The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsErik Pieters – £3million
Pieters began his career at Utrecht, making 64 appearances for the club. He joined PSV in a deal worth around $2.5million and became a key player for the Dutch giants, representing them 140 times in total. This included appearing 34 times in European competitions as he established himself as one of the best defenders in Dutch football. His performances earned him a call-up to the Holland squad in 2010 and he went on establish himself as an important player for Holland.
In 2013, Stoke signed Pieters for just £3million. He made the left-back spot his own and appeared in 36 Premier league games for Stoke in his debut season with them. He struggled with injuries in his second season with the club but still went on to appear 31 times in the Premier League. Despite his good performances with the Potters, Pieters has found international caps harder to come by lately and the 26 year old will want to re-establish himself in Holland manager Guus Hiddink’s plans.
