Robin Roefs performances for Sunderland this season have left many scouts in the Netherlands looking a little bit silly.
Pundits and analysts have been taking a bashing for missing out on him, and the latest is Ajax head of scouting Kelvin de Lang. The critic? Johan Derksen via Soccer News.
The Ajax chief scout announced his departure from the Dutch giants this week. He’s set to depart on January 1st. He is reportedly departing because he didn’t feel he was being listened to enough in the club’s transfer policy.
Ajax’s business in recent years has been heavily criticised, with many questioning both the signings they’ve made and the departures that they’ve sanctioned.
One of the ones they missed, is Roefs. He joined Sunderland in a €10m deal in the summer from NEC Nijmegen. That was one of the Black Cats’ more low-key deals.
Yet he’s proven to be one of their best. He’s quickly established himself as number one at the Stadium of Light, with five clean sheets in 16 games and the best save percentage in the Premier League. He is also top of the ‘goals prevented’ metric, further proof of his impressive performances.
It’s regularly been questioned how he was missed in the Netherlands, and Derksen has continued that when discussing De Lang’s departure.
“A scout can be incredibly important,” he said.
“The scout at AZ is doing a fantastic job. If you pick the right players in the First Division for little money… All those scouts in the Netherlands overlooked that NEC goalkeeper (Robin Roefs). He’s one of the best goalkeepers in England.”
Therefore, Derksen doesn’t think De Lang will be missed. Typically harsh from the Dutch pundit.
