Thursday, July 1, 2021 at 7:01 PM• Mart van Mourik • Last update: 19:16

Emil Bergström will be leased by FC Utrecht to Willem II next season, the Domstedelingen report on the official website. The 28-year-old center defender will immediately join the Tilburg team and he will wear the shirt of the team at least until the end of next season. Tricolores.

“The prospect of a permanent base place in our team was too uncertain for Emil”, technical director Jordy Zuidam responds to Utrecht’s decision to once again store Bergström elsewhere. “Emil hasn’t had much time to play in recent years, so playing time has come to the top of his wish list. We discussed this with each other and looked for a good solution for both parties.”

“We found the solution in the form of a lease to Willem II. We wish him every success at Willem II and thank Emil for his unbridled commitment as an exemplary professional,” said Zuidam. At Willem II there will be space in the rear, as mercenary Sven van Beek returns to Feyenoord and Jordens Peters announced at an earlier stage that he was ending his career. By the way, Dylan Ryan has returned to the Tilburg defense after a rental period at Melbourne Victory.

On behalf of Willem II, technical director Joris Mathijsen says he is very pleased with the arrival of Bergström. “Attracting central defenders is a high priority for us. With his 28 years and international career, Emil is the experienced defender we were looking for. His leadership qualities and winning mentality are, in addition to his physically strong game, very positive characteristics of Emil,” says Mathijsen .

Bergström is very positive about the lease deal via Willem II’s official website. “When I heard that Willem II wanted me, I was immediately interested. It is a club with a lot of history. The overall picture was just right: the way they want to play with Fred Grim as a trainer and how they want to do well again after a lesser year. I want to be part of that,” Bergström said.

In the 2019/20 season, the Swede was also rented out by Utrecht, which then stored him at FC Basel. Last year, Bergström was part of the selection of trainer René Hake, who, however, made little use of the defender’s services. In total, he played only 414 minutes in 9 official matches last season.