Wouter Verstraaten has described his time on trial at Sunderland as 'special', while reports suggest the club have offered him a contract.
The 24-year-old centre-back is currently playing for South Shields having been spotted in the Northern League playing for Consett. Verstraaten started out in the PSV Eindhoven academy, but ended up in the Northern League after moving here to study at Durham University.
He had impressed at Mariners Park, and that led to a trial at Sunderland, with Eindhoven Dagblad reporting that the Black Cats have offered him a deal.
Speaking of the trial, Verstraaten did say he felt he held his own.
He said: "They had seen me play and showed interest. Special, yes. Half a year ago I played football at Geldrop and now I was allowed to test at Sunderland.
"I am realistic, but during that test internship I noticed that I was competing at that level."
Verstraaten played in one game for Sunderland's under-23s as a trialist, but it ended 6-0 in favour of Liverpool.
Despite that, the Netherlands publication claim he did enough to impress Sunderland, and it's believed he will be free to sign a deal in the summer.
And although he didn't confirm that a deal had been offered by the Black Cats, he did say that his degree will be complete and therefore going back to professional football will be an option.
"I’m going to graduate anyway and I’m like: why wouldn’t I play professional football for a few years? Then we will see where it ends," he is quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, of his trial, he says his friends were most interested in Sunderland striker Will Grigg, who they're familiar with after he played against Netherlands for Northern Ireland. The striker was at the time in the spotlight because of his 'on fire' chant.
Verstraaten said: "My friends liked that. He immediately asked how I was, also because he had played against the Dutch national team. It was a pleasure to step in there."
Sunderland might need to bolster their defensive ranks in the summer. The only senior centre-back they have on the books who is contracted beyond the end of this season is Jordan Willis.
