Stefan de Vrij’s secret for Inter is his ‘super’ consistency, according to his former Netherlands teammate Bram Nuytinck.
De Vrij is now into his third season with the Nerazzurri and has been an ever-reliable presence at the back, having scored once in 34 appearances across all competitions.
He has formed a formidable backline with Milan Skriniar and Alessandro Bastoni that has even drawn comparisons to Juventus’ former rock-solid backline of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.
In an interview for Friday’s print edition of Gazzetta dello Sport, Udinese defender Nuytinck said: “De Vrij, who I played at under-21 level with, is super.
“He always plays at the same level, which is a fundamental thing.”
Nuytinck, who has played for Udinese since 2017, was also asked to pick out which strikers in Serie A he found the hardest to mark, and again turned to Antonio Conte’s side.
“Zlatan Ibrahimovic, because he’s too intelligent,” the 30-year-old explained.
“And then Romelu Lukaku, because he uses his physicality.”
De Vrij and Lukaku are both expected to start for Inter on Sunday when they visit struggling Torino for matchday 27 of Serie A.
Conte will be serving a one-match touchline ban at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, leaving Cristian Stellini to take charge of the Nerazzurri.
