Kjell Scherpen
Scherpen with Brighton & Hove Albion in 2022
Personal information
Full name Kjell Scherpen[1]
Date of birth (2000-01-23) 23 January 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Emmen, Netherlands
Height 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Sturm Graz
(on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)
Number 1
Youth career
2007–2011 VV Emmen[3]
2011–2016 Emmen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Emmen 35 (0)
2019–2021 Jong Ajax 29 (0)
2019–2021 Ajax 2 (0)
2021– Brighton & Hove Albion 0 (0)
2022 → Oostende (loan) 7 (0)
2022–2023 → Vitesse (loan) 26 (0)
2023– → Sturm Graz (loan) 16 (0)
International career‡
2018 Netherlands U19 7 (0)
2019–2023 Netherlands U21 18 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:59, 14 June 2023 (UTC)

Kjell Scherpen (born 23 January 2000) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Austrian Football Bundesliga club Sturm Graz, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, and the Netherlands under-21 national team.

Club career

FC Emmen

Scherpen began his senior career with FC Emmen in the 2016–17 season.[4][5]

Ajax

Scherpen in 2019 with Ajax.

In April 2019 it was announced that he would sign for Ajax in June 2019.[6] His 'signing video' involved him writing the words "Ajax is de mooiste club van Nederland" (Ajax is the most beautiful club in the Netherlands) 1,000 times, given that he had been a childhood supporter of rival club Feyenoord.[7]

Scherpen made his debut for the Ajax senior team on 4 April 2021, as starter Maarten Stekelenburg was injured shortly before kickoff.[8][9]

Brighton & Hove Albion

He was linked with a loan move to Eredivisie side PEC Zwolle,[10] but on 16 July 2021, Scherpen signed for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion on a permanent basis, for an undisclosed fee.[11][12] He made his debut on 8 January 2022, in a 2–1 (after extra-time) away victory over Championship side West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup third round.[13]

On 31 January 2022, Scherpen signed for Oostende of Belgian First Division A on loan for the remainder of the season.[14] He moved on loan to Vitesse in August 2022.[15]

On 6 July 2023, Scherpen signed a season-long loan deal with Austrian Football Bundesliga club Sturm Graz.[16]

International career

He has represented the Netherlands at under-19 and under-21 youth levels.[17][18] Scherpen was called-up to the senior squad for the first time in June 2022, replacing the injured Tim Krul.[19]

Personal life

When he was 18 years old, his older brother Jorg (20) died after having been in a coma following a sudden cardiac arrest.[20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 12 November 2023[4]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Emmen 2017–18 Eerste Divisie 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2018–19 Eredivisie 34 0 1 0 — — 35 0
Total 35 0 1 0 — — 36 0
Jong Ajax 2019–20 Eerste Divisie 14 0 — — — 14 0
2020–21 Eerste Divisie 15 0 — — — 15 0
Total 29 0 — — — 29 0
Ajax 2019–20 Eredivisie 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 0
2020–21 Eredivisie 2 0 1 0 — 1[c] 0 4 0
Total 2 0 1 0 — 1 0 4 0
Brighton & Hove Albion 2021–22 Premier League 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 0
2022–23 Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Oostende (loan) 2021–22 Belgian Pro League 7 0 — — — 7 0
Vitesse (loan) 2022–23 Eredivisie 26 0 0 0 — — 26 0
Sturm Graz (loan) 2023–24 Austrian Bundesliga 14 0 3 0 — 6[d] 0 23 0
Career total 113 0 6 0 0 0 7 0 126 0
  1. ^ Includes KNVB Cup, FA Cup, Austrian Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, four in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Ajax[4]

References

  1. ^ "2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  2. ^ Sports+, DH Les (17 March 2022). "Kjell Scherpen, portier d'Ostende, se raconte: "Je ne peux pas juste me reposer sur mes 2,06 m"". DH Les Sports +.
  3. ^ Jeuring, Frank (19 April 2019). "Amateurs VV Emmen apetrots op transfer Kjell Scherpen: 'Als jochie stond-ie al goed op de voorvoeten'". Dagblad van het Noorden. NDC. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Kjell Scherpen at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  5. ^ Kjell Scherpen at WorldFootball.net
  6. ^ "Kjell Scherpen (FC Emmen) rejoindra l'Ajax Amsterdam cet été". 25 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Ajax transfer news, Kjell Scherpen writing 1000 lines, Edwin van der Sar, Marc Overmars". 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Verslag | Moeizame zege in Friesland". www.ajax.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  9. ^ AFC Ajax [@AFCAjax] (4 April 2021). "We are forced into an substitution, as an injury to Stekelenburg sees him replaced by Scherpen. #heeaja https://t.co/Fdd8ewIlxw" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 4 April 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "'Doelman Kjell Scherpen op huurbasis naar PEC Zwolle'". RTV Drenthe (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Albion sign keeper Kjell". www.brightonandhovealbion.com.
  12. ^ "Ajax goalkeeper Scherpen joins Brighton" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  13. ^ "West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Brighton & Hove Albion: Neal Maupay hits extra-time winner - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Kjell Scherpen joins Oostende on loan". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Brighton goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen joins Vitesse Arnhem on season-long loan". The Independent. 16 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Kjell Scherpen joins Sturm Graz on loan". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  17. ^ "OnsOranje". www.onsoranje.nl. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  18. ^ "OnsOranje". www.onsoranje.nl. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  19. ^ "Scherpen gets senior call-up". Brighton & Hove Albion. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Broer (20) van FC Emmen-doelman Scherpen overleden". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 19 February 2019.
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