Report: He’s gone! Wesley Hoedt to join Anderlecht on permanent transfer

Today it was confirmed that Dutch defender Wesley Hoedt will leave Southampton for Belgian side RSC Anderlecht in the summer on a permanent deal.

There are no details about the transfer value.

Hoedt joined Southampton in 2017 from Italian club Lazio in 2017 for a transfer fee worth a reported £15m.

However, the 27-year-old failed to make an impact for the Saints and accumulated only 45 appearances in all competition for the club.

Hoedt has not featured for Southampton since the 2018-19 season and has been sent out on loan to various clubs ever since.

In January that season, the centre-back joined La Liga’s Celta Vigo on a loan deal. He was sent off in his debut for Los Celestes and only made nine more appearances after.

The 2019-20 season saw Hoedt join another Belgian pro League side in Royal Antwerp. There, he made 25 appearances for the club, helping them to a fourth-place finish in the league.

Last season, Hoedt rejoined Lazio - the club Saints signed him from- and he made 26 appearances across domestic and continental football for the Rome side but didn’t impress enough to get the permanent transfer he was hoping for.

Now, Anderlecht are the club that has taken Hoedt off Saints’ hands as the Dutchman had just one year remaining on his contract.

There aren’t many players that symbolise how bad Southampton’s player recruitment was in the late 2010s than Wesley Hoedt.

Hoedt looked uncomfortable on the pitch and continually stated that he wanted to end his time at Southampton, criticising both the club and its managers over the years, in a bid to get his move.

Now, that time has finally come.