NEC Nijmegen are furious with Sunderland after a verbal agreement for Jenson Seelt collapsed
Dutch side NEC Nijmegen have claimed that Sunderland broke a verbal agreement to sign defender Jenson Seelt fell through before his surprise move to Bundesliga side Wolfsburg on transfer deadline day.
NEC claim they expected Seelt to return to the Netherlands this summer, with general manager Wilco van Schaik telling ESPN that he believed a deal had been agreed alongside Sunderland’s £11.5million move for goalkeeper Robin Roefs earlier in the window.
“I wasn’t happy about that,” van Schaik admitted. “And certainly not Carlos [Aalbers, NEC’s technical director]. The deal was a done deal. We closed the deal with Roefs, and then we also made a verbal agreement with Sunderland that we would acquire Seelt for this amount.”
According to NEC, delays first arose due to Sunderland’s injury issues, which forced Seelt to remain at the Stadium of Light. “They said they’d keep him for a while because he had to play. Okay, no problem. But it took forever,” van Schaik explained. “Last Sunday, they said they had so many injuries that it wasn’t allowed anymore. They called again on Friday to say they were going to buy two more. So he’s back. Well, we’d already made the arrangements, and suddenly we saw him yesterday afternoon in the Wolfsburg shirt. That’s not how you do business.”
Van Schaik revealed that the mood within NEC has been sour since the deal collapsed, adding: “I’ve never seen Carlos so angry. He texted Sunderland this morning saying he regretted selling Roefs to them. That’s not how you do business. I know Carlos to be very honest and sincere, and I’ve rarely seen him so angry. He was done with it.”
Despite the frustration in Nijmegen, Sunderland sanctioned Seelt’s season-long loan to Wolfsburg late on deadline day, with sporting director Kristjaan Speakman explaining that the chance for the 22-year-old to play top-level football in Germany was “too good to turn down.”
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“First and foremost, we were delighted to see Jenson return to action this summer,” Speakman said. “Throughout pre-season and the start of the Premier League campaign, he’s looked really good, but we believe this season he needs to play more minutes than we can guarantee at this moment in time. The opportunity to play in the Bundesliga is the perfect platform for him to feature regularly at a high level and gain the experience he needs at this stage of his development.”
Seelt’s loan departure also coincides with Sunderland’s incoming recruitment, with the Black Cats agreeing a deal to sign Dutch international Lutsharel Geertruida from RB Leipzig. His arrival, alongside the additions of Omar Alderete and Nordi Mukiele, had further limited Seelt’s chances of first-team football on Wearside this season.
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