Football Season Guide

Even though Utrecht retained the 6th place achieved the previous year, the 2020-21 season can be considered largely disappointing. Given the ambitious summer purchasing campaign, a quantum leap was expected, while they paid for a very poor start to the season and coach Van den Brom's decision to leave the team early. His replacement Renè Hake did well, but he doesn't seem like a coach to take them up a level. The transfer campaign this summer was of a completely different nature, they moved with the aim of consolidating with a smaller number of players and getting rid of too many surpluses. They have included some players from their own youth teams on the main roster and bought two interesting youngsters such as Quinten Timber from Ajax and Arthur Zagre on loan from Monaco. The outcome of the season will greatly depend on the performance of top-level players who disappointed last year, such as attacking midfielder Simon Gustafson, right winger Gyrano Kerk (perhaps the fastest player in the whole Eredivisie) and above all the Spanish forward Adrián Dalmau who in the last two years has spent more time in the infirmary than on the pitch. It could also be the year of young striker Remco Balk, one of the best prospects in Dutch football.