FORMER Partick Thistle defender Freddie Frans will probably never get over the loss of his first love, but he may be about to rekindle an old flame.

The Belgian defender was heartbroken when hometown club Lierse were declared bankrupt in May. For him 112 years of history died that day, snuffed out along with the year that had still to run on his contract.

But now, he is finally ready to look to the future, and he is receptive to the notion that he may have to move back to Scotland in order to move forward. There is firm interest in his services from his former employers at Firhill, and offers on the table from Championship rivals Ross County and Dundee United.

That is providing solace to the 29-year-old as he tries to move on from the trauma of losing the club he had been with since he was barely able to walk, never mind kick a football.

There are now two versions of Lierse rising from the flames of their bankruptcy, but for Frans, they will just never be the same as the club he adored.

“I came back to Lierse because I love the club and it is my hometown team,” he said. “I played for them for most of my life, for about 24 years really from when I was really young.

“I am in the top 10 I think in terms of appearances, and was captain for the last two seasons, so it was devastating.

“We had grown so close to the fans over the last two seasons because of the mess that was going on all around the club. Hard times bring people together, but even with that, nobody saw it coming.

“One week before the deadline you have to pay all the debts and the salaries, otherwise you don’t get a licence. But there was a lot of skeletons in the closet of the owners, shall we say, and a few days before the deadline they said they weren’t paying. Everything broke down, and the club went bankrupt.

“The situation now is similar to the Wimbledon and MK Dons story. The fans are building a new club in Lierse and they have to start way down in the sixth division. Another part of the club, not the Egyptian owner but the Belgian guys who worked there, have bought the club and they will start in the third tier.

“They cannot call it the same name, it’s the same way that Rangers are now ‘The Rangers’, now there are two Lierses. It’s not the same club or the same feeling for me.

“I haven’t really been in touch with what is going on at either, because I’m still devastated by the loss of Lierse. Lierse is gone, and you cannot really replace it with a different club.”

The loss of Lierse was not only an emotional blow to Frans, but a financial one too. He is still owed a fortune in wages, but is resigned to the fact he will probably not see one Euro of it.

“I had one more year on my contract, but we haven’t been paid since March,” he said. “I didn’t get my signing on fee from my contract either.

“They could owe me over 100,000 Euros I think, but I will never get my money. You can try and chase it, but they have no assets. The stadium was in a different company name for instance, so the small assets will be sold and that will maybe be enough to pay the tax. We will get nothing.”

Frans made 41 appearances for Thistle in his two-year stay at the club before leaving to join his hometown team in 2016. He admits that the prospect of returning is an appealing one, but his final decision will not be based on sentiment alone.

Thistle have been in touch with Frans and will be speaking to him again over the weekend, although they have yet to offer a deal. County and United on the other hand, have put considerable money where their mouths are.

“We’re still talking to the clubs and I’m weighing things up,” Frans said.

“I would be open to playing in the Championship. The three teams I have spoken to are the three who will probably be fighting for promotion, and that can be better than battling relegation in a lot of ways.

“Yes, in the Premiership you have the chance to play Celtic and it is a better league, but you want to be challenging to win things, and any one of those sides would definitely be looking to win that league.

“I will be in touch with Thistle in the next few days to discuss things. Obviously, I have that connection with Thistle, and that would be an attractive option.

“A lot of Thistle fans have been getting in touch with me and asking me to come back, and that’s really nice.

“I like Scotland, and I wouldn’t mind just playing in Scotland and Belgium throughout my career because I know and like both places.

“County and United have given me decent offers, and I have offers from other countries too, so I am considering things at the moment. “We’ll see what happens.”