Five things to know about Torino defender Schuurs as Liverpool and Palace fight on

Liverpool and Crystal Palace are reportedly involved in a bidding war for Perr Schuurs: here are five things to know about the Torino defender.

Schuurs joined Torino for €9.4m from Ajax in 2022, replacing Gleison Bremer, who had joined Juventus. Thanks to his convincing displays with the Granata last season, the 23-year-old has attracted interest from many clubs in England, and according to the latest report from Tuttosport on Thursday, Crystal Palace have sent the best offer for the club and the player so far.

Liverpool remain in the race for Schuurs, so here are the five things you need to know about the Granata star.

Sport family

Sports run through the veins of the Schuurs family given that his father Lambert is a legend of Dutch handball. He has won five domestic titles and is the player with the most appearances for the Netherlands national team with 312 games. One of Schuurs’ sisters, Fleau, plays handball too while the other, Demi, is a professional tennis player. Schuurs played tennis and football until the age of 13 when he started his career as a footballer. “I had to choose because I had to start a path to become a professional player,” the Dutch defender said in his first interview with Torino last year. “I liked football more in that period because I used to play in a team with some of my friends.”

Beginning of playing career

Born in Nieuwstadt, Netherlands, on November 26, 1999, Schuurs started playing football in the youth sector of FC RIA before joining Fortuna Sittard. He used to play as a striker, but at the age of 15, when he joined the new club, his coach immediately deployed him as a centre-back. Ajax signed him for €2m in 2018 and Schuurs remained at the club until last summer. He was one of the most promising defenders of the Lancers, but a knee injury at the end of the 2021-22 campaign partially stopped his development, which continued at Torino during the last campaign.

Playing style

Schuurs is a modern centre-back. He feels at ease playing with a high line and the ball at his feet. Most importantly, he is a solid centre-back, tough to beat in one vs. one situations and aerial duels. When he was in the Netherlands, he mostly played in a four-man defence, but during his time at Torino, he has become the leader of a three-man backline mainly thanks to his work under Ivan Juric.

Juric’s influence

The influence of the Croatian tactician has been key in developing the Dutch centre-back, as Schuurs also admitted a few months ago. “I used to play in a four-man defence at Ajax, but here we play with three or five defenders and the coach has helped me so much to understand this new playing style,” he said in February.

“The first two months were tough, but then I’ve improved.” Schuurs is on very good terms with the former Genoa midfielder who has given him a new nickname at Torino, calling him ‘Piero’ the Italian version of Perr. “I’ve improved in many things with him,” Schuurs added. “If have a question, he helps me by showing videos of what I need to do. He knows our potential and what we need to do to put it into practice.”

Free kick taker

Schuurs scored one goal in 33 appearances across all competitions last season. It came quite early in the second round of the Coppa Italia against Serie B side Cittadella, in a match won 4-0 by the Granata in October. Schuurs scored from open play but can also be a threat from set pieces. He doesn’t only use his aerial superiority to beat opposing defenders on corner kicks, but he can also take free kicks, which is quite common for a 1,91m tall centre-back. “I improved when I was a kid and I used to practice with my friends,” Schuurs told Toro TV this past February. “In one season at a youth level, I scored six goals from free-kicks. Then three more with the Ajax B team and one with the senior team. I think that with practice one can improve.”

Torino have set their asking price at €40m. Schuurs is under contract until 2026 but Torino have an option for a further campaign, while Ajax have a 15% sell-on clause.