Netherlands Under-21 goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen is moving to the English Premier League after he signed a five-year deal with Brighton.

The south coast club confirmed on Tuesday they had signed Verbruggen for £16.3 million (€20 million), adding him to a Dutch contingent that also includes Joel Veltman, Jan Paul van Hecke and fellow keeper Kjell Scherpen.

Verbruggen was one of the few Dutch players to shine during the recent European Under-21 championship in Romania and Georgia, where the team were eliminated in the group stages.

Verbruggen broke into Anderlecht’s first team this season and impressed enough to earn his first full international call-up in March, when he was named reserve goalkeeper for the European Championship qualifiers against France and Gibraltar.

The 20-year-old began his professional career at NAC Breda before joining the Belgian club in 2020 for €300,000. He was named Anderlecht’s player of the season last year.

Brighton’s men’s team coach Roberto De Zerbi said: “I am very pleased to have signed Bart. He is used to playing a type of football similar to ours and he will have no problem fitting into our group.”