Joey Veerman has quickly found his place at PSV, he says in an interview with The Telegraph. Feyenoord was also in the market for the 23-year-old midfielder last month, but he emphasizes that a transfer to Rotterdam has not been so close. The fact that PSV wanted to complete his arrival within a day gave him the feeling that the people of Eindhoven really wanted him.
“Many thought I was almost Feyenoord, but it has never been this close. Feyenoord was the first to contact and made an offer. Only that did not come close to the asking price of Heerenveen,” says Veerman. He says he has had no contact with Feyenoord and trainer Arne Slot. “After Heerenveen – Feyenoord – just before the winter break – he tapped me and said: ‘See you soon’. After that I heard nothing more.”
Once PSV reported to sc Heerenveen, it went quickly. “If a deal is done within a day, they really want you. That gave me a very good feeling,” emphasizes Veerman. In retrospect, he no longer regrets that a transfer to AZ broke down last summer. “PSV is a bigger club after all and 23 is an ideal age to make the step to a Dutch top club. Although I would have liked it one or two years earlier.”
Veerman says he was troubled by the fact that a transfer was difficult to get off the ground in recent years. Six months ago, AZ was the fifth club to go wrong in Heerenveen despite frantic attempts. The midfielder got the feeling that Heerenveen didn’t want him. “On the field I put it off more easily. Then you want to win, be decisive regardless of whether there are drivers in the stands who do not agree with a transfer. In the end, I showed myself at Heerenveen in such a way that Feyenoord and PSV showed interest in January.”
For the time being, Veerman played three games for PSV, two of which as a basic player and in which he was good for a goal and two assists. ‘Not a bad start’, says Veerman. “I did not come to PSV to sit on the bench. It’s up to me to show that I can handle the level,” said the midfielder. “It goes faster, hit once or twice and there’s a lot of playing around me. That’s nice, because I can handle it well. I’m getting up to the level and it’s nice with Cody Gakpo and Götze in front of me.”