYe7DwID/"]Brentford[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fenerbahce/MsbmracL/"]Fenerbahce[/a] fell through last season, he's gotten a richly deserved even better move, joining German giants [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/dortmund/nP1i5US1/"]Dortmund[/a] after they opted to activate his €22 million release clause.[/p][p]In the Dutchman, they have a flawed but formidable creative force on their hands.[/p][h2]Remarkable numbers[/h2][p]To see why Dortmund decided to sign Veerman, you need only look at his statistics, which are simply sensational.[/p][p]In the four full seasons that he spent at PSV, he created 395 chances and racked up 48 assists in 119 league games. In that same time period, no other player from the Eredivisie came remotely close in either metric.[/p][p][b]In fact, there are precious few players across the entirety of Europe who have such impressive numbers. In Europe's top 10 leagues, only [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/olise-michael/E5pvwqkK/"]Michael Olise[/a] (51) has more assists since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, and only [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandes-bruno/GYvAMDm2/"]Bruno Fernandes[/a] (460) has created more chances.[/b][/p][p]These stats become even more remarkable when you factor in that Veerman missed a good chunk of the 2024/25 season through injury, being unavailable from the end of September to the start of December due to a thigh injury. If not for that injury, he'd have most likely amassed 10 or more assists in four consecutive seasons.[/p][image alt="Veerman's full seasons at PSV" id="e6eeb643-1df2-4fba-b6f5-7c1a2530a961" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="2de41231-5b3e-4f3f-92fd-2ed87755fc72" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Of course, a midfielder must do more than just create chances and goals, but Flashscore's playing ratings system factors in just about every metric you can think of, and those ratings paint an even more positive picture.[/p][p]His game reached another level when Peter Bosz took charge of PSV ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, and the midfielder boasted an average league rating of 8.2 out of 10 by the end of it. After a drop to a 7.4 average the following season, largely as a result of the aforementioned injury, it then went back up to 8.1 for 2025/26.[/p][p][b]These too are numbers that put him at the very top of European football. Out of players in Europe's top 10 leagues, he had a higher Flashscore Rating than anyone in 2023/24, and a higher Flashscore Rating than everyone except [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lamine-yamal/lAt3vEub/"]Lamine Yamal[/a] in 2025/26.[/b][/p][h2]An old-school playmaker, for better and for worse[/h2][p]So, Dortmund have unquestionably signed a player who has played very well for a very long time, but what type of player is he? Well, one you don't see much of these days.[/p][p]As football has become more intense and fast-paced in the last decade or so, the elite midfielders have generally been those who are highly press-resistant, able to play without much time or space thanks to excellent composure and quick thinking, and who are capable of pressing opponents hard themselves out of possession. Most are also able to beat the press with strong ball-carrying abilities.[/p][p]Veerman, though, isn't particularly good at any of the above. Instead, he's much more in the mould of deep-lying playmakers of old such as Andrea Pirlo: incredible passing and vision, and not much in the way of dribbles, tackles or intense running of any kind.[/p][image alt="Veerman's passes into the final third last season" id="af017e87-a992-479d-8e67-33609977691c" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="439cd5e1-4717-4255-97db-7d8002e245a2" original-width="768" original-height="576" /][p][b]In fact, he's been nicknamed Pirlo in his home country, and it's easy to see why. He's an elite set-piece taker, has superb vision, and there are precious few in the sport who boast such an absurdly good range of passing.[/b][/p][p]At PSV, he would so often pick up the ball from deep and move his side up the pitch with a clever pass between the lines or a sumptuous lofted through ball to a teammate. He doesn't have the speed or agility to carry the ball forward, but more than makes up for it with the frankly remarkable things he can do with the ball while stationary.[/p][p]As was the case with Pirlo, that includes his finishing. He's scored the most goals from outside the box in the Eredivisie since making his league debut in 2019, producing some real beauties with his wand of a left foot, whether curlers or thunderbolts.[/p][embed guid="5fe0e2ab-b8e2-44e7-892f-d6b7108b87e9" url="https://x.com/OnsOranje/status/1790082385322659951" social-type="twitter" /][p]That being said, his static nature does of course have its drawbacks. He doesn't offer much defensively, whether winning the ball back in the opposition half or making tackles in his own, and struggles massively when facing opponents who press hard and barely give him any time to pick a pass.[/p][p][b]This has often been evident in Champions League matches against top sides, and was clearer than ever in the Netherlands' 3-2 defeat to Austria at Euro 2024, when the midfielder was subbed off after 35 minutes. The Austrians harried him from the off, and he couldn't handle it, completing just nine of his 19 passes and giving the ball away 16 times in total.[/b][/p][h2]Joey or Jobe?[/h2][p]In all fairness to him, it can't be easy to improve your press-resistance when you've spent the majority of your career playing for a team so dominant that most opponents in your league don't dare to press you, but those in Germany will do so, and whether he can rise to the challenge in that area will most likely determine whether he starts or not.[/p][p]With [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nmecha-felix/80RErj9O/"]Felix Nmecha[/a] near certain to start as one of the centre-midfielders in Niko Kovac's 3-4-3, Veerman will most likely end up competing with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bellingham-jobe/YkfshiIm/"]Jobe Bellingham[/a] for the other spot in the starting XI, and there's little doubt that he offers much more on the ball than the younger brother of Jude. His vision and ball-striking are on another level, even when you factor in that the Dutchman has been facing lower-quality opponents.[/p][p]However, Bellingham is a better dribbler and a better ball-winner, and offers much more speed and energy than the new signing.[/p][image alt="Joey Veerman vs Jobe Bellingham in 2025/26" id="007688c0-bc89-4a35-bcc2-340e91ddce41" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="7e7014e6-524f-4832-81a5-b729769c48bd" original-width="768" original-height="1152" /][p]It should also be factored in that the Englishman is seven years younger, and so is more likely to develop his game further than Veerman in the seasons to come.[/p][p]Even if he does improve and the Dutchman remains largely the same player that has dominated the Eredivisie for the last three years though, flaws and all, the 27-year-old will still be a lethal weapon for Kovac. When it comes to breaking down low blocks against weaker sides and strong opponents protecting a result, there aren't many around as useful as Veerman.[/p][p]And if he can make progress on the weaker areas of his game too, he'll prove to be one of the signings of the summer, and one of the best playmakers in the world.[/p][infobox id="68274eb9-a292-466f-8d1c-279fe1b5c54c" /]