The loan of midfielder Aleksandar Stevanovic to PEC Zwolle could not take place as the Dutch first division side were unable to obtain a working permit for the 20-year-old ...
The loan of midfielder Aleksandar Stevanovic to PEC Zwolle could not take place as the Dutch first division side were unable to obtain a working permit for the 20-year-old ...
The loan of midfielder Aleksandar Stevanovic to PEC Zwolle could not take place as the Dutch first division side were unable to obtain a working permit for the 20-year-old, whose loan until the end of the season had been agreed upon two weeks earlier by both clubs. PEC announced their inability to get the paperwork Friday morning.
Stevanovic, who was born and raised in Germany and is considered a "football German", has a Serbian passport and is considered a non-E.U. foreigner in the Netherlands. In order to protect young Dutch professionals, a working permit is only granted for non-E.U. foreigners in the Netherlands if a player fulfils certain criteria. And Stevanovic did not meet the criteria.
"We did everything in our imagination to get a playing permit for Aleksandar. We respect the Dutch regulations in this matter, but we are sorry that a transfer could not take place," said PEC Zwolle technical director Gerard Nijkamp.
"We provided all the information from our side, so it's really too bad that a transfer couldn't be worked out. I am certain that the transfer would have gone through if all parties would have helped out," said Werder head coach Thomas Schaaf. "The transfer window is still open. We have agreed with Aleks' agent that we will look for another place to loan him to and get some game experience. Should that not work out, he will still be a full-value member of our roster."
Stevanovic transferred in the summer of 2011 from Schalke 04's U19 team to SV Werder Bremen and has played in three Bundesliga matches. In addition, the 20-year-old appeared in 17 games for Werder's U23 team in the third league and once in the Regionalliga.
