Former Club Brugge midfielder interested in a return to Beerschot following release from Anderlecht

Former Club Brugge midfielder interested in a return to Beerschot following release from Anderlecht HNB are reporting that Mats Rits could be set to join Beerschot. The 32-year-old central midfielder, formerly of Club Brugge , has left Anderlecht after his contract came to an end this summer. Rits came through the Beerschot academy and made his professional debut at Beerschot aged just 16. The midfielder is said to be open to a return to the club where his career began. In 2011 he joined Ajax, but didn’t make a senior appearance for the Dutch side. In 2013 he joined Mechelen, another club that had in previous months been interested in a reunion with Rits. After 166 games for Mechelen, Rits moved to Club Brugge in 2018. He spent a number of seasons with the club and was a key player during his first four seasons. Injuries saw his starts limited during the 2022/2023 season and the following year Rits left to join Anderlecht. He departed with 23 goals in 197 games, winning three league titles with Club Brugge. Like with Club Brugge, Rits was a regular with Anderlecht for his first two seasons. However, last season he made just three appearances and it was clear that the club was not interested in keeping Rits beyond the end of his contract. He left Anderlecht with one goal and six assists in 83 games. In order to join Beerschot, Rits would have to be willing to drop down into the second tier of Belgian football. Beerschot came close to an immediate return to the top flight but lost out in the play-offs. Lommel went on to win the second tier play-offs and beat Dender to earn promotion to the top flight. GBeNeFN  |  Ben Jackson