Sydney van Hooijdonk

Sydney van Hooijdonk (born 6 February 2000) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre forward for Championship club Norwich City, on loan from Serie A club Bologna.

Van Hooijdonk made his league debut for NAC Breda on 5 October 2018 in a 2-1 away defeat against Utrecht in the Eredivisie, being substituted on in the 90th minute, replacing Estonian centre back and defensive midfielder Karol Mets.

NAC Breda's 2018-19 campaign ended in relegation from the top-flight, securing only five wins and eight draws, and finishing on twenty-three points, with Van Hooijdonk making a total of twelve league appearances from the bench, but failing to score or assist.

The 2019–20 Keuken Kampioen Divisie season saw Van Hooijdonk starting off the bench again, but he very quickly began playing full matches on a semi-regular basis, making twenty-five appearances, scoring six goals and two assists.

A bulk of his goals and assists came during the 1st Period, and he was acclaimed with being a driving force towards NAC Breda winning it.

However, the club couldn't take advantage of the playoff spot they'd been allocated, as the season was abandoned by the KNVB on 24 April 2020, following a suspension that the Dutch Government issued on 12 March 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020–21 Keuken Kampioen Divisie season saw Van Hooijdonk become a key player for NAC Breda despite suffering several minor injuries, securing sixteen goals and two assists in thirty-one appearances (including those in the 2020-21 Eredivisie / Keuken Kampioen Divisie Promotion / Relegation play-offs, where his club were defeated in the Final in a 2-1 home defeat to NEC).

Van Hooijdonk's contract was set to expire at the end of the 2020-21 season, and he was attracting End of Contract interest from clubs including Celtic and Nottingham Forest, likely due to these being clubs his father played at.

However, perhaps due to new work permit rules issued by the Home Office in the United Kingdom following Brexit (which is points-based and calculated by several factors, such as youth / senior international appearances, club ranking / league standing and club appearances), these deals failed to materialize and he left NAC Breda at the end of the season, becoming a free agent.

On 3 July 2021, he joined Serie A club Bologna on a free transfer, contracted until the end of the 2024-25 season, and making his debut on 16 August 2021 in a 5-4 Coppa Italia First Round defeat against Ternana Calcio, being substituted on in the 85th minute, replacing Austrian forward Marko Arnautović.

The 2021–22 Serie A season saw Van Hooijdonk make only four appearances for his club (each from the bench, and each resulting in no goals or assists).

On 25 January 2022, he joined Eredivisie club Heerenveen on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season, making his debut on 13 February 2022 in a 1-0 defeat against NEC Nijmegen.

Despite initial reservations about returning to the Netherlands, the 2021–22 Eredivisie season saw Van Hooijdonk make a definite impact while on loan, obtaining six goals and one assist in thirteen appearances, and piquing the interest of Heerenveen's Technical Director, Ferry de Haan, who approached Bologna to enquire about his availability.

On 21 June 2022, it was reported that Bologna were considering adding players (including Van Hooijdonk) to a potential deal for Groningen's Norwegian forward, Jørgen Strand Larsen.

He was quick to distance himself from the rumoured deal, likely due to the club being rivals with Heerenveen.

On 30 June 2022, his loan contract with Heerenveen expired, and he returned to Bologna.

On 25 July 2022, Van Hooijdonk returned to Heerenveen on loan until the end of the 2022-23 Eredivisie season.

The 2022–23 Eredivisie season was another respectable showing for Van Hooijdonk, seeing him net sixteen goals and one assist in thirty-five appearances.

On 30 June 2023, his loan contract with Heerenveen expired, and then-Bologna manager Thiago Motta decided to give him a chance in the First Team.

As such, Van Hooijdonk made a total of nine appearances during the 2023–24 Serie A season, struggling to start matches (only two of those appearances were from starting a match, often finding himself losing out to Joshua Zirkzee) and contributing no goals or assists.

On 1 February 2024 (Deadline Day in England), after ongoing media speculation for most of the season about his position in the Bologna First Team (which was mostly speculation around a potential move to Celtic, a club his father previously played at), Van Hooijdonk joined Norwich City on loan for the remainder of the 2023-24 season, making his debut on 3 February 2024 in a 2-1 win against Coventry City, being substituted on in the 91st minute, replacing American forward and winger Josh Sargent.

The 2023–24 Sky Bet Championship season has currently seen Van Hooijdonk provide zero goals and one assist in four appearances.

Van Hooijdonk was called up for the Netherlands national under-21s by then-manager Erwin van de Looi to play friendlies against the Norway national under-21s and Czech Republic national under-21s in March 2023, making his youth debut for the Netherlands on 25 March 2023, in a 3-0 win against the Norway national under-21s.

Generally regarded as a poacher and a target man, Van Hooijdonk makes the most touches of the ball in the attacking third (especially within the penalty box), coupling agility, pace, and a keen sense of aerial awareness, with intelligent and well-timed runs, which exploit pockets of space.

He is the son of former Dutch international footballer Pierre van Hooijdonk, who also played for NAC Breda.

He is of Moroccan descent through his biological paternal grandfather.

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