Midfielder admits he would have preferred Manchester United over Tottenham in Europa League draw

AZ Alkmaar captain Jordy Clasie has shared his delight at drawing Tottenham in the Europa League, even if he’d have prepared Manchester United.

Voetbal Primeur cover comments from the Ziggo Sport following the Europa League draw on Friday.

The Dutch side are set to host Ange Postecoglou’s side at the beginning of next month before then travelling to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium a week later for the second leg.

It’ll be a reunion on several fronts for the two sides, who already met each other in the league stage earlier this season, which Tottenham won 1-0.

It will also give Troy Parrott to face his old team once again, with the striker shining in the Netherlands after joining Alkmaar in a €4m deal from Tottenham in the summer transfer window.

That should provide an interest backstory and plenty of spectacle to the game, with both sides hoping to go far in the competition and potentially make their way into the Champions League, which is unlikely to happen from qualifying via the Eredivisie or Premier League.

Despite that, though, it seems Clasie would have preferred a clash against a different Premier League team if he’d been able to choose.

“Maybe I had a slight preference for that,” he said when asked about Manchester United.

“But both opponents are fantastic to play against in the last sixteen. Tottenham has a fantastic stadium, with sixty thousand people.

“We were certainly not without a chance at the time, but we were not at our best either. There are opportunities against every club. Also, against these types of opponents, despite the fact that on paper they are of course a very big name.”