Le Roux heads back to Sweden in transfer move

South African international Luke Le Roux has gone back to Sweden after a single season in the Dutch league, signing on Tuesday for IFK Värnamo in a two-year deal.

He is expected to join the club next week from FC Volendam, who were relegated from the top flight in the Netherlands.

The 24-year-old, who has won five caps for Bafana Bafana, will join the Swedish club near the midway point of their season.

They are in 12th place, having won four of 12 matches played this term and resume the campaign, after a one month mid-season break, at home to FC Gothenburg on Sunday.

“I am very excited to have signed for IFK Värnamo, who are one of the most exciting and ball-playing teams in the Allsvenskan (Swedish top flight),” said Le Roux in a club statement.

“I know that from having played against them us on quite a few occasions in the past. I got a very good feeling about Värnamo as soon as I heard about the club's interest and it became even greater when I met the people at the club.

“The vision that Värnamo has convinced me immediately, and I immediately felt that this is an exciting project and a club that I would like to be a part of. I'm really excited about this and look forward to stepping out onto field in front of our supporters.”

The club’s technical director, Enes Ahmetovic, added: “It is of course with a great deal of joy that we put pen to paper and complete the signing of Luke. It will be a very nice addition to an already exciting and strong squad.

“Those of us who have followed Luke during his time in Varberg know that he is a very fine player at the Allsvenskan level.

“Now he has also gained the experience of playing abroad and in a tough league like the Eredivisie, which is hardly a disadvantage. We get a player who is good in both the physical game and the game with the ball. In addition to that, we are bringing in a very professional and likeable personality who will fit perfectly into our environment and into our playing squad.”

Le Roux battled to use the Dutch league as the stage he was seeking to give his career a bigger boost.

A bizarre back injury, which might have been as a result of doing dead lifts during his medical check, kept Le Roux sidelined until his debut in mid-December.

The injury meant he also lost his place in the Bafana Bafana squad and ended any chance of going to the Africa Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast.

Le Roux signed for three seasons at Volendam with the option for one more season but departs as they head down to second division.

Before that he was at Varberg in Sweden for four seasons, having started at Stellenbosch and then moved to SuperSport United.