Souffian El Karouani and Bart van Rooij can take a step higher after this season. The two NEC backs are reportedly on the radar at FC Utrecht and FC Twente. The interest of the Domstedelingen is no secret, as general manager Wilco van Schaik of the Nijmegen people recently confirmed this in conversation with RTV Utrecht.
El Karouani and Van Rooij will be out of contract with NEC next summer and talks to extend the contract have so far been unsuccessful. Several clubs are therefore on the ropes and Van Schaik previously indicated that Utrecht is one of them. “I will tell you that Utrecht is quite interested in the players who are transfer-free with us,” the general manager of NEC reported to RTV Utrecht. “That is right, because both of our backs are young guys who have developed excellently.”
Twente is also associated with the two in the corridors. Joshua Brenet would like to leave next summer, where Van Rooij can be replaced, and El Karouani is seen as the successor to Gijs Smal. The left back is reportedly hoping for a move to LaLiga. “Souffian, with the enormous energy he has, is making great strides this season”, Van Schaik explains the development of the NEC defender. “I understand that big clubs are after him because he is transfer-free.”
NEC recently struck an important blow by keeping Dirk Proper on board. The small midfielder, who has recently excelled weekly in the Goffert stadium, was also transfer-free and could have made the move to another club for free. However, Proper chose to extend in Nijmegen and is now fixed until mid-2025. The contracts of Iván Márquez and Mattijs Branderhorst have not yet been extended. They can also leave NEC free of transfer in the summer.