Behind Ayase Ueda's Move to Lille: Player Negotiated Personally as Feyenoord Accepted Discounted Deal

Shortly before the summer transfer window closed, Japan international forward Ayase Ueda moved from Eredivisie club Feyenoord to Ligue 1 side Lille. The transfer fee was far below the club's initial expectations, causing considerable debate in Dutch football. Feyenoord executives revealed the inside story behind the complicated transfer saga in an interview.

Japan international forward Ayase Ueda moved from Eredivisie side Feyenoord to Ligue 1 club Lille.

The 28-year-old Ueda was previously Feyenoord's leading striker and became a highly sought-after target in the summer transfer market, with clubs including Fenerbahce and Everton showing interest. Feyenoord originally set a minimum selling price of €25.5 million, but negotiations with multiple parties failed to progress smoothly. Ueda eventually joined Lille for a basic transfer fee of only €15 million plus add-ons. Compared with the offer from the Turkish club, the deal represented a difference of around 1.8 billion yen, prompting criticism of Feyenoord's management from Dutch local media.

A reporter from Dutch public broadcaster NOS directly stated that the selling price was too low. The reporter argued that if the player was unwilling to move to Turkey, the club should have started discussions with Lille earlier. The final terms were seen as almost equivalent to allowing the player to leave, without maximizing returns, and the negotiation strategy came under scrutiny.

Amid the criticism, Feyenoord technical director Dewi Rigo explained the club's difficulties in an interview. He confirmed that Turkish giants Fenerbahce had indeed submitted an attractive €25 million offer, but the club ultimately chose to continue negotiations with Lille because of Ueda's own wishes. Rigo revealed that after the World Cup, Ueda personally approached the management and expressed his desire to join one of Europe's top five leagues, with a preference for challenging himself in the Premier League. At the time, Ueda had just won the Eredivisie Golden Boot and had fulfilled the club's expectations, so the management did not want to force him to join the Turkish league, where he did not want to play.

Unfortunately, no concrete Premier League offer materialized, while Lille extended an offer at that time. Ligue 1 is also considered one of Europe's top five leagues, so in order to respect the player's career ambitions, Feyenoord had to accept a lower-value proposal. Lille president Olivier Letang also told Feyenoord that the club almost never pays transfer fees worth tens of millions of euros for players over the age of 25.

The club also faced practical financial pressure. If it missed this transfer window, fewer teams would likely be willing to pay a high fee for Ueda as he got older, while the club also urgently needed funds to stabilize its finances, making it unrealistic to keep the player. Although the transfer fee was criticized externally, from the club's internal perspective, letting Ueda leave had become unavoidable regardless of the amount received. After joining Lille, Ueda scored the winning goal on his debut and repaid the trust of his new club through his performance on the pitch.