Benjamin van Leer is not yet the reliable goalkeeper Sparta Rotterdam had in mind. After disappointing periods at Ajax and NAC Breda, the keeper has not started too well on his new adventure in Rotterdam-West. Van Leer was one of the guilty parties of the defeats in the Eredivisie duels with Ajax (0-1) and Vitesse (2-0) and the question is whether Henk Fraser will continue to hold on to the closing post in the coming round of play.

“If I were the trainer of Sparta, I would now have faith in Van Leer. If you don’t do that, the boy’s self-confidence will be completely destroyed ”, former goalkeeper Ed de Goeij emphasizes on Thursday. Algemeen Dagblad. “Then you will ultimately have no use for him.” Khalid Sinouh, who, like De Goeij, has a past at Het Kasteel, also sees no reason to victimize Van Leer for reserve keeper Maduka Okoye. “A keeper who makes mistakes is always food for discussion. You can now see that with that Yvon Mvogo. ”

Mvogo made a blatant mistake in his first two matches at PSV, leading in two goals against, while he had just been brought to Eindhoven for his footballing qualities. Sinouh, however, thinks Van Leer’s mistakes are of a different nature. “Benji has made mistakes, but not gross blunders like Mvogo. Van Leer therefore deserves confidence for the time being. Knowing Henk Fraser a bit, I expect that Benji will also have that confidence against PEC Zwolle at Sparta. ”

In 2016/17 Van Leer made a sublime impression under the bar at Roda JC Kerkrade and his performances were rewarded with a transfer to Ajax. In Amsterdam, he eventually also had to give priority to Kostas Lamprou, while his time at NAC was by no means an unqualified success. Sinouh thinks that the lack of competition rhythm is the reason that Van Leer cannot match the level of his time in Limburg for the time being. “Benjamin should not have gone to Ajax after that good period at Roda. There his development was slowed down because he never played there ”, the former goalkeeper says.

“That is disastrous for a keeper, you saw that later during his period at NAC. He now has to make sure that he gets that rhythm quickly. My advice to him would be: don’t take risks and stay calm. I believe that he can really become a great goalkeeper for Sparta. ” De Goeij is of the same opinion. “You can’t tell me that a goalkeeper who was so good at Roda can’t do anything anymore.”