Dirty Details
Name: Jerdy Schouten
Nationality: Netherlands
Current Club: Bologna FC
Age: 24 (Birthday, Jan 12)
Physical Stats: 1.85m, 74 kg
Transfermarkt Value: $7.7M, contract ends 2024
Position: Central Midfield
Strengths: Passing, Composure, Ball Possession
Weaknesses: Physicality
To Be Determined: Defensive Pressing
The Atalanta Passione Scouting Series finally stays domestic going down to the lovely province of Emilia-Romagna to take a look at Bologna’s young midfielder Jerdy Schouten. The young Dutchmen has experienced a steady season with the Rossoblu starting in nearly three-quarters of Bologna’s matches, acting as the metronome in the middle of the pitch. I do want to give a shoutout to Atalanta_Vegas for leading me on to this guy, and ultimately we are in unison on our opinion of the midfielder – short answer: he’s pretty good!
I normally hate comparisons, as it clouds independent judgement and scouting of a player, but throughout the match I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to Manuel Locatelli. He’s not Manuel Locatelli, let’s get that out of the way first, but he does a lot of similar things on the pitch. He’s an excellent passer, great at holding possession, and can put a defensive tackle in when the time calls for it. Valued at less than $8 million, I’d be much keener to take a flyer on Schouten than a Locatelli valued at 5x the price – which comes with exorbitant wages and equally high expectations.
In the match I watched against Inter, beyond his passing, the aspect of Schouten’s game that really drew me to him for a potential Atalanta match was his penchant for wanting to play out of the back. He’s an anti-hoofer (if that’s a word), and was successfully able to wiggle himself out of precarious spots, or comfortably find space or an open man to hit with a pass.
The big and undetermined issue with Schouten is his defensive ability. I would garner that he is better offensively than de Roon and Freuler, but as an Atalanta pivot man, how would he cope having to putting in larger defensive efforts? There were flashes that demonstrated he has a motor to dog and track attackers, plus he covered more ground than any other teammate in the match. He has demonstrated enough work-rate to put up with the demands Gasperini requires of his midfielders, but at the same time we may not want a player just running around man marking when he can pick a pass so well. I do envision a scenario that could also work if he’s paired with the hardworking de Roon, and Schouten and Pessina kind of hover and overlap – switching positions as the moment sees fit.
Ultimately Schouten would be an excellent and quite realistic signing. He already has experience in the league, he’d be coming in with four compatriots (if you count Gosens), and should be able to gel with the squad relatively easily. As we continue to see Gasperini slowly tinkering with his squad for his next Atalanta tactic, there very well could likely be a requirement for a little more comfort on the ball in the middle of the pitch. From a cost benefit standpoint, give me Schouten any day over Locatelli, and if the Dutchman can continue to demonstrate the ability to run around tirelessly, watch out! Thanks for reading, and as always Forza Dea!
