BY ANDREW EKEJIUBA
Eredivisie giants PSV Eindhoven has announced that exciting Nigerian teenage central defender Emmanuel van de Blaak has extended his contract with the club.
The new agreement will keep Van de Blaak at the Philips Stadion until June 30, 2025.
PSV have demonstrated their huge faith in the talented Dutch-Nigerian defender as he was offered a new deal despite still recovering from an ACL injury that has kept him sidelined since November 2021.
Van de Blaak previously worked with the current PSV head coach Ruud van Nistelrooij, who handed him his U21s debut against FC Den Bosch in August 2021 at the age of sixteen.
Prior to his spell on the sidelines, he totaled eleven appearances for Jong PSV in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie – level 2 in the Dutch football pyramid.
He spent the formative years of his career with the youth teams of JEKA and Willem II before joining the PSV Academy in the summer of 2020.
Van de Blaak has been promoted to PSV U21 side ahead of the 2022-2023 season.
Meanwhile, Ipswich Town continued their pre-season preparations with a 4-2 defeat to Premier League opponents Crystal Palace at the Academy at the weekend.
Eberechi Eze and Anglo-Canadian-Nigerian goalkeeper Owen Goodman started for the Eagles, while the Ipswich Town squad was captained by Super Eagles striker Sone Aluko.
Luke Plange converted a pass from Christian Benteke to open the scoring in the ninth minute and doubled the advantage when he finished from close range in the 11th minute.
Thirteen minutes in, Goodman foiled an attack by the Blues as he acrobatically collected a deep cross from Penney.
After Aluko came close to halving the deficit with a free-kick that sailed just side, Benteke put the game beyond the reach of Ipswich Town by scoring Palace’s third goal three minutes to the end of the first half.
Plange got his hat-trick when he beat the offside trap and slotted home but the Tractor Boys pulled one back as Dominic Ball headed in a fine delivery from Aluko.
The Nigeria international made it 4-2 with a left-footed strike from 20 yards with twelve minutes remaining.
Aluko scored an identical goal on July 2 as Ipswich Town were hammered 5-1 by another London based Premier League side, Arsenal.
Goodman, who played for Palace’s U18 side last season, made way for Joe Whitworth at the break.