Mohamed Ihattaren's Resurgence in Dutch Football

Mohamed Ihattaren’s renaissance in Dutch football gathered fresh momentum at the weekend, as the 24-year-old playmaker dragged Fortuna Sittard to a 3-2 win over ADO Den Haag with a performance that felt like a statement.

Two goals. One assist. And, crucially, the conviction that his career is no longer stuck in reverse.

A match that fit the narrative

Against ADO Den Haag, Ihattaren didn’t just decorate the game, he decided it.

He was involved throughout, but his second goal told the real story. Pouncing on a defensive mistake, he drove at his marker, eased past him and unleashed a left-footed strike that crashed off the underside of the crossbar before bouncing in. It was the kind of finish that silences a stadium for a heartbeat, then erupts it.

That goal effectively killed off ADO’s resistance and sealed Fortuna’s 3-2 victory. It also underlined how central Ihattaren has become to this side.

The numbers back it up. At the start of the new season, he already has three goals and two assists in five matches. Fortuna, fuelled by his creativity, have climbed to fourth in the table and suddenly look like a team with ambition rather than one simply trying to survive.

From stop-start to steady rhythm

The 2025/26 campaign marked the first time in years that Ihattaren’s season told a coherent story instead of a fragmented one.

He played 28 league matches for Fortuna, scoring six goals and laying on 10 assists. No long disappearances. No sudden breaks. Just regular football, week after week – something that had eluded him during the most turbulent stretch of his career.

Fortuna coach Danny Buijs, who has worked with him for 15 months, knows exactly what that stability is worth. Speaking to ESPN, Buijs made it clear he wants to shield Ihattaren from the glare that once overwhelmed him. The message is simple: less noise, more work.

According to Buijs, the attacking midfielder needs to concentrate on his football and operate away from the constant pull of the media if he is to reach the level his talent promises. For now, the coach is trying to keep the circus outside the gates.

A prodigy, a loss, and a long detour

Ihattaren’s story has never been just about football.

Born in Utrecht, he burst onto the scene at PSV with the kind of ease that makes people talk about “generational” talent. In 2019, still only 17, he was so dominant against Ajax that former Netherlands international Pierre van Hooijdonk publicly called him the best player on the pitch. It felt like the start of something inevitable.

Then life intervened. The death of his father in October 2019 hit him hard. Ihattaren later said his father was “everything” to him, and his form and trajectory began to wobble in the months that followed.

The move away from PSV in 2021 was supposed to be a fresh start. Instead, it became a maze. He signed a four-year deal with Juventus, a heavyweight step that never truly materialised into a career at the top level.

A loan to Sampdoria brought no redemption. He did not play a single match. Ajax, who took him on loan after that, chose not to make the deal permanent. In 2023, a proposed move to Turkish club Samsunspor collapsed. A stint with Slavia Prague followed, but he did not register a single minute on the pitch there either.

For a while, it looked as though the game might move on without him.

A new identity, a new target

Now, in Sittard, the rhythm has changed. The minutes are back. The confidence is returning. And with it, the conversation about his international future has resurfaced.

In 2025, Ihattaren declared that he wants to represent Morocco at senior level. He had previously worn the shirt of the Netherlands at youth level but has yet to make his debut for the senior team of either country.

That choice adds another layer to his comeback. Every decisive pass, every goal, every performance like the one against ADO Den Haag, strengthens his case and sharpens the spotlight he is trying to avoid.

For the moment, though, the picture is simple. A gifted midfielder who once seemed lost is driving a team into the upper reaches of the Dutch table, one game at a time.

If this is just the beginning of his second act, how far can Mohamed Ihattaren take it?