Sam Beukema, the Dutch wall that AS Monaco must be wary of

Among the players who exploded under Thiago Motta during the great epic of last season, the Dutch central defender, Sam Beukema, may appear as an unknown compared to Joshua Zirkzee, Riccardo Orsolini, Lewis Ferguson, Riccardo Calafiori or even Stefan Posch. However, he played nearly 2,879 minutes, or 32 starts out of 33 appearances, in all competitions last season. And this season, the former AZ Alkmaar player is continuing his metamorphosis into a true defensive leader. And this Tuesday evening, Bologna welcomes AS Monaco in the Champions League and one thing is certain: Adi Hütter’s attackers will have to be wary of the solidity of Beukema by being the leader of the 5th best defense in Serie A.

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Interviewed recently, Sam Beukema was rave about his team. Despite a mixed start to the collective season, he is proud to represent the city of Bologna in the Champions League: “I’m really happy here. Obviously I was lucky that last season everything went well and everything was super positive. But it wasn’t just about winning big matches or qualifying for the Champions League. When I arrived, it seemed like a new and exciting adventure in a different country. I always wanted to play in Italy because my mother lived in Riccione for 10 years, she never taught me Italian so I had to learn it myself. I think it’s a very good place to play football“. With the departure of Riccardo Calafiori, the Dutch rock had the mission of accelerating its development to officially take the reins of the Bolognese rearguard.

Big clubs are scrutinizing him

Author of a flamboyant season, Sam Beukema can dream big with the national team as his first objective, but the competition promises to be tough for his position with Virgil van Djik, Matthijs de Ligt, Stefan de Vrij, Nathan Aké, Jordan Teze, Micky van de Ven, Jorrel Hato, Sven Botman and Jurriën Timber: “The national team has always been a dream, but now that I am playing the Champions League with Bologna, it seems like a more realistic and legitimate goal. Obviously we have a lot of good defenders, so there is a lot of competition, but this run in the Champions League can help me, because it offers more opportunities to catch the coach’s attention.declared the main person concerned on this subject. But by putting together top-flight performances, the native of Deventer is starting to become a reference in his position in the country where defense is elevated to the rank of art. Moreover, Juventus, which lost its defensive leader in the person of Bremer, is thinking of the 25-year-old Dutchman for the next winter transfer window.

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Since the start of the season, Sam Beukema has obtained, thanks to a series of excellent performances, an even higher average than last year in certain areas of defense. He records a rate of aerial duels won of 59%, while in ground duels, he displays 62%. His kicking game is always masterful with a percentage of successful passes of 93% and that of successful passes in the opposing camp of 85%: “I’m only thinking about Bologna at the moment. I also have ambitions and hope to one day play in the Premier League or another big club. I’m a West Ham fan. I visited Upton Park once with my father. I was really impressed, because the atmosphere was similar to Feyenoord or Go Ahead Eagles. But of course there are a lot of amazing teams in England, so if another good club like Liverpool were to come along I would be happy to go there one day», Explained Sam Beukema in the columns of GOAL. Note that Liverpool, Inter and other English teams are watching closely. Monaco must be wary of one man in particular this Tuesday evening and his name is Sam Beukema…