Why Kjell Scherpen would be a big loss for Union St Gilloise and an excellent signing for Ipswich Town | OneFootball

According to HNB, Kjell Scherpen is keen on a move to Ipswich Town. It is hardly surprising that the side, recently promoted back to the Premier League, are interested in signing to imposing Dutch goalkeeper. The 26-year-old, who only joined Union St Gilloise last summer, proved to be an excellent signing for the then defending Belgian champions. His performances, and his height, have clearly not gone unnoticed. A departure of Scherpen to Ipswich would be a major loss for Union St Gilloise, but they could make a decent amount of money from the sale.

So, if the transfer does go through, what can Ipswich fans expect from the Dutch goalkeeper? Many felt Scherpen was somewhat unlucky not to be in the Dutch World Cup squad, even if there is a plethora of talented goalkeepers in Dutch football at the moment. The first thing Ipswich fans will notice will be the size of their potential new goalkeeper. Scherpen is over two metres tall and cuts an imposing figure in the middle of the goal. There is a reason he only conceded 38 goals in 43 matches last season, including in the Champions League. Even with his height, he has excellent reactions.

Scherpen is a fantastic shot stopper, which is frustrating for opposition players who may believe that his height doesn’t allow for him to get down quickly. He uses his wingspan well and coupled with his quick reactions, he is a difficult goalkeeper to get the better of. During his first spell in Belgian football with Oostende, Scherpen looked incredibly raw and it felt that he was only really given the opportunities because of his height. Fast forward a few years, and he was one of the best goalkeepers in the Belgian Pro League. For some time Union had been relying on veteran goalkeeper Anthony Moris, who had some great moments but was prone to mistakes. Scherpen was more reliable than Moris and that helped Union both domestically and in Europe.

Scherpen is also pretty decent with his feet, even if Union aren’t a team that wants to keep the ball at all costs. They like to be direct at times, which may well suit Ipswich Town as they face more superior opposition in the Premier League. Scherpen completed more long balls than 87% of goalkeepers in the Belgian Pro League, and made more high claims than 61%. His height is certainly an advantage here and one that he will likely have to use to help Ipswich if he makes the move to the Premier League.

One stumbling block for Union is that they owe Brighton 40% of any sell on fee. While the clubs are closely linked through Tony Bloom, they do operate separately and Union will be looking to make a decent profit even with the money they will owe to Brighton. Scherpen cost Union around €2m last summer, and they will be looking to make at least double that in profit with any sale to Ipswich.

Historically, Union have not stood in the way of any player wanting to leave to a bigger league. That is unlikely to change here, and it appears that all that is required is for the Belgian club to agree an acceptable fee with Ipswich.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson