The Utrecht Gazette
Squad9 Aug 2027
Real improvement from Kiyani Zeggen at Utrecht
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Kiyani Zeggen is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Utrecht
Alonzo Engwanda and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A late step up for Alonzo Engwanda
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Joris van Overeem signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joris van Overeem and Utrecht agree another 2 years.
Market9 Aug 2027
The Joris van Overeem conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: Vitesse will make the call about Joris van Overeem this week. Utrecht have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Loan watch9 Aug 2027
Tijn den Boggende has seen enough of Bolton Wanderers
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Utrecht, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Vasilis Barkas gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Vasilis Barkas is on it.
Looking ahead9 Aug 2027
A reunion for Davy van den Berg
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Zwolle in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Alonzo Engwanda has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Alonzo Engwanda has written the date down.
In brief
- Market The Ángel Alarcón question follows Utrecht around
- The dugout Luca Oyen knocks on the manager’s door
- Market Justin Eversen leaves for nothing