Phillip Cocu’s Derby County reportedly want to raid Groningen and convince Mike te Wierik to swap the Eredivisie for the Championship.
Derby County are hoping to sign Mike te Wierik on transfer deadline day with Groningen’s sporting director seemingly confirming The Rams’ interest, in quotes reported by RTV Noord.
It is no secret that Phillip Cocu’s side need a centre-back. Much has been made about Derby’s lack of productivity in the final third, with just 31 goals in 29 Championship games to their name, but a defence short of depth continues to hamstring a side whose play-off ambitions look like a distant memory.
The acrimonious departure of captain Richard Keogh in the autumn certainly didn’t help matters with record signing Krystian Bielik forced to slot in at centre-back more often than he would have liked.
The arrival of Te Wierik, then, would certainly go down well with the Pride Park faithful.
A 27-year-old with vast experience and over 200 Eredivisie appearances under his belt, Tubantia report that Cocu is interested in signing a player he knows well from his time in Dutch football.
‘Super nice club’
“(Derby) reported to us yesterday and (the interest) is concrete in itself,” said Groningen director Mark-Jan Fledderus.
“For us it is a difficult puzzle, since we also know that there is interest in (Te Wierik’s centre-back partner) Samir Memisevic. It will be difficult to let two defenders go.”
Interestingly, Te Wierik himself has also broken his silence on a potential move to the East Midlands, describing Derby as a ‘super nice club’.
The former Dutch U21 international is a fearsome physical presence, standing at 6ft 3ins. He averages over 4 clearances per game in the Eredivisie and could be the perfect foil for the classy, ball-playing Matt Clarke.
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