Robbin Ruiter struggled to make an impression at League One Sunderland and he is back in the Eredivisie with PSV Eindhoven.
Robbin Ruiter surely knew that he would have to get used to life on the bench when he left Sunderland for PSV Eindhoven in the summer.
After just two miserable years at the Stadium of Light, the Dutch goalkeeper returned home in June with Sunderland agreeing to let the former Utrecht shot-stopper leave Wearside on a free transfer.
And, on paper at least, PSV looked like a wonderful opportunity for a man who had lost his place to the much-maligned Lee Camp as Sunderland were relegated from the Championship during a nightmare debut season in English football.
But, with Holland international Jeroen Zoet firmly established as PSV’s number one, Ruiter arrived at the Phillips Stadium knowing that he would have to settle for a back-up role. Then again, the 32-year-old might have expected that he would get a run-out in the Europa League qualifiers or perhaps the Johan Cruyff Shield curtain-raiser.
11 games into the 2019/20 season, and with PSV playing games in four different competitions already, Ruiter has not spent a single second on the pitch. And unless the usually reliable Zoet endures a remarkable dip in form over the next few weeks, that is unlikely to change any time soon.
Then again, the prospect of Europa League football and an Eredivisie title race will still come as a relief to a man who spent last season struggling for action in England’s third tier.
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