Soccer-AS Monaco bids for majority stake in Belgian club

BRUSSELS, Feb 16 ( Reuters) - French League 1 side AS Monaco has made a bid for Belgian second division club Cercle Bruges, which it hopes can help in the development of younger players.

Cercle Bruges, a lesser known city rival of Belgian champions Club Bruges, were relegated from the country's top competition in 2015 and are currently sixth in the second tier.

"This project forms part of AS Monaco's development strategy focused on young talent, and would give the club the benefit of expertise from the 'Belgian school'," AS Monaco said in a statement late on Wednesday.

While the offer was still conditional on shareholder approval, Cercle Bruges said a deal could be finalised in the coming weeks.

French league leaders AS Monaco have already loaned out young players such as defender Mehdi Beneddine and forward Tafsir Cherif to Cercle and said the aim was to build on this exchange.

"Eventually, the project will provide an additional stage in the development of young players from the AS Monaco Academy, between the reserve team and AS Monaco's first team," the club said.

No financial details were disclosed. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; Editing by John O'Brien)