Patrick van Aanholt

Patrick van Aanholt
Born	Patrick John Miguel van Aanholt (1990-08-29) August 29, 1990 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Occupation	Professional footballer
Years active	2009–present
Known for	Playing as a left-back for Sparta Rotterdam and the Netherlands national team

Patrick John Miguel van Aanholt (; born 29 August 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who operates primarily as a left-back and currently represents Sparta Rotterdam.

Van Aanholt's early career was rooted at Chelsea, where his first-team appearances were limited, leading to multiple loan spells at five different clubs. In 2014, he completed a transfer to Sunderland for an estimated £1.5 million. Subsequently, in January 2017, he moved to Crystal Palace with a transfer fee that could reach £14 million. After being released in June 2021, Van Aanholt signed with Turkish side Galatasaray on a free transfer. In January 2023, he was loaned out to PSV, with the loan extended through June 2024, before eventually joining Sparta Rotterdam on a permanent basis.

On the international stage, Van Aanholt featured for the Netherlands at multiple youth levels and earned 19 senior caps between 2013 and 2021, including participation in UEFA Euro 2020.

Early life

Born in 's-Hertogenbosch to parents originating from Curaçao, Van Aanholt is also related to fellow Dutch international Leroy Fer, his cousin.

Club career

Chelsea

Van Aanholt entered Chelsea’s youth academy in 2007 and made his professional debut while on loan at Coventry City on 9 August 2009 during a 2–1 victory over Ipswich Town in the Championship. He was recalled by Chelsea in December due to squad changes linked to the African Nations Cup.

Although named on the bench for an FA Cup fixture against Preston North End during the 2009–10 season, he did not feature. His first appearance for Chelsea’s senior team came on 24 March 2010 when he replaced Yuri Zhirkov at left-back in a dominant 5–0 Premier League win at Portsmouth. Three days later, he made his home debut as a substitute in a comprehensive 7–1 triumph against Aston Villa. On 29 January 2010, Van Aanholt joined Newcastle United on a one-month loan to cover for the injured José Enrique, forming an effective left-side partnership with Jonás Gutiérrez before concluding his spell with a 2–1 victory at Watford.

Van Aanholt netted his inaugural career goal on 22 September 2010 during a League Cup match that ended in a narrow 4–3 loss against his former loan club Newcastle. On 26 January 2011, he moved on loan to Leicester City until the end of that season, debuting in a 1–0 win over Sheffield United on 1 February. After six appearances, he sustained a thigh injury but returned to score his first senior league goal in a convincing 4–0 victory over Burnley on 9 April.

On the final day of the summer transfer window in August 2011, Van Aanholt secured a season-long loan deal with Wigan Athletic. However, this arrangement was terminated by mutual agreement after only four appearances across league and cup competitions, with no further involvement after early October.

Vitesse (loan spells)

Following his return from Wigan in January 2012, Van Aanholt was promptly loaned out to Dutch club Vitesse until the conclusion of the season, joining fellow Chelsea loanees Tomáš Kalas and Ulises Dávila. He remained at Vitesse on loan for the full 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. During the latter campaign, he started his first match of the season in a UEFA Europa League group stage fixture against Petrolul Ploiești, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He then featured prominently in league matches, including providing an assist during a 1–1 draw at Roda JC.

On 7 December 2013, Van Aanholt scored Vitesse’s fifth goal in an emphatic 6–2 away victory over PSV, contributing to Vitesse’s position atop the Eredivisie standings.

Sunderland

2014–15 season

Van Aanholt completed his move from Chelsea to Sunderland on 25 July 2014 for an undisclosed sum believed to be between £1.5 and £2 million, signing a contract lasting four years. He made his competitive debut on 16 August in Sunderland’s Premier League opener against West Bromwich Albion, providing an assist for Sebastian Larsson in a match that finished 2–2. On 3 November, during a successful trip to Crystal Palace where Sunderland won 3–1, he assisted Steven Fletcher but later suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him temporarily. Upon recovery, Van Aanholt scored his first goal for Sunderland on 4 January 2015 by securing a narrow FA Cup third-round win over Leeds United.

2015–16 season

On 28 November 2015, he opened the scoring in Sunderland’s home victory against Stoke City, which ended 2–0. He added another goal on 16 January 2016 by putting Sunderland ahead against Tottenham Hotspur, although they eventually lost by four goals to one. A week later, Van Aanholt equalised during a home draw of 1–1 against Bournemouth. His fourth goal that season was notable—a long-range free-kick that helped secure a vital 3–0 win over Everton, ensuring Sunderland's Premier League survival while relegating rivals Newcastle United and Norwich City. On 8 June 2016, he extended his contract with Sunderland until summer 2020.

2016–17 season

In Sunderland’s opening fixture of the season on 13 August 2016, Van Aanholt conceded an early penalty as they fell to Manchester City by two goals to one. He scored his first goal of that campaign on 21 August during a narrow defeat away at Middlesbrough. On October 1st, coming off the bench, he netted a late equaliser in a home draw against West Bromwich Albion. His third goal arrived on December 17th in a tight home win over Watford.

Crystal Palace

Van Aanholt joined Crystal Palace on January 30th, 2017, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract for an initial fee of £9 million potentially rising to £14 million; this reunited him with former Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce. He took the number three jersey and debuted the following day as Crystal Palace defeated Bournemouth away by two goals to nil. His home debut came four days later but resulted in a heavy defeat—4–0—against his former club Sunderland at Selhurst Park.

He scored his maiden goal for Crystal Palace on February 25th, securing a narrow win over relegation-threatened Middlesbrough. On August 24th, 2019, Van Aanholt scored a last-minute winner at Old Trafford during an away game against Manchester United; this was notable as he became the first player to score such a decisive late goal at Old Trafford in Premier League history.

On July 16th, 2020, he sustained a dislocated shoulder during another Premier League match versus Manchester United which kept him out of action for up to two months extending into the following season. Van Aanholt departed Crystal Palace upon expiration of his contract after the conclusion of the 2020–21 campaign.

Galatasaray

On July 28th, 2021, Van Aanholt signed with Turkish giants Galatasaray on a free transfer agreeing to a three-year deal.

Loan to PSV

On February 1st, 2023, he joined Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven on loan until the end of the season and subsequently extended this arrangement through June of the following year (2024).

International career

Van Aanholt earned his first senior cap for the Netherlands national team on November 19th, 2013 during a friendly match versus Colombia held at Amsterdam Arena; he came on as an injury-time substitute in the goalless draw.

In September of 2017, despite being called up by Curaçao for an international friendly against Qatar, Van Aanholt did not take part in the game and remained eligible for both national teams since all his Netherlands appearances had been friendlies only.

He was included by coach Ronald Koeman as part of the starting eleven for the Netherlands’ friendly match against England on March 23rd, 2018.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Chelsea	2009–10	Premier League	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2010–11	Premier League	0	0	1	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	6	1
	Total		2	0	1	0	1	1	4	0	0	0	8	1
Coventry City (loan)	2009–10	EFL Championship	20	0	0	0	0	0	-		-		20	0
Newcastle United (loan)	2009–10	Championship	7	0	0	0	0	0	-		-		7	0
Leicester City (loan)	2010–11	Championship	12	1	0	0	0	0	-		-		12	1
Wigan Athletic (loan)	2011–12	Premier League	3	0	0	0	1	0	-		-		4	0
Vitesse (loan)	2011–12 Eredivisie	Eredivisie	9	0	1	0				1	11	0
	2012–13 Eredivisie	Eredivisie	31	1	4	0			4	1			39	2
	2013–14 SBV Vitesse season	Eredivisie	27	4	3	1			2	0	2	0	34	5
	Total		67	5	8	1	-   -   -   -   -   !6	1	3	-   !84	7
Sunderland	2014–15 Sunderland A.F.C. season	Premier League	28	4 |1 |1 | -   | - | - |33 |1
	2015–16 Sunderland A.F.C. season	Premier League	33	4	1	2 | - | - | - | - | - |36 |4
	2016–17 Sunderland A.F.C. season	Premier League	21	3	2	3 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-|- !colspan="14"|Total !82 !!7 !!7 !!1 !!6 !!00 !!00 !!00 !!00 !!00 !!95 !!8
	Crystal Palace	2016–17 Crystal Palace F.C. season	Premier League	— !! colspan=2 | — !!11 !!2
2017–18 Crystal Palace F.C. season		Premier League	— !! colspan=2 | — !!32 !!5
2018–19 Crystal Palace F.C. season		Premier League	— !! colspan=2 | — !!39 !!4
Total !126 !13 !4 !00 !4 !10100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 !134 !14 International National team Year Appearances Goals Netherlands national football team 2013 1 0 2014 1 0 2015 0 0 2016 4 0 2017 0 0 2018 3 0 2019 1 0 2020 2 0 2021 7 0 Total 19 0 Honours Galatasaray Süper Lig: 2022–23 Süper Lig PSV Eredivisie: 2023–24 Eredivisie KNVB Cup: 2022–23 KNVB Cup Johan Cruyff Shield: 2023 Johan Cruyff Shield References External links Template:Soccerbase Patrick van Aanholt at Voetbal International