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Molenaar urges Joey Veerman to sign for Leeds United
Robert Molenaar has revealed he’s been trying to get Heerenveen playmaker Joey Veerman to sign for Leeds United this summer.
Veerman, 22, was in stunning form in the Eredivisie last season, leading to De Telegraaf reporting that Rangers and Italian side Hellas Verona have tabled bids for him.
However, the Daily Record reports that Heerenveen want £8.5million for Veerman, which has sparked an angry reaction from the Dutch central midfielder.
Ex-Leeds defender Molenaar, who supports the Whites and managed Veerman during his spell at Volendam, has since revealed a conversation he had with the 22-year-old playmaker about his future.
“I was in touch with Joey recently. I had seen a report saying he was moving to Verona so I text to congratulate him,” Molenaar told the Daily Record.
“But he replied to say it was all lies. He played it down and said nothing of the sort had been agreed.
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“I don’t know what the situation is. All I’ve seen is the newspaper reports saying Verona and Glasgow Rangers were interested in him. Leeds too.”
Molenaar added: “Obviously with me being a Leeds fan, I was pushing him in that direction but it seems Leeds are not that interested anymore.”
Classy addition to our midfield
Veerman is young, Dutch, has plenty of first-team experience to his name, is versatile, affordable and had a really good season last time out with Heerenveen.
What’s not to like?
Last season, Veerman made 35 appearances in all competitions for Heerenveen, scoring nine goals and supplying 11 assists in those matches.
Stats by WhoScored show that the midfielder, who can play in defensive or central roles, ranked ninth for key passes per game [1.9] and fifth for dribbles per game [2.5] in the Eredivisie.
Leeds need to add to that area of the squad this summer with Pablo Hernandez leaving and Mateusz Klich struggling to cope with the pace of the Premier League.
Kalvin Phillips had a long season last term and hasn’t had much of a break this summer due to England reaching the European Championships final so we cannot expect him to start all 38 league games next term.
Veerman would be a great back-up option who can learn from Phillips and also play with him in the midfield in a more advanced role if needed.
In other Leeds United news, this 26-year-old defender is hours away from leaving his club after Leeds knocked on the door to sign him.