Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at 5:42 PM• Jonathan van Haaster • Last update: 18:06

Ruud Vormer was close to a transfer to KV Mechelen this summer, it reports The last news. The Dutch midfielder entered into talks with the club of trainer Danny Buijs, but an agreement was not reached. To be able to leave Club Brugge, where Vormer has fallen out of favor, he will have to choose between unnamed clubs from Turkey or Saudi Arabia.

Mechelen would have liked to welcome Vormer, because they want to add a midfielder to the selection before the Belgian market closes on Tuesday night. Negotiations followed, but Vormer indicated that he preferred an exotic destination, stick with it blue-black or a return to the Netherlands. The ex-player of Feyenoord and AZ, among others, was an attentive spectator last Friday at the game between Willem II and ADO Den Haag, although a transfer outside the Benelux seems more likely.

The last news indicates that there are still contacts abroad. A Saudi Arabian club has even expressed its interest. The transfer window in the Asian country does not close until September 17, which gives Vormer some time to think about it. The newspaper also indicates that talks are underway with a Turkish club and if the four-time international wants to make that step, he must hurry. The market closes there on Wednesday night. It is also possible that Vormer will ‘just’ stay at Club and serve out his contract there or look for new opportunities in the next transfer window.

On Monday, Vormer received the bad news that Club has not registered him for the group stage of the Champions League. Vormer only came into action three times this season on behalf of the reigning Belgian national champion. For example, Club coach Carl Hoefkens made a base for him during the Supercup won against AA Gent (1-0). On the first day of the new season of the Jupiler Pro League, Vormer was still captain against KRC Genk (3-2), followed by a short substitute against Zulte Waregem (1-1) two weeks later. In the last four competition matches, Vormer was no longer part of Hoefkens’ match selection.