Denzel Dumfries' Euro 2020 displays prove he's a must-buy for Europe's top clubs

There's only one thing better than major international tournaments and that's the few months after said competitions where every big club in Europe is desperate to sign its breakout stars.

Andrey Arshavin, James Rodriguez, Asamoah Gyan and Mesut Ozil all earned big-money moves off the back of stellar tournament appearances, and while they were hardly unknown quantities heading into their respective breakout events, their names were undoubtedly catapulted into the spotlight after their performances on the grand stage.

Euro 2020 is following suit with a few players unexpectedly emerging as key performers in their side's starting XI, none more so than Netherlands right-back Denzel Dumfries.

The PSV Eindhoven full-back's Wikipedia page has probably had more hits in the past week than ever before, with football fans desperate to know who this new kid on the block is and where he's been hiding.

Well, he's not been hiding anywhere to put it bluntly and he's certainly not a new kid on the block. Dumfries has been churning out quality performances in the Eredivisie for some time now and has even graced the Champions League, though admittedly he's yet to really make a mark on the competition.

The Dutchman's marauding runs and energetic displays have been the cornerstone to Frank de Boer's side's impressive start to the tournament, and with two goals in three games he's even mixing it with some of the best goalscorers in the competition.

While his late strike against Ukraine in the Netherlands' maiden outing of the tournament was probably the most important goal of their campaign so far as they avoided an opening day collapse, his second goal of Euro 2020 against Austria typified what he's all about as a player.

Even with nearly 70 minutes on the clock and with De Boer's side looking to protect a 1-0 lead, the right-back produced a lung-busting run to support PSV teammate Donyell Malen before the youngster laid it on a plate for Dumfries to tap home and put the result beyond doubt.

We're not going to overlook the fact the Netherlands' setup is custom made for a flying wing-back to thrive - despite calls for their adoring fans to move away from the system - yet the majority of Europe's top sides adopt a similar formation and that's what makes him a must-buy this summer.

So we've established that Dumfries is a quality player and that he'd fit in well at a host of Europe's elite clubs, but are any of them actually on the lookout for a flying right wing-back this summer? Well, the majority of them are as it happens.

Denzel Dumfries has been one of the Netherlands' top performers so far | ANP Sport/Getty Images

Both Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea are locked in an intense battle to sign Inter's Achraf Hakimi, meaning whoever misses out on the Moroccan is going to need a plan B - not to mention Inter will soon be on the hunt for a replacement.

Manchester United have made no secret of their desire to add a more attacking option to their defensive arsenal as an alternative to Aaron Wan-Bissaka, while Julian Nagelsmann's appointment at Bayern Munich could well spell the end of the solid but not particularly adventurous Benjamin Pavard's time as the club's first-choice right-back.

Arsenal are likely to need a replacement for the seemingly outgoing Hector Bellerin, Juventus may be on the lookout for Juan Cuadrado's successor - though the sum of money involved in any pursuit is likely to rule them out of the running - the list really does go on and on.

Dumfries has proven to have the ability and the mentality to thrive on the big stage when given the chance in a setup that suits his style of play, and all of the aforementioned clubs need to be looking at the flying Dutch full-back this summer.


Source : 90min