Robin Roefs has enjoyed a good run at Sunderland since arriving at the Stadium of Light from NEC Nijmegen in August. The goalkeeper has kept seven clean sheets and conceded 23 goals from 22 matches.
The Dutchman’s rise under Régis Le Bris at Sunderland has raised eyebrows back in his country. Ajax and PSV Eindhoven missing out on him has puzzled analyst Johan Derksen and others.
Ajax made an approach to sign the 22-year-old before Sunderland secured his services. Back then, there were claims in the Dutch media that Ajax could sign him for €6m. This had irritated Nijmegen CEO Wilco van Schaik, and he labelled it “false reporting.”
Nijmegen ended up selling the stopper to the Black Cats for a club-record fee of €10.5m.
Sunderland player was too expensive
Fast forward to January and De Telegraaf journalist Mike Verweij has explained why Ajax failed to acquire his signature last summer. Voetbal Primeur have relayed his comments.
He talked about Roefs on the Dutch Kick-Off podcast and tried to shield Ajax from the criticism they’re still getting.
Verweij insists the Amsterdam club had no choice but to walk away from signing Roefs.
“I think I can debunk a few more reports about Ajax like this. Ajax enquired about Roefs. Then NEC said: ‘We want €10m.’ They immediately added that Marcel Boekhoorn [the owner] probably wanted much more. That was simply too much for Ajax. So, they were forced to cancel the deal,” he said.
“When you see him play now, you think: they should have done it. Those are decisions made in the moment. NEC was simply too high up for Ajax.”
Roefs’ impressive displays for Sunderland haven’t gone unnoticed. He received a call up from Ronald Koeman in September. However, the player is yet to make his debut for the Netherlands.
Once he does, it’s inevitable Ajax will start receiving criticism again. A fee of €10m would have been within their reach, so Verweij’s defence is a bit forced.
