Mats Wieffer, who transferred to Feyenoord in the summer of 2022, has been making a name for himself. The Dutch team has found him for a fee of only 575k at Excelsior. With the low expectations, he was quickly seen as the most surprising transfer of their summer.
After a good start in the first season playing alongside Orkun Kokcü, he now has to do it without his partner. Kokcü left to Benfica in the summer of 2023. Is Mats Wieffer showing that he is still class, or was he reliant on the former Feyenoord captain?
Contents
1. Biography
2. Matches scouted
3. Player style
4. Technical attributes
5. Physical attributes
6. Mental attributes
7. Current level
8. Potential level
Biography
- Name: Mats Wieffer
- Date of birth: 16–11–1999
- Nationality: Dutch
- Position: Defensive midfielder / Central midfielder
- Current club: Feyenoord Rotterdam
- Preferred foot: Right
- Length: 188 cm
- Previous clubs: Excelsior Rotterdam
- Biggest transfer: 575k from Excelsior to Feyenoord
Matches scouted
- Ireland — Netherlands
- Feyenoord — Heerenveen
Player style
The 2 matches that I’ve seen showed a very different play style from the teams, but still a very similar player. Wieffer is a defensive or supporting midfielder with an organizing style. This means he likes to create spaces and lead the team on where the build-up should go, sometimes more by giving directions than moving the ball himself.
On the ball, Mats Wieffer is picky with when he wants to receive it. When he does, he wants to already have a solution. Often he will find it thanks to his great vision, but when it is not there he will likely struggle on the ball.
Off the ball he is a good organizer by giving directions to his teammates. He also moves into alternate spaces to support this behavior. The image below shows a great example, where Wieffer moves behind Frenkie de Jong to create space for him to be able to evade the press.
A very similar situation arises later, where Wieffer once again shows his football intelligence. He recognizes Xavi Simon having space and they communicate well together to come to a solution for Van Dijk who has the ball. Wieffer does it all by dragging his man marker with him.
Defensively Wieffer is not an outright defensive midfielder. He is agressive but often late and therefor concedes a lot of fouls. He struggles against players with a good ball control that are more agile and quicker than him. This shows in statistics where received 3 yellow cards in just 8 Europa League games.
Technical attributes
Mats Wieffer is an amazing passer of the ball. In particular his one-touch passes are great. In a clip below, he plays a seemingly impossible pass through 2 defenders to Calvin Stengs. This also was his first touch, showing he has a really good technique.
But there are downsides to his technical abilities. He is definitely not a dribbler. When there are no passing options available, he tends to walk with the ball till he finds one, but his ball controll isn’t the best in this department.
His long passes are good too, but this is mainly due to his alert vision, meaning he is one step ahead of the others on the pitch.
Physical attributes
When buying him as a new club, the trainer will probably immediately send him to the gym. Luckily, his strength shows when he regularly bodies attackers when it’s needed. Mainly his aggression makes him very strong in complicated duels.
He is a good header of the ball, scoring several for Feyenoord already. His stamina also is a really good attribute, he can go for 90 minutes in a game. When he has to play two or three games a week you do see a downfall in his abilities though. This was especially visible in his international game where he definitely did not seem sharp.
Mental attributes
We talked about his tactical knowledge and vision. This is of a very high level. Unlike good vision would suggest, he does struggle with higher tempo games or quicker opponents as mentioned before. He makes more fouls and receives several yellow cards when the level becomes too high for him. This is potentially a big issue if he wants to make the next step.
Current level
Mats Wieffer is starting his second season at Feyenoord, playing a bit further forward than his defensive midfield role the previous year. Time will show where this brings him, but based on the few games of this season, he is not ready for a next step yet. As a defensive midfielder besides Kokcü, Wieffer at times showed an extremely high level of play. Some suggested he would already move to the Serie A this summer.
Now that Kokcü is gone, Wieffer has to prove himself again as a worthy midfielder who can also find solutions by himself. Creating spaces for others is important, but on the ball he should be capable of a lot more if he wants to advance in his career.
Potential level
Last season did show that when Wieffer is surrounded by good players, he will create the spaces for them and make them excel. It still does not weigh up against his inability to cover high level attackers though. This is something he has to prove in this years Champions League run.
On a higher level, Wieffer will be dependent on a good trainer with a good strict system and build-up routines. Think about teams like Brighton. But if he really wants to be an independently world-class footballer, a lot needs to improve.
It’s hard to judge, but I foresee that he will become a top Eredivisie player at some point. He will likely make the move into the Serie A sometime, but I’d be surprised to see him in a regular top four side there. I think his heights may lie just below that level.
As a club scout, I’d definitely look at Mats Wieffer this season, especially in those higher tempo Champions League games. If he performs well, I think a team just above mid-table would do really well with getting him.