On the day that PSV starts the training camp in Germany, it will already present the sixth acquisition of the new season: midfielder Guus Til. It will not stop there, but the Eindhoven decisiveness is enthusiastically received by the supporters. Is that right and will PSV be the top favorite for the national title next season?
The many transfers at PSV are reason enough to make up the balance a bit. In less than a month, PSV will play against Ajax, the biggest competitor for the championship, for the Johan Cruijff Scale.
Ruud van Nistelrooij already indicated on his first working day that there were two top priorities within the selection. The striker position and a new goalkeeper. These priorities were completed two weeks later. Walter Benítez has to prevent goals and Luuk de Jong has to make them. If you compare this with Joël Drommel and Eran Zahavi, the simple conclusion can be drawn that PSV is definitely improving.
You can put more question marks with purchases such as Xavi Simons, Ki-Jana Hoever (rental) and Guus Til. Simons and Hoever have only competed at the highest level for a limited number of minutes. No one will doubt their talent, but talent often isn’t everything. They still have plenty to prove. Getting over-enthusiastic now is premature.
Guus Til was Feyenoord’s top scorer last season and based on those statistics, it seems a more than good purchase, although production stopped as the season progressed. Feyenoord players act as if they are not mourning his departure, although there will also be a bit of jealousy.
Mario Götze is the only reputable player to leave for the time being. If PSV can keep Cody Gakpo and Ibrahim Sangaré, you can be sure that there will be a better selection than last year. A final note is the width of the selection. It is especially disappointing in the front.
So what about the competition? At Ajax there is a risk of an empty run. Lisandro Martinez, Jurriën Timber and Antony, among others, seem to be leaving. On the other hand, the arrival of former PSV player Steven Bergwijn is worth 30 million euros. But for now, after the departure of Sébastien Haller, they certainly seem to have weakened there.
PSV therefore seems to be top favorite for the title for the time being. Especially when you consider that the difference last season was only two points with Ajax. There are still no guarantees, but the decisiveness on the transfer market makes the Eindhoven hearts beat faster in any case. And that’s worth something.