Ayase Ueda has become unfeasible for the Belgian top clubs. — © Belgian
AS Monaco’s plans with Cercle may be somewhat unclear, but it is certain that a lot of money will be added to the account in Bruges this summer. Harvesting is possible for the first time since the takeover in 2017. The Japanese top scorer Ayase Ueda in particular is wild on the transfer market and can already go to Germany or England, but Jesper Daland, Leonardo Lopes and even Charles Vanhoutte can also generate a lot of money in the future. For the first time in years, Cercle and Monaco can count themselves rich.
Koen Verdruye
Just when it is teeming with takeover plans, Cercle Brugge is running at full speed. This mainly has to do with the transfer policy. The Mexican sporting director Carlos Avina, with the support of AS Monaco and a few scouts, made his mark and that has yielded quite a return after three years.
Goudhaantje is undoubtedly Ayase Ueda. The Japanese striker was taken over from Kashima Antlers for 1.2 million last year, but he is now listed with a transfer value of 3.5 million euros. In eleven months at Cercle, Ueda turned out to be a fast, technically decent but also conditionally strong striker, who scored no less than 21 times. He was also active at the World Cup in Qatar and is now on the radar of various clubs. Also from Belgium, but they almost certainly have no chance of acquiring the best shooter in the Jupiler Pro League after Hugo Cuypers. Ueda has become unfeasible for the Belgian top and can already go to the Bundesliga or the Premier League. The introverted and somewhat mysterious Japanese also wants to taste it and therefore wants to leave. It is already certain that Cercle-Westerlo will be in the Europe play-offs will be Ueda’s last match for Cercle.
Daland is also very popular
He won’t be the only one though. Majecki and Marcelin return to Monaco next week. Charles Vanhoutte is under contract for another year after exercising his option, but absolutely wants to leave. He is close to Union, which still has to find an agreement with Cercle. Dino Hotic is at the end of his contract and may move to Turkey.
The Norwegian Jesper Daland also cost 1 million euros, but is now also worth a multiple. He will soon play the U23 European Championship with Norway and would then in principle join Monaco, where he would get his chance, but that suddenly no longer seems so certain. Numerous clubs from various top leagues are interested in Daland and the Monaco/Cercle tandem seems inclined to cash in.
The small midfielder Leonardo Lopes Da Silva is also ready to go. He has been with Cercle for three years and only has one year left on his contract. In 2020, people paid about 2 million euros for the Portuguese, an amount that they want to recover at least. Lopes can return to England, but there is also a lot of interest in him in Belgium.
Replacements are ready
Does this sell-off mean the end of the boom? Certainly not. Cercle also wants to participate in the top eight next season. Then the big breakthrough is expected from guys like goalkeeper Warleson, central defender Utkus, midfielder Abu Francis, winger Yann Gboho and centre-forward Kévin Denkey. They, in turn, have to make the cash register ring after a great season in the summer of 2024. At the end of June, in addition to two transfers, four immediately available players from parent club AS Monaco will also come to Bruges.
