Birmingham City look poised to sign Groningen midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld, after the club lodged a bid that activated his release clause.He is a defensive minded midfielder who as you will see from a video below, does have a strike in him.
Maikel Kieftenbeld is following in the direction of his former team mate Tjaronn Chery who has signed for Queens Park Rangers recently.
The news was confirmed on the official Groningen website, where they have made it clear the bid was accepted as a result of Kieftenbeld’s contract extension, which he signed last season.
Birmingham are eager to sign a new midfielder after being left short by Nottingham Forest’s decision to retain the services of Robert Tesche. Tesche spent the back end of last season on loan at Birmingham and played a pivital role in the push towards the top 10.
Rowett has waited all summer hoping Tesche would become available but has now been forced to move onto his second target.
With just a few short weeks to go until the start of the season, it does not come at an ideal time, although many Birmingham fans will appreciate that a player is now coming in to add to the midfield numbers.
It is understood that Groningen had their captain sign an extension to his contract, which included a minimum fee release clause. His existing contract also had just one more year to run, it appears Blues may be getting a good price for a player that, had he been within a tighter contract, would command a higher fee.
Groningen are a Dutch side that play in the Eredivisie, the highest league in the Netherlands. The Green-White army finished 8th last season and were desperately trying to avoid losing their captain.
Maikel Kieftenbeld is 25 years old and has made 145 league appearances for the Dutch side since signing his first contract with them in July 2010, joining from Go Ahead Eagles at the age of 20. He has been a very big part of the team for the past 5 years.
Kieftenbeld’s stock has been on the rise since turning 23, over the past two seasons his performances have been catching the eye, playing the defensive role of the midfield battles.
We will have to wait until we can see more of this signing, if it all goes through, before we can actually know more about him.
Where does he fit in your Blues team?
Source – FC Groningen
Here is one of Kieftenbeld’s strikes for his current club.
