ON ONE left wing was the £17m Manchester United recruit Nani. On the other, a little-known Dutchman with just one full season as a professional. But the new Red was not the night’s irresistible talent.

“Edgar Davids with stepovers” was how one observer described Royston Drenthe as he busily established himself as the revelation of the Uefa under-21 championship last week. Stocky of build, bushy of ponytail, broad of Dutch-Surinamese grin, the physical resemblance was obvious, yet it was the heart-racing added flourishes that caught the eye.

Pity the Portuguese charged with marking Drenthe. After five minutes Amoreirinha collected a caution for clattering the 20-year-old en route to the byline - the only time he halted Drenthe. At half-time the right-back found himself relieved by Joao Pereira, who was soon seeing yellow - and the rear of an orange shirt. If either went close to him, Drenthe skipped, slid or seduced his way beyond them; if they stood off, a booming shot or accurate cross flew by.

Right-backs duly traumatised, Drenthe did a stint on the other flank, where Antunes - a rising star of the Portuguese game fresh from his first full international cap - had the good sense to force him on to his weaker foot, only to discover it as incisive a weapon as possessed by most right wingers. Holland’s winner came courtesy of a Drenthe centre, just as the hosts’ victory over Israel had. Only a desire to avoid repetition sent Uefa’s man of the match award to Groningen scorer Maceo Rigters.

All this from a man who’d spent the preceding league campaign as an energetic but defensively erratic left-back in a Feyenoord side struggling to an embarrassing seventh-place finish. Even against the Israelis, only a half-time injury to playmaker Ismail Aissati saw Drenthe repositioned from defence to attack, though coach Foppe de Haan soon realised he was on to a good thing. “He told me I’d be staying there against Portugal and I could go to sleep knowing that I would play on the left wing,” said Drenthe. “It was a very good feeling to be in that position, and I think I do it well.” He is not alone in that opinion. As Drenthe sprinted to greet family and friends after seeing his side into the semi-finals (and the Olympic Games), many of the 100-plus cadre of scouts, coaches and sporting directors in Groningen exited the stadium pondering what it would cost to extract him from the Dutch League. As recent bidding wars over Nani and Gareth Bale testify, decisive left-sided players are at a premium and when one emerges action is swift.

Drenthe’s agent has been fielding phone calls all week. “We’ve got a lot of proposals to talk about the future,” says Andre Wasiman. “How many? Ten or 15, and of big clubs - Spanish, Italian, English.” He won’t name names and has told them all they’ll have to wait until after the tournament for a chance to convince Drenthe they are best for him. “Royston has two more big matches to focus on first,” adds Wasiman, whose client has a river of competitive energy to channel.

Walking to the team bus on Wednesday, Drenthe heard girlfriend Roxanne on the far side of a two-metre barrier and leapt up and half over it to deliver a kiss. He throws words out at machine-gun pace. “After a game I still have a lot of adrenaline running through my body,” he explains. “After the Portugal game I didn’t get any sleep until 4am. I’m so still so pumped up and I lie and think about my game; analysing what went well and what went wrong. Only after rerunning the game several times do I fall asleep.”

He does a nice line in self-deprecation too, laughing off suggestions he was upset that nobody tipped him for fame at the under21s and cracking jokes about meeting boyhood inspiration Davids: “I didn’t ask him for his autograph, because I’m not good enough to ask Edgar Davids for his autograph. Edgar Davids is still my idol. He’s got the perfect mentality in the game. He’s always destined to win, and doesn’t even have to tell you that. You can tell by his body language. Winning is part of his body and I think I also have a little bit of that.” Ask him where he wants to play next and Drenthe says he fancies the league once bruised by the former Tottenham enforcer. “The Premiership is very good and I’ve loved Man United from a little boy, but if I play in England it doesn’t matter.” Drenthe might be outshining Nani again before long.

Stars of the U-21 stage Alberto Aquilani (Italy and Roma)
The 22-year-old midfielder plays for Roma, is a regular in the U21 team and has a full cap

James Milner (England and Newcastle)
Was the youngest scorer in the Premiership in 2002 when aged 16 years and 357 days

Kevin Mirallas (Belgium and Lille)
A gifted 19-year-old Belgian striker, who is also capable of playing in midfield

Royston Drenthe (Holland and Feyenoord)
The 20-year-old is ostensibly a left-back, but has played in midfield and is equally happy playing up front. He gives Holland options

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