Van Oevelen Valencia Loan 'Given Green Light'
Monday, 17th Aug 2026 22:52

Blues keeper Kayne van Oevelen is close to joining Valencia on loan for the season, according to a report in Spain.

The La Liga club were keen on recruiting the 23-year-old on a permanent basis prior to his move to Town from Volendam earlier in the summer but, despite having agreed personal terms, had been unable to settle on a fee with the Eredivisie side.

A week ago, it was reported that Los Murciélagos had contacted the Dutch keeper’s representatives regarding a loan and now, according to Tribuna Deportiva, both Town and Van Oevelen have given the move the green light.

The deal reportedly could be completed this week with negotiations regarding the precise terms continuing. Valencia are said to want an option to buy at the end of the season, a proposal the Blues are very unlikely to even consider having just signed Van Oevelen on a five-year contract and paid £3.4 million.

When Van Oevelen was signed in late July, Town were looking to send him out on loan for the season to a Championship club.

That plan was put on hold when Christian Walton suffered a foot injury in training, but the former Brighton man was with the squad in Germany last week and was on the bench for the friendly victory at Union Berlin on Saturday.

That would appear to free up Van Oevelen to go out for the season to add to his first-team experience.

Championship sides Bolton Wanderers, Millwall, Wrexham and Middlesbrough were all previously linked with loan interest, although since then Boro have brought in Manchester United’s Radek Vitek and the Welshmen have signed Anthony Patterson from Sunderland.

Van Oevelen’s fellow Dutchman Kjell Scherpen looks set to start the season as Town’s number one with Walton his deputy.

Alex Palmer seems likely to move on with Saturday’s opening-day opponents Sunderland keen, while veteran David Button is not expected to be registered for the Premier League, instead working as a training keeper and playing with the U21s.

If Palmer does move on, the Blues, who have already signed two keepers this summer, may add another as a third-choice, assuming Button doesn’t take on that role.

Cieran Slicker and Henry Gray went out on loan to Barnsley and Wellington Phoenix respectively earlier in the summer.

Photo: Matchday Images

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lozklein added 22:54 - Aug 17 Just bizarre.....buying a keeper, only to loan him out.....can't understand the rationale behind this
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pointofblue added 22:58 - Aug 17 lozklein - at 23 he needs to be gaining experience rather than bench warming. He's one bought for the future.
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BotesdaleBlue added 23:00 - Aug 17 Oh for the simple days of Paul Cooper, with Laurie Sivell as the occasionally needed back up. That served us well for a good ten years! How football has changed!!
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barcelonablue2 added 23:02 - Aug 17

Loaning him out I can understand but loaning him and buying another third choice and selling a second choice keeper for the same price as a third choice keeper is it a bit odd.

Either third choice is very much like Button in he's a older player ex prem or top league bought in to bring Walton and Scherpens game up or to be honest I would be less surprised if Town aren't mucking around and will go after Pope as an back up to make sure we have a PL keeper here and ready after Muric experience

RetroBlue added 23:08 - Aug 17 Can anyone tell me why we are signing a player for a fair amount only to loan him out again, given that Walton is injured?
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Monkey_Blue added 23:16 - Aug 17 @RetroBlue. Walton was on the bench on Saturday. It’s a good move as long as he plays. Loans are great for young players and at 23 he’s got loads of time on his side but we’ve all seen loans where a player ends up playing a couple of games then spends months warning the bench and it’s worse for a keeper given they aren’t gonna get a sub appearance.
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Vanisleblue2 added 23:22 - Aug 17

This does not make sense at all.
We buy a goalkeeper for 3.5 million and loan him to someone in a different country for the season. Who knows if he will be #1 at Valencia.
We then already have four goalkeepers who could be number 1. One of which we want to sell, one of which wont be registered and one who was our number 1 will now be our number 2 so our number 2 will be our number 3 but we will sell him and look for another number 3 because our number 4 is not going to be registered and our number 5 who is Scottish international is on loan

algarvefan added 23:27 - Aug 17 I really do feel for Walton, I think he was one of our most improved players last season and it's not the first time he has been passed over by new signings. Time will tell who's best suited to be No.1 and after the Muric debacle who's to say?
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trevski_s added 23:32 - Aug 17 Not sure what to make of this one. I do agree he needs gametime and I think Scherpen is more likely to be number 1. KVO has had an amazing pre-season so I think keep hold of him to see how Scherpen gets on in the league and if he does well then loan KVO out in the January window. Then if Scherpen underperforms we have him here ready to takeover
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guentchev123 added 23:51 - Aug 17 Agree with Trevski. After what happened with Muric previously, we need to keep our options open in case Sherpen doesn’t work out or has a shaky start. If all goes well, we can loan KVO out in January.
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PhuketPete added 00:36 - Aug 18

I agree a half season loan now or in January would make sense for ITFC but most teams that are currently in for a first choice starting GK on a loan basis (as opposed to a reserve GK which would makes no sense - KVO may as well stay here), will understandably want a full season loan; and as for a January loan, well that would depend on any openings for a starter GK with a suitable club at the time (if any). So since neither CW or KVO will want to kick their heels as #3, and since we clearly don’t want to sell CW, then the only option is to loan out KVO.

None of this would be an issue except KVO performed to a higher standard sooner than anyone expected. It’s given Town a nice quandary to have but nonetheless a quandary.

armchaircritic59 added 00:37 - Aug 18 One things for sure, I've never in 63 years seen a better keeper with the ball at his feet. If he goes to Valencia and proves he's just as good with his hands, one season is all they're seeing him for!
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itfctilidie added 00:40 - Aug 18 win win for town. He goes to Valencia and gains experience - increasing in value. If he has a good season next year we either have a very reliable keeper to compete for our number one or a healthy profit. We are signing players and loaning them to Valencia. Get on board lads, there is literally nothing negative about this.
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ChingShady added 00:48 - Aug 18 To the ones who do not understand the loan.... Lol
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bobble added 01:10 - Aug 18 Walton, palmer, slicker, gray, button, Van Oevelen, Kjell scherpen! whats our weekly outlay in wages just on goalkeepers ?
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TomCruise added 01:22 - Aug 18 Pre season reports have implied KVO has looked the best of each other keepers who have featured. His distribution against Le Havre was impressive. I suppose though, the plan had always been to loan him out, so I think let’s stick with that, a loan to Valencia is excellent for his development and I think I have both faith in Walton and high hopes for Scherpen.
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KiwiTractor added 01:30 - Aug 18 If it happens, I hope there is a recall clause and no option for V to buy.
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NewForester added 05:31 - Aug 18 Kiwitractor, it's unlikely that the club would agree a loan on that basis.
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Bluemike31 added 05:33 - Aug 18 It's our first mistake for me, looks a very capable keeper who could play a big part for us, loan him out to possibly sign another keeper? Makes little sense.
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NewForester added 05:33 - Aug 18 I would send Walton out on loan or sell him. This is not the Championship and he doesn't have enough Prem experience. Football is tough.
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BlueMoon added 05:36 - Aug 18 Hope he gets played regularly & does well. Thought he looked good; distribution in particularly. Obviously hope he doesn’t get too attached at Valencia - he’ll have spent more time with Valencia than us in just a few weeks! Obviously if he performs for them it won’t do his value any harm. Let’s see him back here for the start of our 2nd Prem season.
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Cakeman added 07:11 - Aug 18 It’s about making money and nothing more. I’ll be surprised if we see him in a Town shirt again if the loan goes through. We have so many keepers on our books and a lot are or will be out on loan.
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robfriday added 07:21 - Aug 18

It’s one thing performing well in pre season friendlies played at three quarter pace. It’s another thing entirely to handle the Premier League with corners and set pieces being reined down on you and a generally far superior level to what he is used to. Scherpen was signed as #1, Walton deserves to be #2 and this chap was signed as one for the future. Would be silly to let a few good games in pre season change this plan. He wouldn’t even be on the bench most games so would largely be a waste of a season.

cressi added 07:51 - Aug 18 New forrester non of the keepers have what you call Premier league experience Walton had a sprinkle of games if I remember. We have a bunch of keepers in a ultra important position and we don't really know if any will step up and be good enough.
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BerksBlue15 added 07:52 - Aug 18

Think we all just need to take a breath. "We've spent loads on him" - £3.4m is nothing in today's terms, he's 23, and we have a 5yr contract on him so we're unlikely to make a loss. Plus if he's absolutely out of this world at Valencia, we pay the recall fee and get back between the sticks within a day or two. Not like we've loaned him to Sea of Tranquility United - not a long flight back from Valencia should we need him and all the while he's gaining experience and playing regularly (likely a condition of his loan). What's not to like?