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Het Nieuwsblad are reporting that KV Mechelen have agreed a loan with purchase option deal to bring Zinho Vanheusden back to Belgium.

Last season the 24-year-old was on loan at Standard Liege from Inter, with a purchase option of €7m included. However, given the financial situation at Standard this summer, there was never any real possibility of that being taken up by the club.

Now it appears that Vanheusden will return to the league on loan at Mechelen, which will certainly frustrate Standard fans. The defender has seen his career decimated by injuries since his permanent move to Inter from Standard in 2019.

 

Once tipped to be the future of Belgian football’s defence. the injuries have meant that Vanheusden has gone from a player worth almost €20m to just €5m according to Transfermarkt.

With a deal at Inter set to run until 2026, it appears that while the talent may be there his body is not capable of playing at the top of European football.

The move to Mechelen will hopefully give him a chance to still carve out a successful playing career. Last season, while on loan back at Standard, the defender made 23 appearances in all competitions, the most he had done in a season since the 2019/2020 season.