© BELGIUM
Adriano Bertaccini (23) will become STVV’s new striker. The asking price was negotiated at club level until the final day of the mercato. Ultimately, an agreement was reached, the top scorer of the Challenger Pro League comes over from RFC Liège and signs a contract until June 2027 with an option with the Canaries.
STVV had been promising a new striker for Stayen for months, but the Truiense fans kept waiting for attacking reinforcement. Ultimately, we waited until the last day of the winter mercato. The Canaries reached an agreement with Adriano Bertaccini on Thursday evening.
The Belgian-Italian striker can thus still realize his dream of playing at the highest level. At 1.73 meters tall, Bertaccini is certainly not a Zahiroleslam type, but in the Challenger Pro League and at amateur level at THES, he proved that he has a nose for goals. With eleven goals, Bertaccini is the top scorer in the Challenger Pro League, ahead of Jelle Vossen, among others. And that is precisely where the problem has been pressing at STVV for some time: strikers who do not score.
Bertaccini (right) also found his way to goal easily at THES. — © Karel Hemerijckx
1 million euros
However, Sint-Truiden focused on other avenues last week. Because in Liège, Pierre François stood his ground about the transfer price until Thursday. Bertaccini had to and would cost 1 million euros, a sum that STVV firmly considered too high for a player who comes from a club in the Challenger Pro League and still has everything to prove at the highest level. As is the case in most transfer files, all parties compromised in the final hours before the transfer market closed, resulting in an agreement being reached. STVV puts 800,000 euros on the table for the attacker, who signs a contract with Stayen until mid-2027 with an option.
It is remarkable that a rush hour finally comes to Stayen. Thorsten Fink was also not convinced this week that his team could use an extra attacker, unless it would be a name that would provide enormous added value to his group. After all, the regular competition has progressed by more than two-thirds. Bertaccini will therefore still have work to convince Fink in the short term that he will quickly pick up the Canaries’ system.
For the Truiense fans, the arrival of Bertaccini is a boost. At the Tiensesteenweg there was little confidence in other strikers such as Fatih Kaya, Joselpho Barnes and Shinji Okazaki. That trio together scored… zero goals this season. (gus/pivan)