Dundee Utd poised to snap up international star from tiny Caribbean island

DUNDEE UNITED are poised to sign ADO Den Haag frontman Jort van der Sande.

SunSport understands the 28-year-old is set to arrive at Tannadice on from the Dutch outfit who play in the second tier Eerste Divisie.

The six foot van der Sande boasts a decent goal-scoring record over a 10-year career in the Netherlands, also playing for Den Bosch, FC Eindhoven and NAC Breda.

His debut campaign for Den Haag last season saw him deliver 11 goals in 34 league games but he lost his place towards the end and he’s been keen to move on.

Van der Sande signed a three year contract last summer but had a break clause allowing him to leave and understanding head coach Darije Kalezic has agreed to let him go now.

Arabs boss Jim Goodwin was quick to respond after a tip off and quickly established the striker was also very interested in a switch to the Championship title-winners.

Now a deal’s close to being concluded for van der Sande who has three caps for the national team of Caribbean island Bonaire.

A special municipality of the Netherlands, Bonaire is home to a population of just 24,090 people.

It was part of the Netherlands Antilles until that country’s dissolution in 2010.

Bonaire sits off the coast of Venezuela and along with neighbouring islands Aruba and Curacao, forms the ABC Islands within the Caribbean.

The capital is Kralendijk but the national team’s football stadium is located elsewhere, in Rincon.

It’s a tiny 1,500-seater ground, Stadion Antonio Trenidat and while the country has a national team to follow – they aren’t a member of FIFA.

The Bonaire national team has been a member of CONCACAF since 2014 so it can participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Caribbean Cup but it has never qualified for either.

They have however won the ABCS Tournament – a competition held between Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Suriname. That victory came in 2011.

The national team consists mostly of players based in the island itself plus some from the Dutch leagues. Quincy Hoeve of Volendam was born in Bonaire and has won five caps for them.

New Tannadice man Van der Sande was born in the Netherlands but was eligible for Bonaire due to him living on the Caribbean island for five years during his youth.

He will be the first player from his national team to play in the Scottish Premiership – indeed, in Scottish football at all.

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