Reiss Nelson Still Awaiting Work Permit As Feyenoord Debut Continues To Be Delayed

Nelson’s long-awaited return to Feyenoord has hit an early administrative hurdle before he has even set foot on the training pitch with his new teammates.

The former Arsenal winger left the Gunners this summer after his contract was terminated, subsequently completing a free transfer back to the Dutch club he previously represented.

Nelson’s move to Feyenoord was officially confirmed on September 2nd, yet the winger has not featured for the club in any capacity since then.

The 24-year-old was absent from the squad during the weekend clash against NEC Nijmegen, and he was not included for the midweek trip to face Barcelona either.

Perhaps most tellingly, Nelson has not even been able to participate in training with his new teammates while the work permit situation remains unresolved.

Dennis van Eersel reported that Nelson would not be involved in the Barcelona match due to an ongoing issue with his work permit application in the Netherlands.

Feyenoord manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst had expressed hope that the permit would be approved in time for the Barcelona fixture, but that optimism ultimately proved premature.

The situation draws a clear parallel to what Raheem Sterling experienced after joining Feyenoord last year, signing on February 12th before finally receiving permit approval on February 19th.

Sterling missed an Eredivisie match against Go Ahead Eagles during his wait and was only able to train with the squad when the team travelled abroad for a training camp.

Using Sterling’s timeline as a rough benchmark, a similar week-long delay from Nelson’s September 2nd announcement would have placed his approval around September 9th.

If that date proved accurate, it may have simply been too late for Nelson to be cleared in time to feature in the match played on that same day.

All eyes will now turn to Sunday’s Eredivisie fixture against PEC Zwolle, which represents the next opportunity for Nelson to finally make his debut for the club.

Nelson will be hoping to get some training time in with his teammates before then, allowing him to hit the ground running once the permit is formally approved.

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