With eighteen days to go until the competition overture against Jong Ajax, the renewed FC Groningen is taking shape more and more. What about the arrival of Leandro Bacuna and what is the status of Johan Hove and Rui Mendes? An update.
Bringing a kid home from the club. It is not always a guarantee for success, but Leandro Bacuna’s recent stay at FC Groningen certainly tastes like more so far. Last Friday, the midfielder, born and raised in Groningen, was one of the best players on the side of green and white in an exhibition game on Scottish soil, and the 31-year-old Bacuna also impresses during training. Reason for FC Groningen to make an offer to the veteran, who left the club at the age of 21 to create a furore in England.
In conversation
,,We are in talks”, director Wouter Gudde confirms. ,,The first question was whether it would be a serious option, from both sides. Then we have to see if we’re going to get out. We have reached that phase. We are not the only club interested. There are also candidates among the competitors who have quite a bit more resources to spend than FC Groningen. Leandro will have to make the choice. I assume that we will get more clarity in the coming days.”
Bacuna could be the energetic midfielder with a lot of running ability that FC Groningen has been looking for since the start of the preparation. ,,He didn’t have his best season at Watford last year”, says Gudde. ,,That was also because he played in a place there, as a midfielder in a 5-3-2 system, just before the three central defenders, where he couldn’t bring the power and dynamism that is hidden in his game. With us we see that he really has something extra. In terms of level, Bacuna is at the top of the group. That’s how we look at it. It would be great if he says yes.”
The home front beckons
Bacuna himself said earlier that he would also be interested in an exotic adventure in a country other than England or the Netherlands. At the same time, he hinted that the home front lures. He would like to settle in Groningen with his family. ,,Moreover, Bacuna has a good click with our trainer Dick Lukkien. Of course that also helps”, says Gudde. ,,And he is just proud to put our shirt back on. He wants to do something for the club. Those are real benefits.”
Hove
Meanwhile, another talented midfielder can be admired at FC Groningen’s training. Johan Hove is back in Groningen, after the Norwegian played the European Under-21 Championship with Jong Norway this summer. The 22-year-old Hove came over from Strømsgodset IF to FC Groningen last winter, was appreciated with his qualities, but was wise enough to be the only player to have a relegation clause included in his contract.
As a result, he can now leave for a limited transfer fee of one and a half million euros. The fact that he is currently training with FC Groningen does not mean that he will stay in the North after all.
“There is a lot of interest in Johan Hove. He takes the time to make the right choice”, explains Gudde. “He’s a fantastic guy in the group. That is why we have agreed that he is very welcome until he has made his choice. Whether we can ask for more for him than agreed? Then we should start playing games and given the size of the clubs chasing him I think with the agent they will see through that game. I expect that his choice will be clear soon.”
Mendes
In the meantime, FC Groningen is also still lurking on Rui Mendes from FC Emmen. Gudde previously made a bid for the attacker, who brings speed and goals, but there was a big difference between what FC Groningen initially wanted to give and what FC Emmen asked: reportedly a sloppy 250,000 euros including bonuses versus an asking price of around nine tons.
,,We do not think that is realistic, but the interest is still there, that is clear”, Gudde confirms. ,,We would like to bring Mendes here. We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks. I am in contact with FC Emmen director Rinse Bleeker about it.”