FC Twente strengthened itself last week with Gijs Smal. PEC Zwolle also had the talented defender of FC Volendam on the radar, but Smal chose FC Twente.
“The feedback we received showed that our offer was too low and he had more prospects of playing minutes in Enschede,” explains Mike Willems, the technical manager of PEC Zwolle, in conversation with Football International. “With us he should have competed with Kenneth Paal and at the same time got used to the level.”
PEC Zwolle goes back 1.2 million euros in the players’ budget and could therefore offer Smal less. “We respect the contracts that the boys have. However, new players will earn different salaries than what was paid here in the past,” said Willems, who also has no assurance that Smal will succeed at the highest level.
“Do not underestimate the step from the Kitchen Champion Division to the Eredivisie,” he warns. “Last year Sam Kersten came over from FC Den Bosch. He was on the first training vomit in the bushes. The level and pace was much higher. In the end Sam did well and played quite a few games.”
