Fulham’s summer recruitment drive continued earlier this week with the capture of keeper Maarten Stekelenburg from Italian outfit AS Roma. The Dutchman arrives on a four-year deal and is the third new face to sign up at Craven Cottage since the end of the previous season, with midfielder Derek Boateng and centre-half Fernando Amorebieta already on board over the last couple of weeks:
The deal reunites the 30-year-old with Martin Jol – having previously played under his compatriot during a spell at Ajax – and looks a canny piece of business by the London club, with Stekelenburg picked up on a free transfer. His new manager was quick to sing his praises upon completion of the transfer on Wednesday afternoon:
“Maarten Stekelenburg is a fine quality goalkeeper who I know well from my time working with him at Ajax and of course as the Dutch international goalkeeper I have always had an additional interest in his career. I am sure that he will do well here at Fulham in the Premier League. He is a player of great quality and technical ability whose distribution and ability to react quickly and read the game is exceptional; he will be a fantastic addition to the talented team of keepers that we already have.”
The History
A product of the Ajax youth academy, Stekelenburg made his debut for the club back in the 2002-03 campaign, though it wasn’t until three years later that he finally established himself as the club’s first-choice stopper. Over the course of nine seasons in Amsterdam, the six foot five Stekelenburg made 191 league appearances, winning a couple of league titles, three cups, four Dutch Super Cups and two Ajax Player of the Year awards before Roma forked out around €6m for his services in August 2011.
Stekelenburg made 28 appearances in his first term at the Serie A but featured only 19 times last time round as the club finished the season in sixth spot. He has also played 55 times for the Dutch national side and has been his nation’s number one since the retirement of Edwin Van der Saar back in 2010.
The Prospects
The arrival of Stekelenburg looks set to herald the end of Mark Schwarzer’s time as the Cottagers first-choice stopper. With his contract set to expire later this summer, the Australian has confirmed he’s on the lookout for another club as the new boy prepares to oust him between the sticks.
With just eight clean sheets accrued last term – and one in the last nine Gameweeks – Jol’s side were far from reliable at the back. All too often they had to rely on Schwarzer’s heroics to keep out opponents; indeed, with 138 saves and three penalty stops, the outgoing veteran racked up a respectable 135 points in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game – this was second only to Dimitar Berbatov and an incredible 60 points more than Brede Hangeland.
Having seen his side ship 60 goals against in 2012/13, Jol has been quick to address a lack of resolve and with both Stekelenburg and Amorebieta comfortable in possession, the Fulham boss looks to have added a little more composure to his backline for the season ahead.
Certainly, the Cottagers previous lack of solidity means their defensive assets will continue to remain in the low, mid-price bracket across the Fantasy games – while Sascha Riether carries a threat from the right-back berth, Stekelenburg is likely to come into consideration between the sticks for Fantasy managers, with last season’s popular options such as Jussi Jaaskelainen and Asmir Begovic set for price hikes up to 5.5.If the fixture list affords him a cut-price rotation partner for our 15 man squads, Stekelenburg – similar to Schwarzer before him – may very well demonstrate that it’s not just a certain Bulgarian who provides us with Fantasy value at the Cottage.
Further Reference
Maarten Stekelenburg Wikipedia
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