Davy Klaassen

Davy Klaassen (born 21 February 1993) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Ajax, which he captains, and the Netherlands national team.

Klaassen began his football career in the youth ranks of local amateur side HVV de Zebra's, where he played until 2003, when he transferred to HSV Wasmeer. A year later he was recruited into the famed Ajax Youth Academy. While playing for the Ajax A1 youth squad in 2011–12, Klaassen helped his side to win the Nike Eredivisie league title, as well as finishing as runners-up to Inter Milan in the NextGen Series (the Champions League equivalent for under-19 teams) after losing on penalties (5–3) following a 1–1 deadlock after extra time.

Klaassen made his debut for the first team in the UEFA Champions League group stage away draw (0–0) against Olympique Lyonnais on 22 November 2011 replacing Lorenzo Ebecilio in the 85th minute. While still competing in the A-Juniors Nike Eredivisie league competing for the Ajax A1 under-19 squad, he made his Eredivisie debut on 27 November as a substitute against NEC and scored only 42 seconds after having been subbed on. He made his debut in the starting XI of the Ajax first team on 11 December 2011, due to starting center midfielder Theo Janssen catching the flu. Klaassen played the entire match, which ended in a 0–1 away win for Ajax against RKC Waalwijk.

On 5 August 2013, Klaassen made his debut in the Dutch Eerste Divisie in the 2–0 win against Telstar while playing for the newly promoted reserves team Jong Ajax, in what would be the first match in the 2nd tier of professional football ever for the reserves. He scored his first goal for Jong Ajax on 20 September 2013 in the 1–2 away victory against FC Eindhoven. On 6 October 2013, while playing for the Ajax first team, he scored his team's second goal in the 59th minute in the 3–0 home win against Utrecht. On 7 December 2013, Klaassen scored his first hat-trick while playing for the first team, in a 4–0 victory at home over NAC Breda, taking home the match ball and earning himself the Man of the Match award. Following the departure of Ajax captain Siem de Jong, Klaassen switched to the vacant number 10 shirt for the upcoming season.

For the 2015–16 season, Klaassen was named Ajax' captain, replacing the departed Niklas Moisander.

On 15 June 2017, Klaassen signed for Premier League side Everton on a five-year deal worth £23.6 million. He was handed the number 20 jersey at his new club for the 2017–18 season. He made his first official appearance for Everton in a 1–0 win over MFK Ružomberok in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg. Klaassen made his league debut for Everton on 12 August 2017, when his club beat Stoke City 1–0 at Goodison Park.

Klaassen endured a difficult season with the club, falling out of favor with both Sam Allardyce and Marco Silva after Ronald Koeman was fired in October 2017. Between late September 2017 and early March 2018, he failed to make a Premier League appearance. At the end of the January transfer window, Klaassen neared a loan move to Napoli, although the move would never materialize. Allardyce claimed the deal collapsed as a result of an image rights dispute between Klaassen and the Italian club, although Klaassen would later reject this statement. Ahead of his summer move to Werder Bremen, Klaassen expressed his desire to prove his worth for the following season. Klaassen stated that he struggled to adapt to the different style of play in the Premier League, hence his struggles with the club.

On 27 July 2018, Klaassen joined Werder Bremen on a four-year deal while the transfer fee paid to Everton was reported as €13.5 million (£12 million). He quickly established himself as a key player for the club, making 38 appearances and scoring 7 goals in his first season. His performances earned him the vice-captaincy for the 2019–20 season. In the relegation play-off that season, Klaassen played an important role in helping Werder Bremen secure their Bundesliga status by captaining the team in a 2-2 draw with Heidenheim. Following this, Klaassen returned to Ajax in October 2020.