Sunderland completed their eighth summer transfer on Saturday
Robin Roefs is hoping to bring an aggressive brand of goalkeeping to the Stadium of Light after putting pen to paper on a five-year deal at the club.
Roefs was officially confirmed as a Sunderland player on Friday, after the Black Cats agreed a package of around £11.5 million to sign him for Eredivisie club NEC Nijmegen. The 22-year-old goalkeeper enjoyed a breakout campaign last season, keeping ten clean sheets as NEC secured a midtable finish. That in turn led to him being selected as the starting goalkeeper for the Netherlands U21 side at the recent European Championships.
Roefs is hoping to build on a big 12 months as he takes the first steps in his Sunderland career.
"I like to play aggressive, to come off my line and come for crosses," Roefs said.
"I like to play with the ball and I think I'm trying to always be calm. Hopefully the fans will see this.
"It was my first real season last time as the first goalkeeper, and I'm really happy with how it went. Obviously the stats were good at the end of it, I was really happy. I was able to represent my country [in the U21s] in the Euros and this was a really big thing for me, of course we went in to win it so it was disappointing that we weren't able to do that. But it was a really great experience for me and I was able to show what I can do to the rest of the Europe."
Roefs said it was a 'dream come true' to get the chance to play in the Premier League so early in his career.
"It's a dream come true to play in the Premier League," he said.
"To be at such a big club with such a big history..I'm really happy. To be able to play in this league is a dream. I just had a tour of these facilities and it's really good, so of course I'm looking forward to meeting everyone."
Speaking after the deal was confirmed, Kristjaan Speakman confirmed that he expects Roefs to challenge Anthony Patterson for the number one position this season.
NEC Nijmegen’s parting message for Sunderland’s new signing Robin Roefs
The deal represents a club record for NEC, who paid tribute to Roefs in a classy farewell on Friday.
The club's sporting director, Carlos Aalbers, said: "This fantastic result is thanks to the dedication of many colleagues. From the moment Robin joined the DFDS–NEC Football Academy at age 11, right up to his first-team appearances. I want to thank and compliment all these people for their contribution to this record transfer for NEC. The most important contribution, however, was made by Robin Roefs himself, by working daily on his development and training incredibly hard. We are proud of Robin and wish him the best of luck at Sunderland in the Premier League, the best league in the world."
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