Maarten Stekelenburg

Maarten Stekelenburg was a goalkeeper who was at Fulham from 2013 until 2016. An experienced Netherlands international, he was brought in from Roma in 2013 replacing Mark Schwarzer who had moved to London rivals Chelsea on a free transfer. He only played for the club during the 2013-14 season, in which the Whites were relegated - subsequently he spent two following seasons on loan to Monaco and Southampton before he was sold to Everton in summer 2016.

Before Fulham
Stekelenburg began his career at Zandvoort '75 before joining VV Schoten, which he left for Ajax when he was just 15 years old. He made his debut for Ajax on 24 February 2002 in a game against NAC Breda and in 2004 he won the Eredivisie championship with Ajax, having played 10 matches that season. It was the 2005-06 season however, that Maarten became Ajax's first choice keeper and was to stay there for several season longer. Stekelenburg was named Ajax "Player of the Year" for the 2007–08 season, succeeding Wesley Sneijder. During the 2008–09 season, he lost his place in the goal to Kenneth Vermeer due to injuries. He re-established himself as the first-choice keeper under the then new manager Martin Jol, whom he would later play under again at Fulham, and subsequently had a very strong season for both Ajax and the Dutch national side. During the 2009–10 season Stekelenburg went on to have a consistent season, playing in all of Ajax's Eredivisie games and Europa League games, after they were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the group stages. Stekelenburg unfortunately sustained a finger injury which kept him out for the remainder of the season. He made a total of 51 appearances on the 2010-11 season in all competitions, and won Ajax Player of the Year for the second time. On 1 August 2011, it was announced that Stekelenburg had officially transferred to Roma for an estimated €6 million, making him the first Dutch footballer to ever play for the Italian club. He picked the no. 24 shirt, which is the day his son was born. He had two moderately successful years at Roma, before it became apparent he was on the verge of signing for Fulham in the January transfer window of 2013 - due to irregularities however, the transfer could not go through and Maarten remained a Roma player until the deal could be completed in the summer.

Fulham (2013-2016)
Maarten signed for Fulham on 5 June 2013 for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £2 million. After enjoying pre-season with the club, he made his debut on the opening day of the 2013-14 season against Sunderland but unfortunately landed awkwardly on his shoulder whilst making a save which kept him out of contention until late October when he returned in a 4-1 victory away at Crystal Palace. His form was up and down and ultimately was second choice under Felix Magath, who preferred David Stockdale as his number one.

In 2014-15, he was loaned out to Monaco for the season after it was rumoured he had no interest in playing in the Championship with Fulham. He was second favourite at Monaco and spent his time on the bench, making just one league appearance. After returning, in June 2015 he was loaned out to Premier League side Southampton on another season-long loan for 2015-16.

After Fulham
It was announced in the summer of 2016 that Maarten was sold to Everton for a fee thought to be in the region of £850,000.