On Wednesday, May 14, 2025, Italian club Juventus officially signed Shane van Aarle, a central defender of Rwandan descent who had previously played for the Netherlands youth national team. He was acquired from FC Eindhoven, a club in the Netherlands.
The young defender, whose mother hails from Rubavu District in Rwanda’s Western Province, is 18 years old, having been born on June 5, 2006.
He previously featured for youth teams of Club Brugge and Royal Excel Mouscron in Belgium, before joining FC Eindhoven, where he eventually earned a promotion to the senior squad.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano also reported on the move, confirming that the talented center-back was signed as part of Juventus’ long-term project to build a new generation of talent.
“Juventus have agreed a deal to sign 18 year old Dutch defender Shane van Aarle from Eindhoven, it’s all signed and sealed. Van Aarle will be part of the Next Gen project as a talent for long term plans, documents in place,” Romano stated.
Although van Aarle has already represented the Netherlands at the U19 level, FIFA regulations allow him to choose between playing for Rwanda or the Netherlands at senior level.
Janvier Twagirumukiza / The Kaminuza Star