Sean Steur's rapid rise at Newcastle United has not gone unnoticed back home, with Netherlands under-21s head coach Michael Reiziger praising the 18-year-old's rare qualities as 'very beautiful to see'.
Steur joined Newcastle from Ajax in July in a deal worth up to £23million, just after breaking into the Ajax first team. His September call-up to the Dutch under-21s was his first, reflecting the impact he has made in his first three months on Tyneside.
Only Jacob Ramsey played more minutes than Steur during pre-season, and he has since featured in all seven of United's games across all competitions this term. Among the Magpies' eight summer signings, Steur is rivalling Lukas Hornicek and Amar Dedic for making the biggest impact at St James' Park so far.
Impressive on and off the ball
Steur has shown maturity on the ball that belies his age, and off it he leads the Premier League in distance covered per 90 minutes. Reiziger, who played for Ajax, Barcelona and Middlesbrough, believes the youngster's qualities are rare.
"Sean joined Ajax's first team last year and did well there, but it was often alternating between playing one game and sitting on the bench. And now Sean continues to develop at Newcastle as well, which is great to see," Reiziger told VI.nl.
"He is simply a good footballer. And the minutes he can get there, he just needs to extend them; that will make him even stronger. But the fact that he is already playing so much at the highest level in the best league in the world, at a club that is highly regarded there too: I think that is very impressive for his age."
International debut and upcoming qualifiers
Steur made his Netherlands under-21s debut last week, replacing Kees Smit as a second-half substitute in a 0-0 draw with Norway at Go Ahead Eagles' Stadion De Adelaarshorst. He will have two further chances to impress against Slovenia on Friday and Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday as they look to qualify for next summer's European Championships in Albania and Serbia.
Reiziger added: "Sean is a player you don't see very often. He reads the game, has drive, is calm on the ball, and can really take control of the game. I saw that last year at Ajax as well, that he already wanted to position players, because he knows: if you stand there, I will become free in another spot. You can already see him orchestrating that, and I find that very beautiful to see."
