‘Spierings can make a striking transfer after the transfer window closes’
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 8:41 AM
Stijn Spierings may return to Toulouse in the short term, various media in France report. The 27-year-old midfielder moved to RC Lens on a free transfer this summer, but has not yet excelled there and can now return to his old employer. This could even be possible in the short term, as French clubs are allowed to sign one player who already plays in France outside the transfer period.
The possible return of Spierings to Les Violets would be very striking, as the right winger consciously opted for a step up in France this summer. Spierings was in the keen interest of both Ajax and PSV, but preferred a transfer to Lens over a return to the Netherlands. The playmaker explained a little later in conversation with Voetbal International why he made that choice. “Direct Champions League, great chance of playing time, big club and less than a four-hour drive from Rotterdam. The picture was perfect.”
More: Bad start has consequences: Dutchman not registered for Champions League
“I don’t think all Dutch football fans know and realize how big this club is,” said Spierings. “Lens is from the region, supporters come from all over and are just as fanatic as those in Marseille. There are forty thousand fans in the stadium every match.” The Dutchman has seriously considered a transfer to PSV. “But when Lens also registered and I visited with my agent Ali Dursun, I was immediately sold. Straight into the Champions League, that is a dream and at the same time I felt that I was not ready yet abroad.”
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.
