Will Kevin van Veen still play for FC Groningen after the winter break? The striker who ended up on the bench strongly doubts that vision of the future. He also says that something did indeed happen between him and trainer Dick Lukkien.
Van Veen makes the statements The Scottish Sun . The goalgetter of FC Groningen, top scorer with five goals in ten games, was allowed to visit his heavily pregnant wife in Scotland last week. When he left for the Netherlands, the image of having to say goodbye to his newborn child gripped his throat.
“The visit home did not turn out as I expected,” says Van Veen. “My wife is expecting our first child in a few weeks and it’s getting harder and harder for me. I knew it would be a challenge when I signed for FC Groningen, but it is much tougher than I could have planned in advance.”
‘That hit me hard’
Van Veen does not want to think that he will soon have to miss his little one for weeks when he has sporting obligations in Groningen. “I realized when I left that the next time I leave I would be able to hold the baby one more time. Then I would have to give him or her back and leave my baby behind. That really hit me hard. Family is so important to me. I think it will be very difficult to take that step.”
Van Veen was on the bench for the last three matches at FC Groningen. According to the striker, this was not without reason. “The trainer and I had a discussion and I crossed a line with the words I used in that conversation. I haven’t been in the starting lineup since then.”
Interest from other clubs
The attacker says that it has not gone unnoticed by other clubs that he ended up on the bench at FC Groningen. “My agent has received calls from six or seven clubs inquiring about the possibilities for rent in January. That would be an elegant solution given the circumstances. I’ve had good times in Scotland. Of course I would be open to a conversation with Motherwell because I had such a successful time there last season. But last year, according to my agent, there was also interest from Rangers, although at my age I probably no longer fit their profile.”
At FC Groningen they are not immediately concerned about the statements that Van Veen allegedly made The Scottish Sun . “That’s a newspaper, isn’t it?”, responds director Wouter Gudde. “We have spoken enough with Kevin van Veen. All these points were not raised, except that he is having difficulty with the role he now has with us. Taking that into account, I can understand that the rest will also count more, but for the time being we have simply agreed that the focus will be on Friday’s match against FC Eindhoven.”
Promised to get better
According to Gudde, Van Veen has actually promised improvement. “He has indicated that he wants to try to meet what the trainer asks of him and I think he is working hard on that. We’ll see how things go in the coming weeks. His daughter will be born during that period. That will undoubtedly bring out a lot of wonderful things for him, but we’ll see about that. If he really supports the statements he has made in this newspaper, he will undoubtedly contact us with the request if we can look into the possibilities, but that is not the case yet.”
FC Groningen took over Van Veen from Motherwell last summer for around €600,000. Van Veen is contracted to FC Groningen until July 2026.