Niek Schiks on the way to a starting goalkeeper spot at PSV: “Nothing less than Kovar”

PSV has further underlined its confidence in goalkeeper Niek Schiks by breaking open his expiring contract, as reported by the Eindhovens Dagblad. The keeper, who made his debut in last season’s first team at PSV, is about to extend his contract by a year. A loan spell at RKC Waalwijk then appears to be the next step in his development.

Schiks is currently tied down until the summer of 2027, but PSV wants to extend that agreement to mid-2028. By doing so, the club management and technical staff are expressing their appreciation for the development that the goalkeeper has gone through over the past few years. In his appearances for the first team, he made a solid impression, which contributed to the decision to continue with him for longer.

After the contract extension, Schiks must especially start making a lot of match minutes. A loan to RKC seems like the ideal solution for that. An agreement on the broad lines has meanwhile been reached between the two clubs. Once the final formalities have been completed, the move can be made definitive. The path is therefore clear: Niek Schiks, via RKC Waalwijk, is on his way to becoming PSV’s first-choice goalkeeper.

At RKC, Schiks is expected to immediately get the chance to become the first-choice goalkeeper. That prospect of a permanent starting position ultimately made the difference. PSV also looked into possibilities in the Eredivisie and in foreign competitions, including Belgium, but none of those options offered the same combination of sporting opportunities and certainty of playing time.

The route Schiks is now taking calls to mind that of Jeroen Zoet. The former PSV goalkeeper was also loaned out to RKC at an early stage in order to gain experience at professional level. That loan proved at the time to be an important step in his development. After his return, Zoet grew into PSV’s first-choice goalkeeper and won multiple national titles with the club.

Although the situation is not fully comparable—RKC no longer plays at the highest level these days—the loan of Schiks does offer the opportunity to prove himself on a weekly basis. Both PSV and the goalkeeper hope that this will eventually lead to a breakthrough in Eindhoven once and for all.

The goalkeeper position at PSV remains interesting as well. With players such as Matej Kovár, Nick Olij, and various talents from the youth academy, the competition is fierce. For young goalkeepers, it is therefore often difficult to secure consistent playing time at the Philips Stadium. A loan period is therefore seen as a logical step in the development of goalkeepers who want, in the long run, to play a meaningful role in the first team.

Schiks has already tasted life at the very highest level and, despite his young age, has experience within PSV’s squad. Having been active as the first-choice goalkeeper for a season, he now gets the chance to show that he is ready for a next step in his career.

For PSV, the structure fits within the broader policy of allowing talented players elsewhere to gain experience in another way. If Schiks develops positively at RKC, in the future he could make a strong case for himself under Bosz. Many PSV fans are on board with this, with Schiks as the first goalkeeper between the posts at the Philips Stadium. 'Schiks is nothing less than that overrated Kovar,' a PSV fan posted on X.