Abdou Harroui is no longer a Sparta Rotterdam player. The club will officially announce on Tuesday afternoon that the 23-year-old midfielder is making the switch to Sassuolo. The Serie A club reports at the same time that it is a rental deal with a purchase option included. The rent is half a million euros and the Italians will take him permanently next year for three million euros. Journalist Gianluca Di Marzio already reported on Monday that Sassuolo is the new club of Harroui.
“In front of Appie this is a nice step to a club in a top competition”, explains technical director Henk van Stee on the club site. “There have been many clubs in the market for him for a long time and we knew about his wish to make a transfer. We were open to this, but on our terms. In Sassuolo we have found a club that meets the wishes of Sparta as well as of Appie This is an excellent outcome for all parties.”
#Calciomercato: Abderrahman #Harroui è un nuovo calciatore neroverde ?? Benvenuto Abdou ?? Il comunicato ufficiale è su https://t.co/QqAZrhB5Oy#ForzaSasol ???? pic.twitter.com/hQQaImAgiF
— US Sassuolo (@SassuoloUS) August 31, 2021
The talks with Sassuolo about the transfer took some time, Van Stee reveals. “We have agreed with Sassuolo that Abdou Harroui will leave on a rental basis and make a definitive transfer at the end of the season. Certainties have of course been built in, so that Sparta is assured of the transfer value that we have agreed. The agreement between all parties is that we will not make further statements about amounts and terms.”
Harroui also reacts to his transfer to Sassuolo. “I am very grateful to Sparta for the last seven seasons. I am happy that this deal has been completed, but I look back on my time at Sparta with great pride. We have achieved great things here that I will not forget.” Harroui, who has also been coveted by Olympiacos, Galatasaray, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, is set to make his debut against AS Roma on September 12.
On the other hand, Van Stee tries to bring in reinforcements for Sparta, but that process is very difficult. According to the General Newspaper the director of football affairs has unsuccessfully knocked on the door of Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord, AZ, Vitesse and FC Utrecht in the past period. Wouter Burger, for example, prefers FC Basel to Sparta, which says goodbye to Laros Duarte in addition to Harroui. The midfielder signed a four-year contract with FC Groningen.