FC Utrecht has completed the return of Mike van der Hoorn. The defender is first rented from Arminia Bielefeld for a season and then signs a contract until mid-2024, the Eredivisie club announced on Wednesday evening. Van der Hoorn is brought in as the replacement for Tommy St. Jago. In the exhibition game with Fortuna Sittard last Saturday, St. Jago, an intended basic player in the new season, seriously injured his knee.
René Hake opted for a central defense duo with Willem Janssen and Mark van der Maarel in the first league match against Sparta Rotterdam (4-0 win) on Sunday. Van der Maarel did score a goal and was elected Man of the Match, but Utrecht was determined to sign a replacement for St. Jago. Van der Hoorn knows Stadion Galgenwaard well, because he comes from the youth academy of Utrecht and played for the first team between 2011 and 2013, before transferring to Ajax for approximately four million euros.
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In total Van der Hoorn played 49 official matches for Utrecht and exactly as many matches for Ajax. He was sold by Ajax to Swansea City in 2016 and transferred to Arminia Bielefeld on a free transfer in mid-2020. He started as a basic player at the Bundesliga club, but ended up on the bench in January and has not been able to regain his starting spot since. On Saturday he participated for fourteen minutes as a substitute in the season overture against SC Freiburg (0-0).
“It is fantastic that Mike, at the age of 28 and with experience in the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League, Bundesliga and Eredivisie, is now returning to the club for which he made his debut in professional football in 2011”. says technical director Jordy Zuidam of Utrecht. “Mike believes in our plans and is extremely driven to fulfill an important role in them. That made him open to a return, and that we can now welcome him again in Utrecht. We are very happy that we can be in the person of Mike van der Hoorn have added a real winner and clubman to our selection.”
“With his qualities and experience, he is not only someone who is of added value within the lines, but also someone who can help young talents further in their development outside the field based on what he has experienced,” said Zuidam. Colleague director Samir Arabi of Arminia Bielefeld says that Van der Hoorn informed the club management that they want to return to the Netherlands. “Since he recently became a father for the second time and now has the opportunity to go back to Utrecht, we have granted his request. We would like to thank Mike for his dedication while wearing the Arminia shirt. It is partly thanks to him that we are managed to hold on to us. We wish him the best in his sporting and personal future.”