Done deal: Ximines begins overseas adventure with Cercle Brugge
Published:Sunday | January 8, 2023 | 1:31 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
THE OVERSEAS opportunity that national defender Tarick Ximines has worked towards is now official after the results of a medical on Monday and Belgian club Cercle Brugge’s announcement on Wednesday.
The club has now confirmed that the 18-year-old has been signed to a two-and-a-half-year contract, with the option of a third season.
Next up for Ximines is to get acclimatised to a new country and to ingrain himself into the set-up and, according to the former Jamaica College (JC) standout, he is looking forward to the challenge.
“Special thanks to the staff and coaches of Cercle Brugge for this opportunity. Looking forward to this challenge and embracing the fans. Can’t wait to get started,” Ximines said in an Instagram post.
According to the club, Ximines will not be integrated into the first team set-up right away but will be sent on loan to fourth-division club Jong Cercle for the second half of the season.
The club said that he was on trial with the team for several weeks last season, prior to his permanent move.
Ximines closed his chapter in Jamaica by returning to JC to help them capture their 31st hold on the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup title last month.
JC also won the ISSA Champions Cup.
SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION
Ximines also featured for Harbour View as well as Mount Pleasant in the Jamaica Premier League but was without a club for the beginning of the 2022 season.
In an interview with The Gleaner on December 31, Ximines’s agent, former Reggae Boy Fitzroy Simpson, said there were other interests from France, England as well as Holland and, while he will need time to settle, he is confident that Ximines’ ability to adapt and learn will be key assets for him to make a successful transition to the league.
“He’s a man that absorbs and takes on information very, very quickly, and that’s a challenge that he has embraced and it doesn’t take long to adapt at all,” Simpson said.
Ximines could make his debut for Jong Cercle on January 14 against KRC Harelbeke.