Newcastle Linked with Dutch U21 Defender

Newcastle are considering Vitesse utility man Kelvin Leerdam as a cut price summer transfer target.

The Holland Under-21 holding midfielder, who can also play all across the back line, has been actively looking for a move to the Premier League for months. 

He has previously been heavily linked with Tottenham and Everton, and was apparently close to signing with the Merseyside club last January, before siding with a move to Vitesse, where has has since prospered. 

Leerdam started his career at local Utrecht club USV Elinkwijk, before signing on with the Feyenoord academy in 2005.  Alongside now-Norwich midfielder, Leroy Fer, and Georginio Wijnaldum (who have both been linked with Newcastle in the past), they dominated the youth leagues in Holland with the reputable Feyenoord academy.

He made his first-team breakthrough in 2008, at the age of just 18, and went on to make 97 appearances for the club, scoring 5 goals. 

In January of last year, he found himself falling down the pecking order at the Rotterdam club, and signed a pre-contract deal with Vitesse Arnhem. Since arriving, the utility man has featured in 15 games for Vitesse and scored 7 goals, a very impressive tally for a player who predominantly plays in defence.

So impressive have his performances been this season, that he was named in Yahoo’s ‘Eredivisie Team of the Year so far’, at right back. 

Kelvin has also featured 19 times for the Netherlands U21 side since 2010, and would, I’m sure, be welcomed by fellow compatriots, Vernun Anita and Tim Krul if he were to join. 

With Stephen Taylor being heavily linked with a move away from the club, it would perhaps be in Newcastle’s interest to bring in a new stand-in defender. And Leerdam appears to fit the bit; he’s versatile, he’s young and he would most likely be available for under £3m – a bargain if ever I saw one!

Have any of our Dutch readers seen him play this season? Is he good enough to make the step up?

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