Roefs has been one of the stars of Sunderland’s season since joining the club from Dutch side NEC Nijmegen in an £11.5m deal last summer.
The 23-year-old has forced his way into the senior Netherlands squad since moving to Wearside and established himself as one of the most exciting young goalkeepers in Europe since dislodging Anthony Patterson from the Black Cats’ starting side.
His performances have hardly gone unnoticed, with a series of reports in the last few weeks having linked him with a potential summer move to Chelsea. Neither Robert Sanchez nor Filip Jorgensen have had a particularly successful season at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues expected to enter the market to sign a new number one once the transfer window reopens.
There has been talk of a possible £60m move for Roefs, but the Sunderland shot-stopper insists he is not thinking of leaving Wearside and is instead excited by the prospect of where the Black Cats might climb to in the next few years.
“I hope this is just the start of Sunderland’s story,” said Roefs, who returned from injury in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Tottenham. “It's not really a time to think about things like moving or any rumours. As long as I don't know anything about it, I just keep on going.
“What we are building here is just really, really amazing. Being promoted and performing this way, we can only build on that and let’s hope next season we can continue like this.”
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Roefs missed four games prior to the international break, including the derby win over Newcastle United, after suffering a hamstring injury.
January signing Melker Ellborg proved a more than capable deputy, but Regis Le Bris’ faith in Roefs was underlined by his decision to immediately restore the Dutchman to the starting line-up at the weekend.
While Roefs was a spectator for much of the game against Spurs, he produced a crucial stoppage-time stop when he tipped Pedro Porro’s rising drive over the crossbar, with the resultant 1-0 win lifting Sunderland to tenth position in the table, just a point behind seventh-placed Brentford.
Roefs’ rise from the relative obscurity of the lower reaches of the Dutch top-flight to becoming one of the most highly-rated goalkeepers in the Premier League has been remarkable, even if he does not pay too much attention to what is being said about him outside the Academy of Light.
“I don’t really feel any way with that,” he said. “I’m just really happy with the confidence and the trust I get from the team and from the coach. Everyone just supports me so well, they're happy that I’m back and this is for me really important.
“Within the club and team, they appreciate me and that’s just really nice to have. And what happens outside of that, I don't really feel any type of way about it.”