Eredivisie Set Piece Review: Van Wolfswinkel Leads, Corners Deliver Nothing
Ricky van Wolfswinkel has converted all six penalties for FC Twente, while corner takers across the entire Eredivisie are collectively struggling to justify their delivery volume.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel has taken six penalties this season and scored all six. That 100% conversion rate from a designated taker — not a streaky opportunist — is the most reliable set piece signal in the Eredivisie right now.
At the other end of the penalty table, Troy Parrott sits at 40% from five attempts for AZ Alkmaar. Two from five is a sample that warrants scrutiny, not a verdict — but if Parrott's miss rate persists past eight attempts, AZ have a taker problem worth naming. Tjaronn Chery at 50% from four for NEC is similarly inconclusive. Neither figure justifies dropping either player yet, but neither justifies confidence either.
Corners: Volume Without Return
The corner data across the Eredivisie is striking for one reason: nobody is converting. The top taker by volume, Souffian El Karouani of Utrecht, has delivered 53 corners this season and produced zero direct goals. Joey Veerman at PSV has taken 44 with the same return. Gyan de Regt (Excelsior, 32), Younes Taha El Idrissi (Groningen, 31), Anis Hadj Moussa (Feyenoord, 29) — the list continues, and the conversion column reads identically throughout.
To be clear: direct corner conversions are rare everywhere. A 0% rate across this many takers reflects the metric's limitations as much as any delivery failure. What matters is whether these corners are generating second-ball opportunities and headed attempts — data this summary cannot answer. The volume flags are real; the liability labels require more context before they stick.
Freekick Watch
Veerman leads freekick volume at PSV with 17 attempts and no goals scored. That is a genuine concern at the conversion end, though freekick conversion rates across European football are low enough that 0-from-17 is disappointing rather than disqualifying. Mees de Wit at AZ is 0-from-10. Neither taker has found a clinical route yet.
Watch for whether PSV rotate Veerman off direct freekick duties before the winter break — 17 scoreless attempts is the kind of accumulation that prompts coaching intervention. Van Wolfswinkel maintaining his penalty record past attempt eight would confirm him as one of the more reliable designated takers in the league this season.