Real Madrid: Mink Peeters in limbo after third loan ends early
The 20-year-old was signed from Ajax five years ago as one of the hottest prospects in European football but has failed to make an impact.
Mink Peeters was signed by Real Madrid from Ajax in 2014 amid some fanfare, the then-teenaged Dutch forward being touted as one of the brightest prospects to emerge in the Netherlands for some time.
After initially impressing at Madrid in the youth set-up, where he won the 2017 Copa de Campeones, Peeters was loaned out to gain more experience at a senior level, joining Eredivisie side VVV-Venlo for the 2017-18 campaign.
From there, it has all gone rather stale for Peeters, now 20. The forward managed zero appearances for Venlo and was subsequently loaned to second-tier Dutch side Almere City, where he made three league appearances.
Peeters returned to Madrid from Segunda B side Lleida
After returning to Madrid last summer, Peeters was loaned again to Segunda B side Lleida for the 2018-19, where it was hoped he might find his way into a regular starting spot at a lower level. On the final day of the January transfer window, he was sent back to Valdebebas after making just two substitute appearances under Gerard Albadalejo for a total of 32 minutes.
Since his final season in the Madrid youth set-up, Peeters has played just six games over the course of 18 months and finds himself back at Valdebebas in a form of football purgatory: the forward is not registered with Castilla and so cannot play for the reserves.
Peeters is under contract at Real Madrid until 2020 but the club have given him no assurances about his future and are happy to let him decide his own future over the course of the next few months, with another move in the summer the most likely option for a player who desperately needs a confidence boost after falling by the wayside since arriving at the Bernabéu.
