Real Madrid and Barcelona are always keen to bring in the brightest young talents in world football. A long report from the Spanish newspaper Sport says that a player called the “new Frenkie de Jong” is now on the list of the two La Liga giants.
The player is midfielder Kees Smit, who led the Netherlands under-19 side to win the UEFA European Under-19 Championship this summer. Smit won the award for the best player of the tournament and also shared the top scorer award with three other players.
Smit, 19, came through the youth system at Dutch club AZ Alkmaar before becoming a main figure in the first team, even at his young age. Transfermarkt puts his market value at €5 million right now.
Kees Smit: My name is linked to Real Madrid and Barcelona
Smit spoke to the media and said: “I played well in the European Championship; I did well and scored many goals. That helped people notice me, and I saw my name a lot on social media.”
He added that Real Madrid and Barcelona are showing interest in him. He said he felt happy about this, then added, “I know what I want, and I will see what happens. I want to make a big step forward, but that does not need to be next year. I just want to reach the top as fast as I can.”
Smit can play both as a central midfielder and as an attacking midfielder. Many people in the Netherlands compare him to Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong, even though their styles are not the same, according to Sport.
Up to now, Smit has played 40 games for AZ Alkmaar’s first team, scoring 2 goals and giving 4 assists, which makes a total of 6 goal contributions, according to Transfermarkt.
