Jan 10, 2023 at 12:59 PM
Vitesse strengthened itself on Tuesday with Nicolas Isimat-Mirin. The former PSV defender was on a free transfer after his contract with MLS club Sporting Kansas City expired. Excelsior hires Peer Koopmeiners from AZ.
Isimat-Mirin is reunited with trainer Phillip Cocu at Vitesse. Together they became national champions three times with PSV. From 2015 to 2019, the 31-year-old Frenchman played 130 matches for the Eindhoven club.
“It was my wish to return to the Netherlands, where I still have a house with my family,” says Isimat-Mirin. “Vitesse feels like the right destination for me. It is not only a beautiful club with fanatical supporters, but also the club of my former coach Phillip Cocu. I look forward to working with him again
At Kansas City, Isimat-Mirin played 41 games in the past two years. His last match dates from October, so according to Vitesse he still needs some time to be completely fit. The central defender previously played for AS Monaco, Besiktas and Toulouse.
Vitesse could use reinforcements. Cocu’s team currently occupies thirteenth place in the Eredivisie and is fighting against relegation.
Excelsior has a purchase option on Koopmeiners
Peer Koopmeiners has signed a lease with a purchase option with Excelsior, which means that the club from Rotterdam can take over the 22-year-old midfielder from AZ after this season.
Koopmeiners made his debut in AZ’s first team last year, but did not make as much of an impression as his brother Teun Koopmeiners, who now plays for Atalanta and can call himself an Orange international. Peer Koopmeiners played fourteen times for AZ, where he still has a contract for 2.5 years.
“Excelsior’s way of playing football suits me,” he says. “The trainer and staff also appeal to me enormously and I only hear positive things about the group. So the picture is reasonably complete.”
Koopmeiners is the second winter acquisition of Excelsior, the current number twelve in the Eredivisie. Earlier, defender Kik Pierie was hired from Ajax.
Image: ProShots
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