Luuk de Jong (; born 27 August 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a striker and captains Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven.
De Jong previously played for DZC '68, De Graafschap, Twente, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Newcastle United, before joining PSV in 2014. He played over 200 games for the club, scoring over 100 goals, and helped them win the Eredivisie three times in his five-season stay. In 2019, he joined Sevilla, before going out on loan to Barcelona in 2021. He re-joined PSV in 2022.
A former Dutch international, De Jong represented the Netherlands at UEFA Euro 2012, Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Early life
De Jong was born in Aigle, Switzerland.
Club career
Twente
On 20 August 2011, De Jong scored his first Eredivisie goal of the 2011–12 season in a 5–1 win over Heerenveen. The following week, on De Jong's 21st birthday, he found the back of the net two more times as Twente beat VVV Venlo 4–1.
De Jong scored two goals against Waalwijk on 21 January 2012 – a tap in to an open goal and a penalty – as Twente won 5–0. In Twente's following fixture against Groningen on 29 January, De Jong netted a hat-trick, each goal coming off an assist from Ola John, and provided an assist for Leroy Fer, as his side won 4–1 and climbed to second place in the league table. On 10 February, De Jong found the back of the net two more times, but Twente missed the chance to go top of the league table, as they lost 3–2 at home to Heracles. De Jong's two goals meant he had scored seven times in the past three Eredivisie fixtures.
On 8 March, in a Europa League match against Schalke 04, De Jong was the protagonist of a controversial penalty decision that resulted in a red card for Schalke defender Joël Matip, and a penalty kick which he himself successfully converted, to ensure the win for his side by 1–0. However, Twente ended up falling out of the competition, losing 4–1 in the second leg in Germany, as de Jong's fellow Dutchman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar netted a hat-trick.
De Jong scored twice in two minutes on 14 April to put his side 2–1 up away to Breda, but an injury-time strike from Nourdin Boukhari denied Twente the chance to close the gap on title rivals Ajax. He finished the season with 25 goals on a joint-second place, seven behind top-scorer Bas Dost.
At the end of the 2011–12 season, De Jong announced his decision to leave the club. Having attracted the interest of several clubs around Europe, including Premier League side Newcastle United, de Jong accused the club's chairman Joop Munsterman of increasing the asking price for him. In response, the Munsterman and Steve McClaren expressed dismay over de Jong's comments.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
On 18 July 2012, De Jong signed for Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach on a five-year deal, with a fee of €15 million (£12.6m), having stated it was his dream to join. Eight months later after the move, de Jong stated the Bundesliga was "a great place to develop as a player".
He made his debut with Mönchengladbach in a match against Munich 1860; his team ended up winning 4–2, however, De Jong was quite anonymous during his first match, failing to score or assist any goals. On 21 August, he started his first European game for Mönchengladbach and in the process scored an own goal from a free kick in a 3–1 defeat at the hands of Dynamo Kyiv during the Champions League Qualifiers. On 15 September, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 defeat to 1. Nürnberg, converting a tap in after a cross from Patrick Herrmann. However, later in the season, De Jong's first team opportunities soon faded after falling out with manager Lucien Favre, and only made 23 appearances, scoring six times. Towards the end of the season, De Jong reiterated he was confident he could prove himself as the best striker.
However, in the 2013–14 season, De Jong's first team place remained limited, as his playing minutes significantly decreased and made 14 appearances in the first half of the season.
Newcastle United (loan) On 29 January 2014, De Jong completed a loan signing with Premier League side Newcastle United until the end of the 2013–14 season. He made his debut on 1 February in the Tyne-Wear derby against Sunderland. In May 2014, it was announced that de Jong would be returning to Borussia Mönchengladbach after he failed to score in any of his twelve appearances for Newcastle.
PSV
On 12 July 2014, De Jong signed a five-year deal with PSV for a fee of €5.5m. Following his move to PSV, De Jong said he felt he had made a mistake by moving to Germany.