Name: Jurgen Locadia
Club: PSV
Nationality: Dutch
Position: Striker
Who is he?
The 20-year-old Dutchman spent seven years in the youth ranks of his local club FC Emmen, before finding himself at the academy of then-Eredivisie side Willem II in 2009.
However he only spent a single year there before moving to giants PSV Eindhoven, making his debut in the second round of the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup) in September 2011. Coming on as a sub in the last 20 minutes, the youngster who had yet to sign professional terms scored in that 8 – 0 win.
He was rewarded with a starting place up front in the third round win over FC Lisse. It would be the last appearance of that season for the then-17-year-old.
Achievements
Last season was the campaign in which Locadia played a more regular role. And he made an immediate impact in his first league game.
A second half substitute against VVV Venlo last September, Locadia scored a 23-minute hat-trick and bagged an assist in a 6 – 0 victory. That feat made him the first player to score an Eredivisie hat-trick on his debut for over 40 years.
In all he made 15 appearances in the Dutch top flight for PSV, managing to score six goals and added four assists. He also managed five goals in five KNVB Cup games.
This season he has netted six in 22 games in all competitions. He also managed five assists including two in the 6 – 2 defeat at home to Vitesse Arnhem which I watched last weekend. In fairness the first assist for Memphis Depay (read his Scouting Report profile here) was really a lay-off for a long-range finish.
Locadia is currently a Dutch U21 international after impressing at U17, U18, U19 and U20 level.
Attributes
A lanky figure at 6 foot 2, Locadia is a mobile and pacey target. His movement against Vitesse showed him roving the box as well dropping deeper to get touches on the ball which is a pattern of his play.
Predominantly right-footed, his six Eredivise goals last season all came from that foot. A good finisher, he has a reasonably good chance conversion rate, averaging about 20 per cent in the Eredivisie and Europa League, while his passing accuracy is almost 85 per cent, which shows his technical edge.
Potential
Locadia’s contract runs until 2017 but there has been talk of interest of Aston Villa lately.
At 20, he still has more to learn which means a move to the Premier League may have to wait. As for a World Cup place, 2014 has probably come too soon for a player likened to Patrick Kluivert.
