3/1 To Win
Phillip Cocu says he’s pleased to have secured the services of defender Mike te Wierik on a pre-contract agreement ahead of next season.
It was announced earlier today that the captain of Dutch top-flight side FC Groningen will join the Rams on a three-year deal in the summer.
The central defender is out of contract in the summer and the Rams have moved to land the in-demand Dutchman.
The 27-year-old, who has over 200 appearances in the Eredivisie to his name, will link up with the Rams in the summer ahead of the 2020/21 season.
Speaking to RamsTV, Cocu said: “Mike te Wierik is an experienced centre-back and has played quite a few seasons in Holland for Heracles and Groningen.
“He is the captain at Groningen and developed well over the last couple of years, progressed and got the experience he needed in the position.
“He is used to build-up play, is a very solid defender and also very loyal to his clubs too, you see that in his career, and that is something I value as a player. He will finish the season with Groningen and then prepare for next season to come to us.”
He added: “We tried to bring him here before the end of the recent transfer window, but it wasn’t a possible situation for Groningen and we had to accept it. Now we know he will be coming and joining us next season.”
Cocu has been aware of te Wierik’s qualities for some time.
The defender faced PSV Eindhoven during Cocu’s time in charge at the Philips Stadion and the Derby boss has continued to keep a close eye on proceedings in his homeland.
“I have known about him for quite some time and in the last few months we have followed him more intensively with our recruitment team,” he explained.
“It is a shared idea with everyone to get him in and everyone was positive. I knew him and about the situation for him.
“With his contract coming to an end it was a good opportunity to get him in and a player on a free is maybe a bonus for the club.”
te Wierik began his career with Heracles Almelo and he made over 160 appearances over the course of seven seasons.
He moved to FC Groningen in the summer of 2017 and is closing in on making 100 appearances for the Noordlease Stadion side.
