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Midfielder has regrets over Arsenal snub and now plays in Indonesia
Most players, had they turned down a move to Premier League giants Arsenal only to fail the make the grade at his boyhood club, would maybe wish they could turn back the clock.
But not Jordy Wehrmann.
A midfielder who joined Feyenoord’s academy at the age of just seven, and was so attached to the idea of following in the footsteps of his childhood heroes that he even rebuffed the advances of two other clubs wearing red and white.
Wehrmann attracted the attention of Arsenal when still a youth teamer at the current Eredivisie champions.
Arsene Wenger was in the Emirates hotseat at the time. And only slightly older than the likes of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, who knows, perhaps Wehrmann would have gone on to enjoy a similar level of success in The Gunners’ first-team?
Jordy Wehrmann says love of Feyenoord caused Arsenal snub
Nearly a decade later, with Mikel Arteta hoping that 2025 is finally the year when Arsenal get their mitts on the coveted Premier League trophy, Wehrmann has long since left Feyenoord, and Dutch football, behind.
At the age of 25, and after brief spells in Belgium and Croatian, Wehrmann is earning a living some 11,000 miles to the East.
“It was about PSV and Arsenal,” Wehrmann tells , recalling the clubs who tried and failed to lure him away from De Kuip while still a teenager. “At that time, you are still a boy.
“You are a fan and captain of Feyenoord’s Under-17s. Then you train at Varkenoord [Feyenoord’s training ground], and you see De Kuip through the trees. At that moment, you are not at all concerned with earning money or going abroad.
“You just hope for Feyenoord and dream of De Kuip and nothing else.”
Wehrmann does admit that, if he had his time again, he might have been a little more open to hearing what Arsenal had to offer.
Still, a player once so highly-rated at Feyenoord does not see his eventual fresh start in Indonesia – he joined Madura United over the summer from HNK Vukovar 1991 – as a sign that his career is on the wane.
Wehrmann insists he is happy in Indonesia
“In retrospect, nine years later, [joining Arsenal] might have been nice after all,” Wehrmann adds. “[But] it’s fantastic here. I’ve really found my place here.
“Both my brothers are here now too [and] my grandmother is here. She was born in Indonesia. She came last month and will stay until the end of the season. I’m really grateful for that. It’s really special.”
“The Indonesian boys are so motivated. They really play football to make their families feel good. When the coaches say ‘We’re going to run 40 laps’ there is not one who asks; ‘Isn’t four enough?’
“Then, they just run one more of their own accord. Here, they just do what is asked of them.”
While the ship sailed long ago for Jordy Wehrmann regarding a potential switch to the Premier League giants, Arsenal are expected to be in the market for a new midfielder heading into 2025. Particularly with concerns over Jorginho’s future.
TBR understands that both Arsenal and Chelsea are watching Mario Dorgeles of Danish outfit Nordsjaelland. The Gunners have also been tipped to target Martin Zubimendi after raiding Real Sociedad for Mikel Merino over the summer.