Jerdy Schouten is the Netherlands' unsung hero and will be crucial in the midfield battle against England tonight - and only one player at Euro 2024 exceeds his stats in one area that could hurt the Three Lions

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Jerdy Schouten will quietly go about his business in the centre of midfield against England tonight. It’s the quiet ones you have to worry about.

The unsung hero of the Netherlands' run to the European Championship semi-finals, Schouten is happy to go under the radar.

Not that his boss Ronald Koeman under appreciates his work in keeping his engine room ticking over like clockwork.

Schouten has started all five of the Netherlands' matches here so far in Germany, and barring an unexpected change he will be confronted with coping with Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo at the Westfalenstadion later this evening.

The PSV Eindhoven midfielder has earned rave reviews in his homeland for his displays here in Germany.

Jerdy Schouten will be critical in midfield for the Netherlands against England tonight 

He has started all of their games so far and is the unsung hero at the heart of the line-up

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit has described the 27-year-old as one of the players of the Netherlands' tournament so far.

‘Schouten fills his midfield position in a [Sergio] Busquets-like fashion,’ he said.

‘When you see Jerdy play people like Arsene Wenger, Ashley and especially Glenn Hoddle have raved about him.’

On his performance against Turkey in the quarter-final, Ronald de Boer commented: ‘He played another excellent game. Very good. Those passes of his through the lines…a delight to watch.

‘The way he is playing at the moment is amazing.’ High praise.

He completed the quarter-final against Turkey with a 95 percent passing accuracy and a 94 percent accurate forward pass ratio.

Indeed, his quickness in passing has become one of the secret weapons of the Netherlands' trophy tilt.

It has taken Schouten an average of 2.26secs to release a progressive pass during the tournament. Only Bruno Fernandes has recorded a faster release time, with a 2.25sec average.

Ruud Gullit has heaped praise on Schouten, calling him 'Busquets-like' and 'amazing'

Only Bruno Fernandes has been faster at releasing progressive passes at the tournament 

Premier League clubs have a growing interest in Schouten, who plays for Dutch club PSV

Declan Rice is England’s lowest averaging player in terms of release time for a progressive pass on 2.43secs.

It is his passing through the lines into Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay that Gareth Southgate’s men will have to be wary of tonight.

Rice will likely be tasked with shutting those balls down, of course the Arsenal star is more than capable of nullifying that threat.

But it will pose one of tonight’s most intriguing battles as England and the Netherlands look to book a place in Sunday’s final to face Spain.

Schouten is attracting interest from Premier League clubs as PSV fight to keep their midfielder at the club following his emergence as one of the most technically proficient players of the tournament.

Helping the Netherlands defeat England tonight will only serve to further his growing attraction.