Stijn Spierings has completed his return to Toulouse, the French club reports via official channels. The midfielder left for RC Lens earlier this summer, but had a false start with his new employer and is now on loan at les Pitchounes stabled. Delirious Toulouse fans were waiting for Spierings at the airport on Wednesday evening.
Spierings has started the season moderately at Lens. The ex-player of RKC Waalwijk, AZ and Sparta Rotterdam, among others, was in the starting line-up once in the first four competition matches and came on as a substitute in the other three matches. He played six and nine minutes respectively against Stade Brestois (3-2 loss) and Stade Rennes (1-1). The other two matches were lost to Paris Saint-Germain (3-1) and AS Monaco (3-0), meaning that the French are currently in seventeenth place in Ligue 1.
The return of Stijn Spierings to Toulouse!! ???? @ToulouseFC @ladepechedumidi pic.twitter.com/dzjfF3sozK
— Théo Faugère (@faugere_theo) September 13, 2023
L’Équipe writes about a ‘casting error’ by Lens. “His technical skills do not match the needs of Franck Haise (trainer Lens, ed.),” is the opinion. “Spierings has a tendency to slow down the game and interrupt the attacking intentions of opponents. He does not accelerate and has difficulty increasing the pace. In a team that counters and waits, he can certainly be useful, but Lens does not play like that. The team moves high pressure.”
Spierings can return to Toulouse because French clubs are allowed to sign one player who is already active in France outside the transfer period. There was, however, a disagreement about the payment of the midfielder’s salary. Spierings reportedly earned around 30,000 euros per month at Toulouse last season. This was significantly increased with his move to Lens. An earlier offer to extend his contract with Toulouse came to nothing, after which Spierings left.
It is still doubtful whether Spierings can also play for Toulouse at European level, as the club has already submitted the list to UEFA. If the current number twelve of Ligue 1 manages to hibernate in the Europa League, Spierings can in any case be registered from January. Toulouse are in Group E with Liverpool, LASK and Union Sint-Gillis.