Friday, January 14, 2022 at 09:48• Jeroen van Poppel • Last update: 09:53

Melayro Bogarde will play on a rental basis for FC Groningen in the coming six months, the Eredivisionist announced via the official channels. The midfielder annex defender is rented from TSG Hoffenheim, where he still has a contract until mid-2024. The nineteen-year-old Bogarde will not play at Hoffenheim, where he was the youngest Dutchman ever to make his debut in the Bundesliga, and may gain playing minutes in the Eredivisie. .

Technical director Mark-Jan Fledderus is happy with the arrival of Bogarde. “As in every transfer window, we look at whether we can add quality to the selection,” says Fledderus on the club site. “Melayro is an athletic defensive midfielder, who can also play as a central defender or right back. This multifunctionality will give us more options in the selection in positions where we were not yet optimally occupied. We are very happy that we have succeeded in achieving this temporary transition with the player and Hoffenheim.”

At Groningen Bogarde is mainly brought in to make up for the lack of Azor Matusiwa. The latter was sold to Stade Reims for four million euros on the final day of the summer transfer window, leaving a gap in midfield. Bogarde, who can therefore play in different positions, will initially focus on a controlling role in the middle line. Bogarde was part of all Dutch youth teams and has three official matches in the Dutch Juniors to his name. On May 20, 2020, at the age of eighteen, he made his debut in the Bundesliga, making him still the youngest Dutchman ever.

Bogarde, the nephew of former international Winston Bogarde, was included in Feyenoord’s youth academy at a very young age. The born Rotterdammer did not wait for his chance in the first and left for Hoffenheim in 2018 at the age of sixteen. His debut in the main force followed in May 2020, but a real breakthrough has not been possible since then. In the past six months, Bogarde was not even allowed to sit on the bench at the first and only played once during a cup match. In total, he stands on seventeen appearances for the German club.