Tag: Gervane Kastaneer

Every signing Mark Robins made from mainland Europe as Coventry manager – where are they now? Part 1

Players who come to the UK from mainland Europe either bring excitement or apprehension. The majority of your club’s fanbase will not have heard of the player unless they’re a football purist who watch even the most obscure leagues. However, it is to be remembered that moving to a different country is difficult, the style of football is different, the physical demands are different and not to mention adjusting to a different culture of being in another country, the same applies to British talent who move to mainland Europe. Some players thrive in this environment, others struggle. In this article, we’re going to look at European signings Mark Robins has made in his time as Coventry City manager and where they are now. This is the first of a two part article. As Gustavo Hamer is still currently a Coventry player and under contract beyond the end of this season, he won’t be in either part 1 or part 2.

Wesley Jobello signs for FC Arges

1. Wesley Jobello – FC Arges

Coventry City career – 14 appearances, 1 goal and 1 assist.

Before Coventry:

Wesley Jobello signed for the Sky Blues for an undisclosed fee on the 14th of June 2019 from Gazelec Ajaccio, following Gazelec Ajaccio’s relegation to the 3rd tier of French football after a play-off defeat to Le Mans. Jobello would score the winner in the first leg, but missed a crucial penalty in the 2nd leg before Le Mans scored their second goal of the game, which saw Gazelec Ajaccio relegated to the 3rd tier of French football after losing 2-3 on aggregate. The decline and death of Gazelec Ajaccio could have an article on its own. Before arriving to Coventry, Jobello was very experienced in the French 2nd tier playing 116 league matches in Ligue 2 scoring 7 times and 6 assists, so Jobello was arriving to the Sky Blues with some solid pedigree being a graduate of Marseille’s academy and playing 116 times in Ligue 2 playing for Clermont Foot and Gazelec Ajaccio.

Coventry City career:

Wesley Jobello would immediately become a starter for Coventry as he started and played the full 90 minutes on the opening day of the 19/20 season in a 1-0 win over Southend United as Jobello played on the right wing of a front 3 of himself, Amadou Bakayoko and Jordy Hiwula. Jobello would start all of the Sky Blues’ opening 10 league games, scoring once against Blackpool in a heroic 3-2 comeback win after being 0-2 down. His assist came earlier in the season as he would assist Jordan Shipley’s opening goal in Coventry’s 2-0 win against Bristol Rovers. However, disaster would strike. On the day of the away game against Rotherham United, it was announced Wesley Jobello would be out with an injury, which was confirmed to be an ACL injury. The news was devastating for Jobello as he begun to settle into a groove as the starting right winger. The team more took a downturn too, and subsequently the Sky Blues were hammered 4-0 in easily the worst performance of the 19/20 season. Jobello’s season was over, after a dip in performances, Coventry stopped playing with wingers and went with a 3 at the back formation which is still used today. When Jobello returned to fitness, Coventry were now promoted to the Championship and playing in a different system which had isolated Jobello. Jobello would make 3 substitute appearances in the Championship before leaving on the 13th of January 2022 making 14 appearances in all competitions.

Where is he now?

You can find Wesley Jobello playing his football in Romania as he currently plays for FC Argeş Piteşti. After a half season with Boulogne which saw him part of a team relegated to the 4th tier of French football, a stark contrast to the days he was a veteran in Ligue 2. Jobello moved to Romanian Liga I side, UTA Arad in the summer of 2022 where Jobello played 17 times, failing to score but assisting a goal on two occasions, before moving to FC Argeş Piteşti on the 9th of February. So far Jobello has played 14 times for Argeş, starting 6 times and scoring once which was in a crucial 3-0 win over Petrolul where Jobello scored the 2nd goal of the game which helped Argeş avoid automatic relegation on the final day of the season. However, they must win a two-legged relegation play-off tie against 2nd tier side, Dinamo Bucureşti in order to retain their top flight status. Ironically, Jobello’s former club UTA Arad also have to do the same against Gloria Buzau to retain their own top flight status.

Fun fact: Wesley Jobello has played for Martinique at international level. A small territory owned by France in the Caribbean, Jobello has earned 3 caps, scoring 1 goal which came in a 1-0 win over Guadeloupe in a CONCACAF Nations League qualifier.

What caused his career to decline? The ACL injury he suffered at Coventry. Once he came back he returned to a new system which didn’t suit him due to Jobello being an out and out winger. Jobello has thankfully begun to play regular football again in Romania, although not at the same levels he was at in Ligue 2 and what he showed glimpses of in his first few games at Coventry.

Gervane Kastaneer in action for Netherlands U21 against England U21 batting with Ben Chilwell for the ball.

2. Gervane Kastaneer – PEC Zwolle (set to leave in the summer)

Before Coventry:

Gervane Kastaneer was part of Feyenoord’s academy, playing for his boyhood club before joining Dordrecht, signing a professional deal in 2012. In 2013 Kastaneer was signed by ADO Den Haag. Kastaneer made his senior debut on the 4th of February 2015 in a 2-0 win over FC Twente, replacing Wilson Eduardo in the 86th minute. In the 2nd half of the 15/16 season, Kastaneer would join FC Eindhoven in the Eerste Divisie where he would impress, helping them reach the play-offs where they fell short against NAC Breda losing 2-1 on aggregate, Kastaneer scored in the first leg. Kastaneer scored 5 times, assisting once in 16 games, a goal contribution every 183 minutes on average. This didn’t go unnoticed by ADO Den Haag as at the start of the 16/17 season Kastaneer became a starter, and would hit the ground running as in the 2nd game of the season Kastaneer would score a brace which saw Den Haag beat Vittese Arnhem 2-1. Kastaneer would continue to impress in the first half of the 16/17 campaign being a key part of Den Haag’s team. However, this is when things would decline for Kastaneer. On the 21st of January 2021, Kastaneer opened the scoring in the 10th minute heading home a goal from a corner in a home tie against PEC Zwolle. However, in the 14th minute Kastaneer had the ball kicked into his eye in a ground duel with Kingsley Ehizibue, a freak accident. Kastaneer was unable to continue, furious and heartbroken he was taken off in the 21st minute. Den Haag went on to lose 2-1. That was the final game Kastaneer would play that season as the eye injury was season ending. In 16 games, Kastaneer had scored 6 times, assisting twice with a goal contribution every 131 minutes. The injury and the psychological effect took a toll, Kastaneer was at age of 20, had a high ceiling and was playing his best football. He was playing for the Dutch U20 and U21 sides, reportedly attracting interest from bigger teams and it’s ripped away, missing months of crucial development time as well as his confidence. However, Kastaneer recovered and signed for Kaiserslautern in 2. Bundesliga. However, his time there was a disaster. After the eye injury, Kastaneer lost the form he was showing at Den Haag. He only made 5 starts in 10 league games, having only one assist. Kastaneer was released one year into a three-year deal where he would join NAC Breda in what was another disaster as he was part of a really poor Breda side who were relegated by finishing rock bottom on just 23 points, scoring just 29 goals, conceding 74. Kastaneer had 2 goals and 1 assist in 21 appearances, only 10 of those games were starts only playing a full 90 on 4 occasions.

Coventry City career:

On the 20th of June 2019, Gervane Kastaneer signed for an undisclosed fee agreeing a three-year deal. Kastaneer had endured two very difficult seasons, so was coming to Coventry with the aim to revive his career while hoping to help the Sky Blues achieve promotion to the Championship. Revive his career, Kastaneer did not but is remembered for a slide tackle. Mark Robins was quoted saying. “We’re very pleased to have sealed the signing of Gervane. He is an exciting winger who has pace, power and creative ability, and is a player who will be able to get our fans excited.” In his days at Den Haag that proved to be true. Before the season would start, while looking very sharp in pre-season Kastaneer would suffer a minor setback, receiving a knock which caused him to miss the opening 2 league matches. However, Kastaneer would be introduced in the 81st minute in a “home” game against Bristol Rovers replacing Wesley Jobello and literally seconds later, scored a brilliant goal from around 25 yards out making it 2-0 to Coventry. Surely a new hero had arrived. Kastaneer was indeed an enigma, he was quite difficult to understand but the unpredictability was also a detriment. The next game away to Portsmouth, Kastaneer was brought on to replace Wesley Jobello but would only be on the pitch for 11 minutes as a reckless slide tackle which is still talked about today saw Kastaneer recieve a second yellow card reducing Coventry to 9 men. Miraculously the Sky Blues still managed to come back to draw 3-3. In the league Kastaneer would only make one start in the disastrous 4-0 hammering away to Rotherham United before being taken off in the 56th minute being replaced by Amadou Bakayoko. Another infamous moment was when Kastaneer was booked in a home tie against Ipswich despite not being on the pitch for getting involved in a touchline squabble between Coventry and Ipswich players which resulted in both clubs being fined. Gervane Kastaneer would make his final appearance for Coventry in a Championship tie in a 10 defeat away to Sheffield Wednesday when he was brought on in the 83rd minute, replacing Ben Sheaf. After a failed loan stint at Hearts in the Scottish Championship where Kastaneer only made 6 league appearances, starting 3 times and assisting once. Kastaneer would leave Coventry City on the 6th of July 2021, agreeing to leave a year early before his contract expires in the summer of 2022. Gervane Kastaneer made 18 appearances in all competitions, scoring only 1 goal.

Where is he now?

Gervane Kastaneer is currently at PEC Zwolle. PEC Zwolle have been promoted back to the Eredivisie at the first of asking. However, Kastaneer is set to become a free agent when his contract expires. In his first season, Kastaneer played 31 out of the 34 league matches, making 17 starts in a season where Kastaneer played 1,550 minutes, he’s most he’s played in a season. Kastaneer would show glimpses of brilliance in the odd game, including a man of the match display against Sparta Rotterdam as well as scoring against two of the Dutch big boys in AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven. Kastaneer recieved his second man of the match award of the season against AZ Alkmaar. However, as a result of losing multiple key players on free transfers, and replacing the departing players inadequately, PEC Zwolle struggled, Kastaneer included. They finished bottom with 27 points, scoring only 26 goals as a team. The top scorer only got 5. After a successful team rebuild PEC Zwolle got promoted back to the Eredivisie at the first time of asking. However, Kastaneer’s game time significantly reduced only making 2 starts all season in 23 league games. Apart from a great performance against Heracles Almelo in a game where Kastaneer scored and assisted a goal in a 3-2 win, Kastaneer wouldn’t get another goal contribution in the league all season. This summer, Kastaneer will have to find a new club as he’ll be leaving PEC Zwolle as they look to evolve the squad in order to survive in the Eredivisie next season. Wherever Kastaneer goes, hopefully he finds success and gets his career on an upward trajectory again.

Fun fact: Gervane Kastaneer in the 2016/17 season was teammates with current Union Berlin forward Sheraldo Becker at ADO Den Haag. Sheraldo Becker currently plays for Union Berlin enjoying his most prolific season scoring 11 goals, assisting 7 times in 33 league games as he hopes to help The Iron Ones qualify for the Champions League as Union Berlin host Werder Bremen on the final day of the Bundesliga season after Union Berlin defied the odds being an unlikely title contender for the majority of the season.

What caused his career to decline:

The eye injury he suffered in the ADO Den Haag vs PEC Zwolle game in 2017 was the start of the decline. In the first half of the 2016/17 campaign, Kastaneer was very good and playing some great stuff. The injury ended his season, and it cost him crucial months of development at an important time where he was playing really well and was full of confidence, at the age of 20 at the time, Kastaneer was in a great place, thriving for ADO Den Haag while also playing for the Dutch U20 and U21 teams. The injury had bigger psychological consequences as once he left ADO Den Haag, he also lost his form and never recovered, even regressing. Kastaneer is still only 26, soon turning 27 so he has time to get his career on track and hopefully he does. While I think it’s very unlikely he’ll reach the levels he was at in Den Haag, I hope he finds a club where he can settle and thrive on a consistent basis.

Is there hope for Gervane Kastaneer yet?

Kastaneer as a Ado Den Haag player

Gervane Kastaneer joined the Sky Blues on the 20th of June 2019 signing from NAC Breda for an undisclosed fee, agreeing a three-year deal. Before his time at Coventry; Kastaneer was carving a career in the Netherlands with relative success, with the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons showing promise with a loan spell at FC Eindhoven, before breaking into Ado Den Haag’s first team. Around this time, Kastaneer was climbing the ranks of the Dutch youth setup playing the Holland U19, U20 and U21 sides, before opting to become a Curaçao international in 2018 who he has 3 caps for. In that time, Kastaneer moved to Germany to play for Kaiserslatern, which didn’t yield too much success before a failed stint at NAC Breda back in Holland.

Kastaneer signing for Coventry

Kastaneer’s signing was always a gamble, having to adapt to English football but pre-season showed alot of promise for the then 23 year old Dutch winger. Kastaneer would have a minor set back suffering a minor injury in pre-season which would make him miss the first few games at the start of the season. Kastaneer would make an instant impact in this league debut coming off as a substitute scoring against Bristol Rovers, a belter of a goal.

Unfortunately it was as good as it got for Kastaneer. A few days later, Kastaneer would see red against Portsmouth after a violent slide tackle, which weirdly made him a cult hero by a small group of Coventry fans but despised by others. Kastaneer shown flashes of his talent from time to time, but it was never consistent enough to be a consistent starter. The point was further proven when Wesley Jobello was out with an ACL injury, and Gervane was apart of the game where the Sky Blues were mauled 4-0 by Rotherham United. Gervane wouldn’t do very much after that, he would appear a couple more times as a sub, with his last game of the season being against Shrewsbury town as a used substitute. After that, Kastaneer was bombed out to the bomb squad spending the rest of the season linking up with the U23s.

What about his future?

Kastaneer made his Championship debut against Blackburn on the 24th of October as a substitute in a 4-0 defeat. But Gervane Kastaneer has alot of doubters to prove wrong, Gervane benefited from an injury crisis as well as Tyler Walker testing positive for Coronavirus, which allowed him to make the matchday squad. But one substitute appearance is far from enough for Kastaneer to convince his doubters otherwise. Kastaneer will need to get his head down and prove he can be a credible option for Mark Robins’ plans.

My verdict:

Gervane Kastaneer is young enough to carve out a good career as a footballer, and while I believe there is a player in there. I’m unsure if Coventry is the club he’ll be able to show any talent at, there are reports Kastaneer has been getting his head down in training willing to prove he can add to Robins’ squad. However, I feel it’s a bit too late, and the damage has already been done.