Valletta FC yesterday officially presented their two new players – new Dutch striker Geert den Ouden and national Under 21 defender Steve Borg, formerly of Mosta FC.

The towering Dutch striker, 32, has been a regular Dutch Eredivisie (first division) player for the past five seasons, having played with Den Haag, Willem II, Excelsior Rotterdam and De Graafschap.

His best seasons were registered in 2004/2005 and in 2007/2008. In the former he was with Den Haag and played 34 matches, scoring 12 goals in the process. In the other season, he was with Excelsior Rotterdam and also played 34 matches and scored 12 goals.

Earlier he had started his career in 1998-99 with Excelsior Rotterdam in the second division. In the first year he scored 10 goals, in the second he got 13 and another 10 in the third year. Then he moved to Roosendaal, scoring 20 goals from 31 matches in his first season and another nine from 31 games in the second. He then joined Djurgaardens in Sweden for two seasons, scoring 10 goals in 10 matches in the first and four goals in 13 matches in his second season.

He said yesterday that he was now at Valletta and hoped that he would help the side win the Malta title, apart from other honours.

He added that it was a call from Dutch coach Ton Caanen around 15 days ago that made him decide to leave his previous club to join Valletta FC. “He was very enthusiastic about everything here in Malta, especially Valletta FC and Maltese football in general.

Club president Victor Sciriha told reporters that he was sure Valletta had made the right choice. “We are pleased to have den Ouden among us. He will certainly be a great asset to the club as we try to reach our targets.

“We have also signed Steve Borg, a Malta Under 21 international. We reached an agreement with him in less than two hours.

“We are sure they will enjoy both enjoy their stay with us, having already been given a fantastic welcome by everyone,” said Sciriha.

Coach Ton Caanen said: “I am very pleased with the arrival of these two players. Valletta are certainly doing a good job. I can assure you that Ouden has been one of the top 10 Dutch strikers in the past few years and I am sure he will be a hit here. Wherever he goes, he scores goals.”

Caanen said that Ouden’s presence in the City squad will enable him to use two to three systems. He said: “At present he is still not 100 per cent fit. He only started with us a few days ago. But I can assure the fans that he will be of great help to the team. With regards to Steve Borg, I do not know him enough yet, but I have enquired about him in the Ukraine where he played with the national U-21 side recently and I have been told by my friends there that he is good for his young age, was calm and fully concentrated on the job he was doing – all credentials pointing towards a good footballer of the future.”

Borg said that he was extremely happy to have joined Valletta. How did that happen, he was asked? He replied: “When the Leagues were over, several Premier clubs contacted me, but Sliema and lately Valletta, seemed to be the most interested. When Valletta contacted me, it took only two hours to reach an agreement with them. They seemed to be more determined than anyone else. I also spoke to the coach before I signed the contract.”

Team manager Niki Saliba told the press that the arrival of Borg coincided with the departure of Josef Mifsud to Sliema. He said: “When Mifsud requested to be transferred and eventually joined Sliema, we had a vacancy in the defence and we immediately made Steve a prime target.”