Last summer, Robin Roefs went down as a record transfer from NEC due to his mega transfer to Sunderland. He could lose that title again within a year. With Kodai Sano, it now appears that Nijmegen has another player in its ranks who, based on data from FootballTransfers the enormous transfer fee of the 22-year-old goalie seems to be easy to break.
It was already clear that Roefs would leave NEC. The goalkeeper only spent one season as number one for the Nijmegen team, but he immediately made a big impression. A domestic transfer also seemed to be a possibility. Ajax was the most concrete, but they let the goalkeeper shoot. The asking price of six million euros was too high, was the reasoning in Amsterdam.
Ultimately it turned out that the Ajax management had missed out on a bargain. Roefs left for Sunderland for a significantly higher transfer fee. The final item was transferred to the English PhD candidate for 10.5 million euros, with the amount able to increase further through bonuses. With his transfer fee, Roefs became NEC’s new record transfer by far.
Five most expensive outgoing transfers at NEC
| Player | New club | Transfer fee |
|---|---|---|
| Robin Roefs | Sunderland | 10.5 million euros |
| Ferdi Kadioglu | Fenerbahce | 4.4 million euros |
| Magnus Mattsson | FC Copenhagen | 4.3 million euros |
| Sontje Hansen | Middlesbrough | 3.5 million euros |
| Björn Vleminckx | Club Bruges | 3.3 million euros |
Mega transfer Kodai Sano coming?
However, the next top transfer seems to have already arrived at NEC. Kodai Sano has managed to score well this season under trainer Dick Schreuder. The 22-year-old Japanese is still under contract with NEC until mid-2028, but is already widely associated with a top transfer and is already linked to the entire traditional top three of the Eredivisie.
In Nijmegen people seem to be able to rub their hands. The Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of the Japanese midfielder is currently at its highest point ever. Sano represents according to data from FootballTransfers currently an ETV of no less than 7.6 million euros. The next mega transfer seems to be on its way.
Record Robin Roefs is about to fall
It even seems as if Robin Roefs’ record will be broken again. Kodai Sano has according to data from FootballTransfers currently has a higher Skill rating than Roefs at the time of his transfer to Sunderland. The Japanese now has a Skill of 66.0, while the now excellent goalkeeper in England had a Skill of 63.6 upon his transfer.
In combination with the aforementioned ETV from Sano, it seems logical that NEC will once again be high up in the tree. The conditions for a new record transfer also seem to exist when looking at the dates of FootballTransfers. Roefs does not seem to be able to enjoy his status as a record transfer from NEC for long.
Asking price for Kodai Sano
It is Feyenoord and PSV in particular that seem to be in the race for Kodai Sano’s signature. The Japanese midfielder also seems to only be allowed to leave NEC for a mega amount. Through it Eindhovens Dagblad It has already been stated that the residents of Nijmegen are betting on an amount of fifteen to twenty million euros. This means that NEC is already considerably above the transfer fee of 10.5 million euros that was paid for Robin Roefs and is therefore actually aiming for a new record transfer.
