Serie A Transfer Market: Italian Clubs Definitively Miss Out on a Valuable Free Agent

Hans Hateboer will not be returning to Italy. The former Atalanta player is, in fact, set to rejoin Groningen, thus dashing the hopes of several Italian clubs that had been monitoring his situation as a free agent. According to “De Telegraaf,” the Dutch club has reached a one-season agreement with the player, born in 1994, pending final approval following his medical exam.

For Hateboer, this marks a return to his roots: having come up through Groningen’s youth system, he left the club in 2017 to join Atalanta, where he established himself as one of Serie A’s most reliable fullbacks. After his stint with Atalanta and a move to Ligue 1—which included lackluster spells with Rennes and Olympique Lyonnais—the defender returned to his homeland, where he was temporarily without a team.

In recent months, pressure from Groningen fans and contacts confirmed by sporting director Frank van Mosselveld had fueled speculation about a new chapter together. Now the deal is in its final stages: Hateboer will once again wear the jersey in which he first made his mark over ten years ago, definitively closing the door on a potential return to Serie A.

Hateboer was one of Atalanta’s pillars during the Gasperini era, which culminated in winning the Europa League in the triumphant final in Dublin against Bayer Leverkusen: on that occasion, the Dutchman played the final minutes, coming on for Davide Zappacosta in the 84th minute. His last game with the Nerazzurri, however, was on June 2, 2024—the rescheduled league match against Fiorentina, which they lost 3-2: on that occasion as well, Hateboer saw only a brief stretch of playing time, again starting in the 84th minute.