Joel Veltman has confirmed that West Ham United were among the clubs looking to sign him from Ajax in the summer, as reported by NOS.
The 27-year-old, who can play at centre-back and right-back, disclosed that he had wanted to move abroad, but Ajax had blocked any potential move away from Amsterdam.
Veltman has often played on the right side of the defence this season, doing so impressively: making 2.7 tackles, 0.7 interceptions, 4.3 clearances and 0.7 blocks per game, as per WhoScored.
What makes this even more impressive is that while the Dutchman averages 0.7 fouls per game, he hasn’t been dribbled past at all in his first three games of the season.
If he is to be compared with West Ham right-back Ryan Fredericks, the 27-year-old definitely comes out on top in the defensive sense.
In his four games this campaign, the 26-year-old has averaged 2.8 tackles, 1 interception, 1.3 clearances and 0.8 blocks per game.
This comes while he has committed 1.8 fouls and been dribbled past 1.5 times per game, showing how much better Veltman is in one-on-one situations.
It will be argued that Veltman plays in an easier league, but in the latter stages of last season’s Champions League, he averaged 2.8 tackles, 1.8 interceptions, 1.2 clearances and 0.4 blocks per game, while making 0.8 fouls and being dribbled past 0.6 times on average.
This would have been a good move for West Ham to make, as it would have given them a solid option who can operate at both right-back and centre-back.
If he had made the move, it would have been good to see Veltman come in and challenge Fredericks to be the starter on the right side of the defence, while also offering another option in the middle.
West Ham fans, do you feel you have missed out on Veltman? Join the discussion by commenting below…
