The Utrecht Gazette
The dugout14 Aug 2028
Miliano Jonathans says Utrecht went back on their word
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market14 Aug 2028
Utrecht turn down Audace Cerignola for Mark Engel
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Too dear: Utrecht walk away from Levi Smans
$730.0K was the most the club would pay and Feyenoord were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Adrian Blake in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Utrecht this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom14 Aug 2028
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Utrecht
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Boardroom14 Aug 2028
Utrecht agree a free transfer for Odysseus Velanas
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Utrecht rebuffed over Alexandre Penetra
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. PSV have kept their man, and Utrecht go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match12 Aug 2028
Zwolle take the points off Utrecht
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
No hiding place for Vasilis Barkas
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vasilis Barkas, and the manager let it.
In brief
- Market Donny De Vrij steps up from the Utrecht academy
- Market Utrecht promote Steven Timber from within
- Market One of our own: Joel Wijnaldum joins the Utrecht first team