Hasselbaink says versatile van Veen '˜fits in perfectly' with new-look Cobblers squad

The 26-year-old Dutchman was signed for an undisclosed fee on Tuesday afternoon, and becomes the ninth new signing made by the club in the January transfer window.

Van Veen has been in excellent goalscoring form for the Iron in recent weeks, netting six times in his past 11 games for the promotion chasers, but he is keen to work with his countryman Hasselbaink, and has swapped Glanford Park for Sixfields.

In all, the Eindhoven-born player has netted 23 goals in 71 starts and 45 substitute appearances for Scunthorpe, where his contract was due to expire in the summer.

It’s not the most prolific record, but Hasselbaink believes the player offers much more than just goals, and his attacking versatility will be crucial to the Cobblers as they continue their fight against relegation.

“Kevin is a quality striker at this level who offers a goal threat,” said Hasselbaink.

“I know all about his attributes and his quality, and we have all worked very hard to bring him to the club.”

And he added: “He can score the spectacular and he can create goals out of nothing.

“Kevin is the sort of player who you can class as a versatile attacker, he can play in a number of positions and I know he will prove an excellent addition to the squad.

“He fits in perfectly with the way we are looking to play and we are very excited about his arrival.

“He is an excellent age with a lot of experience of league one and Kevin is a player we are delighted to welcome to the club.”

Hasselbaink now has his preferred number of strikers in his squad, with van Veen joining Chris Long, Alex Revell and fellow new signing Boris Mathis on the roster.