Spaan, a columnist for Het Parool, singled out the pair after Wednesday's match at the Stadium of Light, and framed the evening as a Premier League audition.
"Two AZ players applied to the Premier League on Wednesday evening. The audition went well. The defence would have kept a clean sheet, were it not for Patatje getting involved at the back."
AZ lost 1-0 at Sunderland in their Europa League opener, with Enzo Le FÊe scoring from the penalty spot on 66 minutes in the Black Cats' first European match for 53 years and AZ's first European fixture of the season. Spaan gave Lewis Schouten an 8 for his display and could not understand why Theo Janssen had criticised the defender at half-time.
"Lesson: a Premier League club has a few criteria when it comes to defenders. Are they tall enough, are they good in duels, can they head the ball, do they win the ball now and then? Schouten played himself into the English spotlight one hundred per cent against Sunderland."
Schouten, 22, was born in Alkmaar and spent last season on loan at Excelsior. He has since become a regular starter for AZ, and the Sunderland game was only his ninth appearance in the first team.
His contract runs until mid-2028, and he has been called up to the Netherlands Under-21 squad next week. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5-2 win over Go Ahead Eagles earlier this month.
Kees Smit, 20, was the other name on Spaan's list, and he is back after missing two league matches through injury. He pounced on a loose ball early on at the Stadium of Light before offloading to Mexx Meerdink, whose effort Robin Roefs turned behind, and after the restart he fired narrowly wide.
Spaan said that was enough.
"Kees Smit did that too, with one action, a lightning-fast dribble and a shot just wide."
AZ went home from the Stadium of Light without a point, but in Spaan's eyes two of their young players left with their stock raised.