Newcastle United goalkeeper Matz Sels has cast doubt on a return to the club from his season-long loan at Anderlecht.
Sels joined the Belgian First Division A side on a year-long temporary deal in June, and has made 24 appearances in all competitions for the club.
The 25-year-old stopper has now spoken out about a potential return to Newcastle, telling Belgian newspaper HLN that he was keen to extend his stay at Anderlecht.
“I’m open for a conversation. Newcastle have paid a lot of money and they want to recoup a part. A return to Newcastle would be difficult,” he said.
Sels was quoted by London-based HLN reporter Kristof Terreur on Twitter on Friday, who also reported that Anderlecht do not have an option to buy the goalkeeper.
Matz Sels tells @hlnsport that he’s open for a longer stay at Anderlecht. They have no option to buy. Lot will depend on their new owner. “I’m open for a conversation. Newcastle have paid a lot of money & they want to recoup a part. A return to #NUFC will be difficult.” pic.twitter.com/5oTmC5tRFj
— Kristof Terreur (@kristofterreur) February 23, 2018
Sels joined Newcastle in the summer of 2016 for around £5.5million from another Belgian First Division A side, Gent, but went on to make just 14 first-team appearances for the Magpies before his loan exit one year later.
OPINION
It is clear that Sels does not have much of a future on Tyneside after failing to live up to his price tag. The Belgian stopper looks set for a permanent exit soon, but whether that will be to Anderlecht is another matter. As he says, Newcastle will obviously want to recoup most of the money they shelled out for him, and whether the Belgian side can stump up that kind of cash is unknown.