The Holland international is being watched by Barcelona this season and he admits growing up admiring their former captain Puyol.
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He said on the Overlap: "My idol is Carles Puyol, he always has been.
"He was an elite player, a true leader at Barcelona. He wasn't even that tall for a central defender, but he always headed corners and scored a lot of goals.
"He was a great player, he had a lot of strength. I liked the way he conducted himself on the pitch. He was the captain, simply, he was."