Scherpen's outstanding season with Union Saint-Gilloise has not gone unnoticed at Portman Road. The newly promoted Premier League club made an official approach for the towering goalkeeper this week, and talks between the two clubs are now underway, with the Dutch paper reporting an agreement is expected to follow before long.
Ipswich Town view Scherpen as a goalkeeper with genuine European experience who has developed significantly in recent seasons and could offer immediate value to the squad.
He also appears set to be lined up as the club's first-choice option between the posts, meaning Van Oevelen, should his own move also be finalised, would likely have to settle for a role as his understudy.
That said, Volendam's goalkeeper still has a clear path at the Premier League club regardless of the pecking order, with Ipswich reportedly viewing him as a talented long-term option even if he begins life at Portman Road as second choice.
Scherpen, who stands at 6ft 9in, has taken an unconventional route to prominence after struggling for game time following his move from Ajax to Brighton in 2021, making just a single senior appearance across four years on the south coast.
Loan spells at Oostende, Vitesse and Sturm Graz followed before his move to Union last summer for around €2m, where he went on to help the Belgian side win the league title and cup, keeping 21 clean sheets in 43 appearances along the way.
That rapid rise in value has not gone unnoticed elsewhere either, with the goalkeeper previously linked with interest from clubs in Germany and Italy as well as England.
For Union, losing Scherpen would represent a significant blow just a year after signing him, though the Belgian club would stand to make a healthy profit on a goalkeeper whose market value has grown considerably since his arrival in Brussels.