Kelle Willem Roos (born 31 May 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He spent his youth with a wide variety of Dutch clubs, including: VV Toxandria, VV Trekvogels, Juliana '31, Quick 1888, PSV Eindhoven, Willem II, N.E.C., and Nuenen. He earned a contract at English Conference Premier side Nuneaton Town in November 2013, and gained a lot of attention from clubs throughout England with his performances during a run of clean sheets. He was sold on to Derby County for £30,000 in January 2014, and made his first-team debut for the club nine months later. He joined Rotherham United on loan in July 2015, but struggled with inconsistency and had his loan spell cancelled after just six weeks. He joined AFC Wimbledon on loan in February 2016, and enjoyed a much more successful spell, keeping goal as the club won promotion with a 2–0 victory in the 2016 League Two play-off final. He spent the first half of the 2016–17 season on loan at Bristol Rovers, and joined Port Vale on an emergency loan in September 2017.
Early career Roos began his career at amateur Dutch clubs VV Toxandria, VV Trekvogels, Juliana '31 and Quick 1888, before moving to PSV Eindhoven in 2005. After six years at the PSV Academy he moved to Willem II, where injuries hampered his progress, before moving to N.E.C. in 2012. At the start of the 2013–14 season, Roos had a trial at English Championship club Birmingham City and then at League One side Bristol City. He competed with Elliot Parish for the chance to win a permanent contract, with manager Sean O'Driscoll then signing Parish permanently. O'Driscoll also wanted to sign Roos and loan him out, but financial restraints left him only able to sign one of the pair. Having failed to earn a contract and unable to join a league side as the transfer window had closed, Roos returned to the Netherlands and signed for amateur Hoofdklasse side Nuenen.
Nuneaton Town Having received offers from the Netherlands and England, Roos went on to join Conference Premier side Nuneaton Town on 8 November 2013, signing a contract until the end of the 2013–14 season. His "Boro" debut was delayed by almost two weeks as the club waited to receive international clearance. There were initial rumours and controversy over his debut, with led chief executive Ian Neale to deny that any pressure was placed on manager Kevin Wilkin to play Roos. His debut came on 23 November, in a 1–0 victory over Chester at Liberty Way, where he earned praise for a "fine" late save from a close-range Jason Jarrett strike. He played a total of nine league matches, keeping five clean sheets, and also played four cup matches, keeping three clean sheets, not conceding a goal in his first six appearances. His form drew the attention of Premier League club Liverpool, with whom he spent a week's trial in early January 2014, as well as Everton, Sunderland and Cardiff City. He also spent time training with Ipswich Town and Bolton Wanderers and was scouted by Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers and Bournemouth.
Derby County Kelle has been outstanding since he has come in. He is developing really well and looks like he could be a good keeper... We felt because of Kelle we were in a position to release Adam Legzdins. — Derby County first team coach Paul Simpson on Roos. On 23 January 2014, Roos moved to Championship side Derby County after impressing during a trial. He signed a two-and-a-half year contract for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around £30,000 plus add-ons, including the requirement that Derby play a pre-season friendly with Nuneaton in the summer. He was installed as understudy to Lee Grant after the departure of goalkeeper Adam Legzdins, and started the 2014–15 season on the bench. He made his first-team debut for the "Rams" in a League Cup match against Reading at Pride Park Stadium on 23 September 2014. He made several saves and kept a clean sheet as Derby won 2–0. He played in Derby's next League Cup match, a 5–2 win over Fulham on 28 October, and also played three FA Cup matches as Derby recorded 1–0 and 2–0 wins over Sourtport and Chesterfield before Reading gained revenge by eliminating Derby from the FA Cup at the Fifth Round.
On 15 July 2015, Roos joined Championship rivals Rotherham United on a season-long loan deal, along with team-mate Farrend Rawson. However he got off to a poor start with a 4–1 defeat to Milton Keynes Dons at the New York Stadium on 8 August, which led to heavy criticism from "Millers" fans on social media. Roos returned to Derby just six weeks into the loan period after conceding ten goals in his four appearances, leaving Rotherham bottom of the table. Manager Steve Evans stated that "at this minute in time his inconsistency is not something we could afford", and signed free agent Lee Camp to replace him.
English League 1 / England
