Scherpen became the highest player in the history of the Premier League

In the first round of the 2026-2027 Premier League season, the height record among football players was officially broken. Ipswich Town's top division rookie goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen, whose height is an incredible 2.06 meters, entered the field in the match against Sunderland and wrote his name in the history of the tournament. After playing his first match for Ipswich in the Premier League, Scherpen became the tallest player ever to take the field in the Premier League. What's more, he is the tallest player ever to be registered at an EPL club, including those who never played a single minute on the pitch (such as goalkeepers Lucas Bergström and Carlos Miguel, who stood around 1.98m during their spells at Chelsea and Nottingham Forest respectively). Before Kjell, this status belonged to the Romanian goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon (2.03 m), known for his performances as part of Manchester City, Sunderland and Watford. Among field footballers, the record is still held by the former striker of Birmingham City, Nikola Zhigich, with a height of 2.02 m. For the Dutch giant, this debut could have happened five years earlier. Scherpen belonged to Brighton for a long time, but never got a chance to play for the Seagulls in the Premier League. Instead, the club repeatedly loaned him out for game practice. The goalkeeper impressed with his performances for Belgian side Royal Union Saint-Gilloise last season, which eventually caught the attention of Ipswich. Following their relegation from the Championship to the Premier League, the Tractors signed Sherpen to a full four-year contract, entrusting him with a place in goal at the start of the new campaign.