The Groningen Courier
Market10 Aug 2026
Groningen say no — this time
The offer from Ajax for Marvin Peersman was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
$2.5M settles it between the clubs for Niklas Vesterlund
Utrecht have accepted the money. What Groningen do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A move Tyrell Malacia would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Tyrell Malacia is living that version at Groningen, and it tends to show in the first month.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Door shut on Mexx Meerdink
Groningen asked and AZ said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
No deal for Ruben van Bommel at that price
Groningen offered $5.9M; PSV said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Groningen
Marvin Peersman and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
Graduation day at Groningen
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Oskar Zawada stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Oskar Zawada and Groningen agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Groningen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tyrell Malacia is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
- Market One of our own: Joel Klaassen joins the Groningen first team
- Market Groningen promote Kenneth Hateboer from within
- Market Arnaut Timber steps up from the Groningen academy