Top Stories

Diskerud loaned to Belgian club Gent

USMNT0122112230

Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com

European transfer deadline day has proved to be fruitful for one American abroad.

Mikkel Diskerud has been loaned from Stabaek in his native Norway to Belgian top flight club KAA Gent, the club announced on Tuesday. The loan comes with an option to buy at the end of the season and gives Diskerud a chance to prove his worth for a different club for the first time in his brief career.

With the loan, the 21-year-old Diskerud moves from a middling Norwegian club in financial trouble to a team that is in the thick of the Belgian title race. Gent sits in second place and seven points behind league-leading Anderlecht.

Diskerud, a member of all three U.S. Under-23 training camps since Caleb Porter took over as coach, had been rumored to be on the move from Stabaek, and most reports had Norwegian club Lillestrom being his next destination. Instead, he is headed to Belgium — at least temporarily — where he will join Sacha Kljestan as U.S. international central midfielders playing in the country's top tier. 

What do you think about the move? Hope it becomes a permanent switch?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “He is headed to Belgium — at least temporarily — where he will join Sacha Kljestan as U.S. international central midfielders playing in the country’s top tier.”

    I thought Kljestan was playing mostly on the wing, and I thought Mixx normally played as second striker.

    Reply
  2. wow, misread the Gent/Genk thing. Probably due to the Ghent/Gent spelling thing.

    However, after the Mixx-up, the gent anme Mix will not be a Ghenk but at Ghent.

    Reply
  3. He was captain of the U23’s in a pair of recent scrimmages, so these pieces of news bode well for Diskerud’s availability (and the desire of the US to involve him as he develops).

    Reply
  4. Wikipedia is on average 97% correct with all the information cited on the bottom of the pages. About as realiable as modern encyolpedias

    Reply
  5. I’m curious why you don’t think Wikipedia is a credible source for this information. Its an undisputed fact. The coefficients are based on a team’s record and are calculated using a mathematical formula.

    What’s more, the article on Wikipedia simply copied the entire coefficient ranking chart from the UEFA website, so I’m not sure what you are saying, that UEFA has the UEFA coefficients wrong and then any place that has re-posted them is in turn wrong. Or maybe you are alleging that the Wikipedia page has (it hasn’t) been altered from what is on the UEFA website.

    In any event, its a undisputed fact (regardless of what website it was taken from) that in the UEFA coefficients Belgium is ranked 12th and Norway is 26th. The coefficient is based on the previous 5 years and its clear to see that Belgium is on the up-and-up as well. If Mixx makes it a permanent move he could get some good champions league time.

    Reply
  6. Gent (Ghent in English) and Genk are two different cities in the Flemish region of Belgium. Diskerud will be playing for Gent, not Genk (DeBruyne’s team).

    Reply
  7. Pretty sure that Chelsea immediately loaned de Bruyne back to Genk for the remainder of this year, so it it doesn’t help him on the loan front. But you’re right it’s a good move because with deBruyne most likely leaving next season, MD could benefit in terms of opportunity.

    EDIT: late to the party, sorry.

    Reply
  8. someone please correct me if i’m wrong, but i believe part of the de bruyne deal is that genk keep him through the end of the current season.

    as per olympic qualifying, greg seltzer has brought to light that there is a clause in his contract allowing releases for olympic qualifying and that clause would be transferred to any new club he signed for.

    Reply
  9. This is a good move. Genk just sold De Bruyne to Chelsea so they obviously see him as a replacement. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him get minutes very early

    Reply
  10. It’s a nice step up for him. Belgium’s ranked 12th in European league coefficients according to Wikipedia, while Norway is 26th. Add to that a move from a financially strapped club to a 2nd place team, and it sounds good. Hopefully, the manager will see his talents and also challenge him in training. I feel like Benny and Freddie have both fallen into that trap of the technically skilled, creative midfielder that doesn’t train well and stagnates developmentally. I’ve heard rumors that Mixx is also falling into that mode and I don’t want that to happen to him.

    Reply
  11. Good to hear. He is moving up. The Norwegian league is arguably same level as MLS. This will get him some more notice from Klinsmann and of course bigger leagues on the continent.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Mark Cancel reply