Kelle eyes a return to Dutch set-up if he can have Dons glove affair
Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos believes that establishing himself in Scotland can lead to again rubbing shoulders with international superstars.
The 30-year-old took a route full of twists and turns before signing at Pittodrie in the summer and taking over as the club’s No. 1 from Joe Lewis.
Roos spent eight years at Derby County but had five loans spells at other teams during that time.
His best run of games at the Rams came in season 2018-19 when turned out 24 times.
Moving on to try to progress his career is nothing new for the Dutchman.
He had a series of near-misses with prominent sides in his homeland – like PSV Eindhoven, Willem II and NEC Nijmegen – before kicking off his professional career with English non-league outfit Nuneaton Town.
His impressive performances attracted the attention of scouts from bigger teams and that led to a trial with Liverpool.
Training with the Reds could have been a daunting prospect for many young players but Roos took it in his stride.
He said: “It was massive to walk into a big training ground like that with Brendan Rodgers as manager and Steven Gerrard as captain.
“I sat next to him and Simon Mignolet in the dressing room.
“At that time, it was unreal. You had Sturridge, Sterling and Suarez joking around.
“But before I went to non-league in England I was involved in the Dutch national set-up at youth level with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Memphis Depay.
“So it wasn’t the first time I was around big players.
“Football is fickle, it can change quickly. I was in a bit of a gap and I wanted to play games at Nuneaton.
“It felt like an exciting time for me but also a time of insecurities.
“I went on trial at Liverpool, Bolton, Derby and Ipswich but I was just looking for a pathway to play.”
Now that he’s playing in Scotland’s top flight, does he think there’s a chance of being reunited with the likes of van Dijk and Depay in Holland’s international side?
He said: “Everything in football is possible. My aims and goals are very high and I’m not going to shy away from that.
“If I can nail myself down here at Aberdeen first, I can go from there.
“The sky is the limit for me. I believe my strongest years are ahead of me.
“I want to grow and go from strength to strength.
“It does feel different at Aberdeen.
“For 90% of the time in my career I’ve started not as the No. 1 and had to fight my way up, other than my loan spells.
“At Derby, they always brought a big goalkeeper in like David Marshall, Scott Carson or Lee Grant.
“Their CVs say it all. After Derby, Lee went to Stoke then Man United.
“Scott went from Derby to Man City and Marshall was Scotland’s No. 1.
“It doesn’t get more difficult than that, to be No. 1 over big players like that.”
Roos was diagnosed with dyslexia as a four-year-old and believes that made him a tougher individual.
He went on: “It does give you, at the early stage of your life, a kind of resilience.
“A feeling that not everything in life comes for free.
“I do believe that once you overcome the challenges, it makes you stronger and for that reason it shapes you as a person.
“It has done that for me.”
Roos and the Dons host Hearts this afternoon, looking to make up for last weekend’s thumping at Dundee United.
They have won three out of four league games at home this term but it has been the opposite on the road.
The goalie believes they will soon change that pattern.
He said: “Being at home might give some players a lift, the expectations in the stadium, etc.
“We put expectations on ourselves in the away games.
“So far it has just not gone the way we wanted but I feel that we will be
all right.”