PSV Eindhoven are set to potentially hand 19-year-old winger Donyell Malen a rare start in their Champions League clash with Tottenham after seeing Steven Bergwijn miss training the day before the match in the Netherlands, according to the London Evening Standard.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Eredivisie side saw their star winger miss their training session on Tuesday before taking on their Premier League rivals in Europe, with Malen, who has started just two cup matches this season, set to take his place.
The youngster has been a regular for PSV but only from the bench, with his nine league and two Champions League outings coming as cameos lasting between one and 27 minutes.
Opinion
Both Spurs and PSV know that this clash could well determine their progress to the knock out stages of the competition and as such Bergwijn’s absence could prove vital. Can the young Malen step up to the plate and make the difference, or will it swing it Tottenham’s favour, with that lack of experience handing them the upper hand? Only time will tell, but what it will do is shake up Mauricio Pochettino’s plans at the last minute, with his approach likely to have been focusing on stopping their regular starter and not paying too much attention on the younger talent, whose appearances have been fleeting this season. It promises to be an exciting clash and one which has plenty riding on it. Malen has the chance to become a PSV hero on Wednesday night – can he sink the hearts of the travelling Lilywhites and leave their European futures hanging by a thread?