Talents Calendar
Feyenoord Rotterdam’s academy has produced more than a handful of players who are currently playing with the Netherlands at the World Cup in Qatar. The Eredivise’s squad is evidence that academy players regularly get a chance. The best example is the current captain Orkun Kökcü (21), who, with a market value of €27 million, is the most valuable player at Feyenoord. With an average age of 23.3, only three squads in the Eredivisie are younger than Feyenoord, and one player, who could further lower the average age, is midfield talent Mike Kleijn.
The U21 academy player is currently making a case for himself to be used in the first-team squad. Kleijn is yet to make his competitive matchday debut but has already played in a test match against league competitor PEC Zwolle, featuring 30 minutes. The midfielder also made the bench in the Conference League round of 16 return leg against Partizan last season. It was the first and only time head coach Arne Slot has nominated him to the first team up to this point. But there is no doubt that Feyenoord believes in the teenager as they signed him to a professional contract in 2020 when he was still only 15. “Feyenoord has shown that they trust me and that they believe in me,” Kleijn said in an interview with Algemeen Dagblad. “It wasn’t difficult to ignore the interest from other clubs because I want to make the first team here in the Netherlands, and then I wait and see what comes next.”
GRAFIK
“They are the right club for him,” Kleijn’s agent Daan Kramp from Forza Sports Group, said. “There were other options in the Netherlands and abroad, but they were never a true option for Mike. Among the clubs interested were Feyenoord’s archrivals Ajax Amsterdam. Kleijn also admitted in an interview with BN DeStern that PSV Eindhoven were interested. But Kleijn stayed with the club that he joined as a six-year-old, moving from his hometown Breda to Feyenoord’s academy. “My parents got an email from Feyenoord, and that was it,” Kleijn said when asked why he opted to join the club.
“It is best for my development to play in youth teams above my age category to develop more resistance,” Kleijn said when asked about Feyenoord’s development strategy. A strategy that has worked well up to this point. Aged just 17, Kleijn has been one of the youngest players in the Dutch U21 division. Furthermore, the midfielder is also a U17 national team player and took part in last summer’s U17 European Championship in Israel, where the Netherlands reached the final but lost 2-1 to France. Even though Kleijn started just in one of the six matches, he still managed to contribute two assists and was also the captain in his only start.
With Vilhena, Wijnaldum & Milambo: Feyenoord’s youngest debutants
“Of course, he is still young, but you don’t notice that on the pitch,” Feyenoord’s former academy boss Stanley Brard said when asked about Kleijn after he signed his first professional contract in 2020. “He is a modern playmaker. Good on the ball, fluid, and full of ideas. Mike can read the game very well. A young player full of talent, and we will hear a lot from him over the coming years.” Former Dutch youth assistant coach Hedwiges Maduro shares Brard’s assessment. “He is on his way up, perhaps as early as next year,” Maduro said to the ESPN show Voetbalpraat when asked about Kleijn last February. “Feyenoord have a few good talents that are on their way to emerge.” Kleijn is certainly one of them.
From December 1 to 24, we introduce new players from different countries born in 2004. Area managers, users, and data scouts come into play as experts throughout the series. You can follow all those players by adding them to your TM watchlist.
Homepage