Van Bommel is back, and that outweighs everything
PSV beat Union Saint-Gilloise 7–3 in a 150-minute friendly on Saturday. Ten goals, a first strike for new signing Sven Mijnans, and a marathon training exercise (1) (21). None of it was the story.
Ruben van Bommel played football again. That is the only thing that mattered this week.
The 21-year-old forward had not touched a competitive pitch in 301 days. A cruciate ligament tear in September wiped out his season. On Saturday, he returned, still not fully fit by his own admission, but "heel blij" to be out there (2). His father Mark, the former PSV captain and manager, watched from the stands. You do not need to be sentimental to understand what this means. A young attacker with genuine promise, lost for almost a year, is back in the squad before the new campaign even begins.
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Two defenders out, one midfielder in, and a quiet market
Earnest Stewart is clearing the decks. Armando Obispo has agreed a €4 million move to RC Lens after twenty years at the club (5) (20). Adamo Nagalo is heading to Çorum FK for €2.5–3 million, a painful haircut on the €7 million PSV paid for him (13) (14) (18). That is two centre-backs gone and the season not yet started.
The only arrival so far is Mijnans, who scored in the friendly and looks a tidy addition (21). PSV have been offered Hugo Bueno, the Wolves left-back who spent last season at Feyenoord, as a full-back option (17) (25). No deal yet.
Talks with Mauro Júnior continue. His camp wants a release clause in the region of €12 million, and PSV are willing to negotiate, but "with a certain reasonableness," as Rik Elfrink put it (6) (15). Lose Mauro and the defensive rebuild gets urgent.
Bosz walks out again
Peter Bosz ended an interview early on Saturday when the Oranje job came up. "Nee. Ik wil er helemaal niets over zeggen," he said, and he left (9) (16).
This has happened before. It is becoming less a quirk and more a red flag. Every coach has topics they dislike, but a man who cannot sit through a predictable question at a pre-season friendly is a man carrying pressure he is not handling well. Bosz is fully committed to PSV, and that is admirable. The irritability is not.
What to watch
PSV's defence is thinner than the 7–3 scoreline suggests. Nagalo and Obispo are out. No left-back has arrived. The season is weeks away and the squad is a puzzle with pieces missing. The next friendlies will tell us whether Bosz trusts Fabian Merién, the teenager praised after the Union match (10), or whether Stewart accelerates in the market. 13th in the Eredivisie last season was not a blip. Fixing it starts at the back.
