Friday, July 23, 2021 at 12:38• Dominic Mostert • Last update: 13:19

Eric Botteghin has found a new club after his departure from Feyenoord. According to transfer market expert Gianluca Di Marzio, the 33-year-old defender will continue with Ascoli, which finished sixteenth in Serie B last season. Other Italian media report that negotiations between Ascoli and Botteghin are going well; the transfer has not yet been officially confirmed.

Botteghin thus leaves the Netherlands after 14.5 years. The Brazilian made the switch from Grêmio Barueri Futebol to PEC Zwolle in January 2007. With 139 league matches, PEC is the club for which Botteghin played most often, although they were all appearances at the second level in the Netherlands. In 2011, he signed with NAC Breda, for which he played two seasons in the Eredivisie. Botteghin played for Groningen between 2013 and 2015, with which he won the KNVB Cup in 2015. Botteghin then played for Feyenoord for six years. At the end of his employment, two Johan Cruijff Bowls, two cups and one national title were on his list of achievements.

Botteghin’s expiring contract was not extended this summer. He previously expressed the ambition to return to Brazil, but told a press conference in May that he is open to several options. “I don’t know what I’m going to do yet. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Brazil. I’m open to a great club,” said Botteghin. Feyenoord are close to signing Gernot Trauner as a replacement; his current club LASK reported Friday morning through the official channels that Trauner is on his way to Feyenoord and that he only needs to undergo a medical examination in Rotterdam.