Mike Eerdhuijzen’s transfer to Championship club Plymouth Argyle appears to have fallen through – six months after Birmingham City pulled out a deal to sign the Dutch defender.

Eerdhuijzen was expected to join the Championship strugglers from Sparta Rotterdam after a deal was agreed earlier this week, but various reports now suggest the 24-year-old will not be moving to Devon. It is claimed Eerdhuijzen has reservations over Plymouth’s position at the foot of the Championship table.

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf (via PlymouthLive) reports: "Another financial setback for Sparta Rotterdam. The Kasteel club reached an agreement with Plymouth Argyle from the Championship about a transfer of Mike Eerdhuijzen, but the deal collapsed because the player does not want to move to the number 24 and thus bottom of the Championship.

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"Sparta was able to collect 1.3 million euros for the central defender, who was transferred on a free transfer from FC Volendam in mid-2022. It is not the first time that Sparta has seen a lucrative sale of Eerdhuijzen fail.”

Blues were all set to sign Eerdhuijzen in July and he is believed to have visited the club’s training facility in Henley-in-Arden before the plug was pulled on the move. Eerdhuijzen hoped to resurrect the deal but Blues moved for Christoph Klarer and Ben Davies instead, and the club have recently entered into a pre-contract agreement with highly-rated German defender Phil Neumann for the summer.

Eerdhuijzen has started 17 of Sparta Rotterdam’s 19 games in the Eredivisie this season but they sit in 16th having recorded just two victories. It looks as though Eerdhuijzen will have to wait for his move to England.