Feyenoord goalkeeper Justin Bijlow is thrilled to have made his return after a failed move to Southampton in the summer window.
At the weekend, the stopper made his first appearance of the season in his side’s 3-2 win over AZ Alkmaar.
After the tie, the 26-year-old spoke to De Telegraaf, where he opened up about what he went through in the past few months.
Southampton wanted to sign Bijlow in the last window and he even arrived in England for medical tests. The deal didn’t happen, and the Saints finished the window by adding Aaron Ramsdale to their squad.
Two months ago, Feyenoord director Dennis te Kloese revealed that the transfer didn’t go through because the Netherlands international failed the Southampton medical. This saw Bijlow return to the Dutch club, where Timon Wellenreuther was favoured ahead of him.
Wellenreuther has kept two clean sheets and conceded 21 goals from 14 appearances this season. Bijlow returned to the starting lineup against Alkmaar.
After the Southampton transfer drama, De Telegraaf asked the Dutchman if the ‘first few months’ of this season were hopeless for him.
Responding to that, he said: “It was definitely not nice. But in my head, I was just trying to be No.1 all the time. I trained like that, prepared like that every week and pushed through that constantly. My family, girlfriend and friends dragged me on through it.”
On his relationship with Wellenreuther, Bijlow explained: “I have always supported Timon, and he has always supported me. I don’t think we have any problems together. That’s how we have always treated each other.”
