Fulham have completed a deal to buy Maarten Stekelenburg from Roma, reuniting the goalkeeper with his his former manager Martin Jol. Stekelenburg spent 11 years at Ajax, a year of which was spent under Jol, before joining Roma in 2011. Now he's moving onto the Premier League and Fulham on a four-year deal.
Fulham sign Maarten Stekelenburg from Roma
Maarten Stekelenburg and Fulham are betting that the goalkeeper can find his old form at Craven Cottage.
Claudio Villa
For more on Stekelenburg to Fulham visit: Cottagers Confidential
The hope at Craven Cottage is that Stekelenburg can unseat Mark Schwarzer as Fulham's number one goalkeeper and end the Australians five-year run as the Cottagers' top keeper. Fulham knew they would have to move on from the 40-year-old Schwarzer sooner rather than later and if Stekelenburg can impress early on, it will be sooner.
Stekelenburg won two Eredivisie titles with Ajax, took over as the Netherlands’ goalkeeper and helped lead them to the 2010 World Cup final, but he struggled in his two years at Roma. While he was sometimes brilliant, he was as often shaky and the club grew tired of his inconsistency, giving Stekelenburg just 19 starts last season as they looked at other options.
The Cottagers have had a busy start to the summer, signing Fernando Amorebieta, midfielder Derek Boateng and Sascha Riether. Now they have added Stekelenburg with the hope that he can find his old form under his old manager and help transition away from Schwarzer.
