FC St. Pauli have captured the signing of Dutch striker Henk Veerman from SC Heerenveen for an undisclosed fee.

He is the 2. Bundesliga club’s third signing of the summer, following the arrival of Marvin Knoll from SSV Jahn Regensburg and the permanent signing of Mats Møller Dæhli from SC Freiburg.

The 27-year-old has signed a three-year deal with die Kiezkicker. The club are waiting to see if the transfer is cleared in time for him to make a debut against SV Darmstadt 98 on Friday night.

A new big man for St. Pauli

Veerman began his professional career with hometown club FC Volendam, and was a prolific striker for them in the Dutch second and third tiers, scoring a goal every other game for them in 50 appearances before joining Eredivisie mainstays Heerenveen in 2015.

He would spend three-and-a-half years with De Superfriezen, although he couldn’t quite match the same goal-scoring exploits. In 95 leagues appearances, he scored 17 goals, but also assisted eight more. He also netted four times in seven KNVB Beker matches and has experience of six qualifying matches in the UEFA Europa League, without scoring.

Coming in at over two metres tall, Veerman will no double draw comparisons with fellow Dutchman and former St. Pauli striker John Verhoek, who is still plying his trade in the 2. Bundesliga with MSV Duisburg.

Veerman offers something different

“We’re delighted to have signed a striker of the type we haven’t had in our squad until now,” said St. Pauli’s Director of Sport Uwe Stöver on the club’s website. “With his profile and his quality, he’ll be a great addition for us.”

Coach Markus Kauczinski is equally delighted with his signing, calling Veerman “a great physical presence” and “a technically gifted player” who will give his side “more tactical and footballing options.” He also believes the striker will “help us both in attack and defence with his aerial game.”

Veerman himself called his new team “a big, well-known club with outstanding fans.” He hopes that he “can play a part in helping the team to achieve its targets and do better than last season.”

Regardless of whether he is able to play this weekend, he will provide much-needed competition for Sami Allagui, Aziz Bouhaddouz, Dimitrios Diamantakos and Jan-Marc Schneider, who scored just 11 goals between them in the league last season.

Quotes via FC St. Pauli.