Vitesse brings ex-Ajax goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen back to the Eredivisie | Dutch football

Scherpen (22) has no prospect of playing time in England and therefore opts for a return to Dutch soil. “This feels like the best choice I could make at the moment,” he says on the club’s website. ,,I know Vitesse as a beautiful and established club in the Eredivisie. I feel like I fit well here; as a footballer, but also as a person.”

The Dutchman from Drenthe is taken by the Arnhem club, because Jeroen Houwen and Markus Schubert did not meet expectations last season. Schubert started under the bar after his transfer from Schalke 04, but had to make way after a series of mistakes. Houwen did not remove all doubts afterwards.

Trainer Thomas Letsch gave both a chance in the preparation, but due to Schubert’s knee injury, there has been no competition so far. Houwen therefore played the first two matches, but made a horrific mistake at the start against Feyenoord (2-5).

,,We were still looking for a certain type of goalkeeper and Kjell meets the desired profile with his length, reach and appearance,’ says technical director Benjamin Schmedes. ,,Kjell is a keeper who can stand straight away. Despite his relatively young age, he has the necessary experience and also has enough competition and training rhythm.”

Scherpen broke through in 2018 at FC Emmen, the club from his hometown that was promoted to the Eredivisie that year. The tree-long keeper (2.06 meters) was sold to Ajax for 1.5 million euros after one season.

In Amsterdam he mainly played with the U23 team in the first division. He made four appearances in the first team, including the Europa League quarterfinal home game against AS Roma (1-2) in 2021.

Last summer Brighton took him over from Ajax for about 5 million euros. He played one cup match in England, before being loaned out to Belgian club KV Oostende for six months last January. He played six league matches there. At the end of the season, he belonged to the selection of the Dutch national team for the first time.