ALBION goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen has been in impressive form for his new club K.V. Oostende in Belgium.
The towering goalkeeper joined the side in January on loan in order to gain valuable first-team experience and is making the most of his opportunity.
So far he has played three times for K.V. Oostende and he has managed to keep two clean sheets as he has been promoted to be the first choice goalkeeper at the club.
What makes this progress even more impressive is that the previous first choice goalkeeper, Guillaume Hubert, was already in good form.
Belgian football journalist Jurgen Geril told the Argus: "The first goalkeeper at K.V. Oostende, Guillaume Hubert, was actually doing well at the club.
"He had some good games, but then Kjell Scherpen came and there was a bit of discussion who would be the first keeper.
"You don't hire a promising goalkeeper to put him on the bench.
"So Scherpen became the first keeper."
Geril has been "impressed" by Scherpen's ability to command the penalty area and the way he uses his six foot eight inch frame to his advantage.
"He impressed everybody at K.V. Oostende with his physical presence.
"The fact that he is so tall and big gives the defence confidence.
"It scares the other team.
"Scherpen is able to take a corner kick out of the air with one hand.
"He has some clean sheets and did some good saves against Standard which was a very important win for K.V. Oostende to remain in the first division.
"It's not that he already had to do some impossible things, but by playing more and more games he takes experience.
Gerils believes that Scherpen has the attributes to play in the Premier League but does need to improve some aspects of his game, such as his footwork.
"He has everything a modern goalkeeper needs to have for the Premier League.
"His tall, his has huge hands, a big width when he spread his arms, he has reflexes...So I think he is capable of playing in the Premier League if he can handle the pressure and also learns to play along with his feet.
Current Albion number one Robert Sanchez has been in outstanding form since replacing Matty Ryan, so much so he has been called up to the Spain squad on multiple occasions.
However Geril predicts that Scherpen can continue to improve his game and eventually become the first choice goalkeeper for the club.
"He still has time to become the first goalkeeper of Brighton.
"One day he can be the number one, but he needs to take experience.
"Therefore the Belgian competition is good. it is a physical competition with a lot of duels, also in the box.
"A lot of centers in the box and K.V. Oostende is defensively not the best team.
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"So he will have to do his job.
"This weekend they are playing against Anderlecht.
Albion will be glad to hear about his progress but will also be keeping an eye on the 22-year-old's progress during this spell as confirmed by head coach Graham Potter.
Potter said: “We’ve been impressed with Kjell since he joined us last summer, and this is a good opportunity for him to get games and experience under his belt in a really strong league in Belgium.
“We wish him all the best for the rest of the season. Ben Roberts, David Weir, and his team will be monitoring his progress at Oostende.”
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