Monday, August 2, 2021 at 8:30 PM• Mart van Mourik

Ferry de Haan has brushed aside the suggestion to effect a transfer of Joey Veerman by means of a player swap. The Telegraph made a report on Monday evening that Feyenoord is thinking of tempting sc Heerenveen to reach an agreement. The technical manager of the Frisians, however, indicates a day later that ‘an exchange deal is not an option’.

“The money is always nice, but the most important thing is: if a very good player leaves, you also want a good player back,” De Haan said in conversation with the Dutch football team. Leeuwarder Courant about a possible departure of Veerman. At the same time, he addresses the rumor that Feyenoord plans to offer an exchange deal, but such a construction has no chance of success, according to him. “There is not a player in the position for which we are looking for someone who we think is complementary to what we already have. An exchange deal is therefore not an option for us now.”

The Rotterdammers would not have the budget to bring in the midfielder, but with the deployment of a striker they wanted to tempt the Frisians to conclude a deal. At Heerenveen, the offensive line is understaffed, while the competition in striker position at Feyenoord is very fierce. De Haan does acknowledge that Heerenveen is indeed looking for a new striker. “The striker position is the position that we have actually said from day one: we have to look at that. And purely for the reason that we only have one striker with Henk”, says De Haan, who therefore does not see a suitable goal-getter at Feyenoord.

Hellas Verona and Rangers previously made formal bids for Veerman, but the clubs saw their intentions brushed aside. The Serie A club had five million euros left for the midfielder and the top club from Scotland was half a million euros less. Veerman has already expressed his dissatisfaction with this. “I think the Italians have made a very reasonable offer, but when I hear what Heerenveen is asking, it can sometimes be a very difficult story,” Veerman said recently in conversation with the weekly. “Ten to twelve million euros, I think that’s crazy. After a corona year with empty stadiums, the money is pretty much gone everywhere. I honestly don’t think this makes any sense.” On Saturday, Veerman confirmed in front of the ESPN camera that he sees Feyenoord as ‘a good step’.