Does popular goalkeeper in Eindhoven openly apply for a transfer to PSV? “The reporter asked three times: ‘Who do you hope will become champion?’”

On 14 May 2025, goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen of FC Groningen played an important role during the home match against Ajax.

No less than Vaessen, who has meanwhile become popular in Eindhoven, caused quite a stir in the penalty area of the Amsterdammers in the final minute of stoppage time. The now also well-known Thijmen Blokzijl was able to slot in the 2-2, and with that he ensured that PSV went into the last matchday as league leader, since Peter Bosz’s side had no trouble at home with Heracles Almelo.

Ultimately PSV won on the final matchday with a 1-3 away win at Sparta Rotterdam, which secured the 26th league title. Earlier, the FC Groningen goalkeeper had openly said that he wanted PSV to be more deserving of the title than Ajax.

''I had given an interview to RTV Noord, and the reporter asked two or three times: 'Who do you hope will become champion?' The third time I said: then go ahead and make it PSV, because I still come from Brabant. And then you’re already under pressure before the match'', Vaessen said last June in the podcast D'n Hoefcast.

After this season, the native Brabander hopes to make a step toward a great club and PSV would be one of the possible options in that regard. That is what the goalkeeper says in an interview with ESPN.

Vaessen sees himself making good progress in the north of the Netherlands. ''It’s just been going well the past few years. At RKC it was already going well, and that’s how I made a nice transfer to FC Groningen. I think I’ll carry that line forward. I hope to keep that development going this season, and then I’d like a great step to a top club next summer,'' says the goalkeeper.

Still, the goalkeeper of FC Groningen does not rule out a foreign transfer either. ''I also aspire to a great step abroad. I just have to continue along this line, and then, as an experienced keeper, some great things can still come my way. You never know. It also depends on what’s happening among the Dutch top teams,'' continues the shot-stopper.

The born Breda native also points to his own qualities. ''In the end, it's what they are looking for and whether they see that profile in me. But I think I have an interesting profile for many clubs, both in and abroad. Especially because of my playing qualities'', concludes Vaessen.