Who is Yoell van Nieff, the Dutch midfielder who joined Mumbai City FC ahead of ISL 2023-24 season?

Indian Super League (ISL) heavyweights Mumbai City FC confirmed the signing of Yoell van Nieff on Wednesday, July 12. The Dutch midfielder has joined the Islanders on a two-year deal, until May 2025.

But who is Yoell van Nieff? Let's have a look.

Born in Groningen, Netherlands, van Nieff started out at youth level with SC Cambuur before joining his hometown darlings FC Groningen. He steadily rose through the ranks at the club, graduating from the academy and eventually making it into the senior team.

During his five-year stay with Groningen, he made 83 appearances for the youth teams while playing over 100 games for the first team. Van Nieff also had a couple of loan spells at FC Dordrecht and Excelsior in between.

The 30-year-old was also part of Groningen's famous KNVB Cup-winning campaign in the 2014-15 season. After leaving the club in 2018, he had a short spell with another Dutch club - Heracles Almelo.

However, van Nieff always had the fascination of playing abroad, and that dream was soon realized when he joined Puskás Akadémia FC ahead of the 2019-20 season. At the Hungarian first-division club, he found himself playing more in his natural midfielder role, compared to Groningen, where he was deployed mostly as a left-back or a central defender.

The defensive midfielder made over 100 appearances for the Hungarian outfit and helped them finish high up in the league consistently.

Van Nieff has also been capped by the Netherlands at the youth level, making a total of eight appearances for the Dutch under-17s and under-18s. His game-reading ability and range of passing will make him a pivotal figure at Mumbai City.

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"Mumbai City is the biggest club in India" - Yoell van Nieff on joining the Islanders

Given Mumbai City FC's pedigree, Yoell van Nieff was elated after his signing.

“I’m excited to start a new chapter in my career today. The positive conversations with the management and head coach made it an easy decision for me choose to Mumbai City. We have a strong squad and the head coach's vision for the club and the way he wants to play is aligned with how I view the game of football," he said In a club statement.

"Besides that, Mumbai City is the biggest club in India and the fact that the club plays in the AFC Champions League excites me to compete on that platform to do well in Asia. That is the kind of mentality and environment I want to be surrounded in. I can’t wait to get to Mumbai and get started on this new journey,” the Dutchman added.

Last season, the Islanders had a record-breaking campaign, winning the ISL League Shield after going unbeaten for 18 matches. They pumped an outrageous amount of goals past every opponent and ultimately secured a spot in the AFC Champions League after edging past Jamshedpur FC in the playoffs.

Now van Nieff will be hoping to progress the club's legacy with his presence on the pitch.