Dutch footballers rarely linger in their homeland if they have at least some playing talent. Dutch clubs are considered a kind of incubator for football geniuses, who then shine in the leading clubs in Europe. Luke de Jong, unfortunately, did not become a star of the first magnitude, however, he also did not stay at home. He managed to play both in Holland and other European championships, and continues to play at present. Luke de Jong is a talented forward who, alas, did not have the talent to make his way to the very top. But at the level at which he performs, the striker demonstrates excellent qualities and an impressive game.
Carier start
Luc de Jong was born on August 27, 1990 in Switzerland, but he is Dutch. The fact is that his parents are professional volleyball players who played for Swiss volleyball clubs. When Luke was four years old, and his elder brother Sim, six, the family returned to Holland, where the brothers signed up for the DZS'68 amateur club academy together. They stayed there until, in 2001, both of them were attracted to their system by the larger professional club De Grafshap. It was there that they began to reveal themselves as talented players. Subsequently, their paths diverged: Sim moved to Ajax, and Luke remained at De Graffhap, with whom in 2008 he signed a professional contract for reaching adulthood. In his first season in professional football, Luke de Jong played 19 matches, scoring three goals. With his game, he attracted the attention of scouts from larger clubs, one of which was Twente. And in 2009, Luc’s transition was a settled matter: De Grafshap received 900 thousand euros, and Twente received a talented striker.
Going to Twente
Football player Luc de Jong did not immediately join the new club, in his first season he entered the field only 20 times, scoring seven goals. But from next year he was entrusted with a place at the base, and he showed everything he was capable of. In 49 matches, he scored 20 goals, which surprised many, but then he was able to literally hit absolutely everyone, including scouts from large European clubs. Indeed, in the third season for “Twente” he scored 32 goals in 54 matches. As a result, in the summer of 2012, the 22-year-old football player ended up in the Mönchengladbach Borussia, who paid 12 million euros for him.
Failed transition
Everyone expected that Luc de Jong, whose photographs were on the covers of many sports publications, would revolutionize the Bundesliga. Many considered him the new van Persie or even van Nistelrooy, but in reality everything turned out to be not so colorful. In the first season, de Jong scored just 8 goals in 31 matches - a rather mean statistic compared to what he showed in Twente. The second season turned out to be even worse - in the 14 matches that Luke played as part of Borussia, he was unable to hit the opponent’s goal more than once. Therefore, he was sent to rent at Newcastle for one and a half million euros with the possibility of redemption.
Rent at Newcastle
In the "Newcastle" Luke spent six months, went on the field 12 times and again could never score an opponent. Naturally, the club management did not want to redeem the player. Fortunately for Borussia, a buyer was still found - the Dutch PSV offered five and a half million euros, which the German club naturally agreed to.
Return to Holland
So Luc de Jong returned to Holland, where he again struck everyone. It turned out that this is a player of one championship: neither in Germany nor in England he could show himself, but as soon as he returned to his homeland, he immediately began to score. In the first season for PSV, he scored 26 goals in 45 games, and in the second he beat his achievement in Twent - in 43 games he hit the opponent’s goal 32 times. De Jong has already played 11 matches this season, but so far has scored only four goals.
Team appearances
In the Dutch national team, de Jong has so far spent only 12 matches, scoring three goals. He traveled with the team to the European Championship 2012 , but the whole tournament sat on the bench. The last time he wore a national team shirt in June 2016: in a friendly match against the Austrian national team, he played 25 minutes and gave an assist.