Xavi immediately stresses one thing he intends to tackle completely differently from Ronald Koeman with the Netherlands national team

Xavi has a crystal-clear view on Dutch players plying their trade in Saudi Arabia. The new Netherlands head coach, unlike his predecessor Ronald Koeman, is not ruling out calling up players from the Saudi Pro League.

During his time in charge, Koeman was clear: players active in Saudi Arabia were, in principle, a closed book for the Netherlands. Xavi takes a completely different approach, as he made clear during his first press conference as head coach of the Dutch national team.

"Yes, why not?" Xavi said straight away when asked whether internationals playing in Saudi Arabia could be selected. When it was then put to him that the level and ambition in the Saudi Pro League are considerably lower, Xavi hit back sharply. "Do you follow that league?"

"If you do, you know it is a good league. Is it better than the Eredivisie? We also follow that league with interest. It is also a good league, so perhaps we will select players from Saudi Arabia, from the Eredivisie, Premier League, LaLiga..."

"Yes, I do not care about the leagues, I care about the level of the players. That is the most important thing for me," was his clear opinion.

That will come as excellent news for, among others, Tijjani Reijnders and Crysencio Summerville. Both players still played an important role for the Netherlands at the last World Cup, but then opted for moves to Al Qadsiah and Al Hilal respectively.

Xavi's stance could also open the door again for Steven Bergwijn. The Ittihad Club forward was completely ignored under Koeman, but on Monday evening he again made his mark in emphatic fashion with a flawless hat-trick.