A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.75 for the rest of it.
Marko Farji and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Heerenveen and Volendam, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Marcus Linday has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
In brief
Player ratingsDirk Proper was on a different afternoon to everybody else
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Heerenveen are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Jacob Trenskow and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Heerenveen asked and Cagliari said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Heerenveen will try again when the window opens; Volendam may not be selling by then.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lazio have kept their man, and Heerenveen go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Hessel de Wit falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Zakaria El Kachati and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Heerenveen have gone to Volendam with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Heerenveen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jacob Trenskow is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ajax have kept their man, and Heerenveen go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
0‑3 to AZ, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Heerenveen can pretend not to have heard.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Groningen paid $480.0K and Heerenveen took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jacob Trenskow was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Heerenveen asked and ADO Den Haag said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Maarten Paes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Manchester United have kept their man, and Heerenveen go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Maxence Rivera. 1‑0 against Sparta Rotterdam, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Heerenveen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luca Oyen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 8.20 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I watch every Heerenveen game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Real Avilés runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Basel have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Calvin Dost, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
A brace, and Marko Farji takes the afternoon — 8.33
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Marko Farji provided it, and the 8.33 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Maarten Paes and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
6 goals in one match, Marko Farji on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Heerenveen and Ajax.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jacob Trenskow was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Marko Farji has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 7.02 on 10 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Heerenveen have done the hard part with Helmond Sport, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Marko Farji was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Valencia have kept their man, and Heerenveen go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Heerenveen has been clear about where Hristiyan Petrov stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Heerenveen can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Mats Egbring
SquadWords at Heerenveen training over how hard people work
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Luca Oyen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Half the programme played, position 6, 32 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Heerenveen dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Calvin Dost left the room before anybody could ask which.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Heerenveen have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A 2‑1 win over Zwolle, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Heerenveen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luca Oyen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Heerenveen told Luca Oyen something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Heerenveen are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Marko Farji has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Zakaria El Kachati and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Getting past Maarten Paes has become the hardest job in the division
8 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.
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 Lanroy Machine is on it.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Lanroy Machine
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. NAC Breda kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Heerenveen will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A brace, and Lasse Nordås takes the afternoon — 8.86
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Lasse Nordås provided it, and the 8.86 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Luca Oyen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Calvin Dost was not hiding it after 2‑2, and nobody in the Heerenveen dressing room was either.
In brief
The terracesThe spotlight tightens on Maarten Paes
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 12 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lanroy Machine was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Maarten Paes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 6 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Marked 7.97 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
“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 Heerenveen, and 3 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aymane Benkibbou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Heerenveen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luca Oyen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Heerenveen told Maarten Paes something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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 Jermaine Rijssel is on it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aymane Benkibbou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
A 4‑3 win over Den Bosch, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Match28 Oct 2026
Ruben Veer wins it after the whistle should have gone
109 minutes played. Ruben Veer found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Den Bosch went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Nolhan Courtens, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.22
A mark of 8.22 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Jermaine Rijssel has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.82 for the rest of it.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It finished 1‑0, and it was Maas Willemsen’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Heerenveen.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Luca Oyen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“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 Heerenveen, and 2 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Zakaria El Kachati was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
There were 89 minutes on the clock and Volendam had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Heerenveen did not stop to explain themselves.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A brace, and Levi Smans takes the afternoon — 8.29
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Levi Smans provided it, and the 8.29 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Maxence Rivera and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Levi Smans has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luca Oyen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Jacob Trenskow was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.27. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Heerenveen are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad12 Oct 2026
8 new faces, and Heerenveen are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Volendam next, and one man in the Heerenveen dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vasilis Zagaritis signs something — a contract at Heerenveen or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mats Egbring trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 14 combined actions and a mark of 6.98, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Maas Willemsen has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luca Oyen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Player ratingsMaas Willemsen was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Marko Farji and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Heerenveen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lanroy Machine is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“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 Heerenveen, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Jacob Trenskow was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Heerenveen will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Calvin Dost could afford to be generous.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Heerenveen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Erald Krasniqi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Go Ahead Eagles in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Twente moved on, Vasilis Zagaritis reports back to Heerenveen, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Marko Farji was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Heerenveen will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Heerenveen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luca Oyen is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Heerenveen can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 7 signed and 11 gone
That is the business done at Heerenveen until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The offer from RAAL La Louviere for Bernt Klaverboer was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Heerenveen have done the hard part with AZ, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Twente will make the call about Vasilis Zagaritis this week. Heerenveen have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luca Oyen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ajax paid $9.6M and Heerenveen took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Ringo Meerveld has gone, the accounts have $9.6M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Twente paid $5.3M and Heerenveen took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Heerenveen, and it is not being withdrawn.
A 1‑0 win over Sparta Rotterdam, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Maxence Rivera was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
SquadErald Krasniqi falls out with a teammate over standards
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Sparta Rotterdam pay $1.5M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Heerenveen asked and Toronto FC said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Twente will make the call about Oliver Braude this week. Heerenveen have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Luca Oyen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Maarten Paes and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Calvin Dost was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Heerenveen dressing room was either.
In brief
Player ratingsA defender's afternoon for Marcus Linday
The chase for Maarten Paes ended with $5.2M changing hands and Ajax out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Dylan Vente has gone, the accounts have $5.1M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
ADO Den Haag paid $5.1M and Heerenveen took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Heerenveen offered $970.0K; PSV said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Ringo Meerveld and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The phone has started ringing about Sam Kersten again, and this time the name on the line is Sparta Rotterdam. Heerenveen are listening politely and promising nothing.
Maarten Paes was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $5.2M. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. PSV have kept their man, and Heerenveen go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The offer from Fortuna Sittard for Dylan Vente was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Heerenveen offered $3.1M; NEC said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $5.6M — a club that wants Maarten Paes enough to be asked twice.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at SuperSport United is saying, and nobody at Heerenveen is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Heerenveen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Heerenveen asked and Utrecht said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Jacob Trenskow and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Heerenveen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ringo Meerveld is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Heerenveen asked and Toluca said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A loan enquiry to SuperSport United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad3 Aug 2026
5 new faces, and Heerenveen are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Heerenveen, and both men came out saying it was fine.