Panathinaikos announced Rick van Drongelen with an impressive video on social media, introducing the 27-year-old Dutch center back as the latest addition to bolster the defensive line. The club accompanied the post with an official announcement, welcoming him to the “clover.”

The Dutch center back will immediately join Jacob Nystrup’s roster for the upcoming season and is the second center-back signing after Stefan De Vrij. At the same time, he is expected to be included on the European roster for the matches against Paksi, bolstering the “clover” ahead of the Conference League qualifiers.

The announcement from Panathinaikos FC:

Panathinaikos FC announces the signing of Rick van Drongelen from Turkish club Samsunspor. The 27-year-old Dutch center back has signed a four-year contract.

Rick van Drongelen was born on December 20, 1998, in Axel, the Netherlands. He began playing soccer for his hometown’s local team and later joined the JVOZ soccer academy. In 2012, he joined the Sparta Rotterdam youth academy. In 2015, he made his professional debut with the Dutch club, for which he made a total of 49 appearances, scoring 1 goal and providing 1 assist.

In 2017, he transferred to Hamburg, for whom he played in 95 official matches, scoring 2 goals and providing 3 assists, and at just 20 years old, he became the team’s captain.

In 2021, he transferred to Union Berlin and subsequently played on loan at Mechelen and Hansa Rostock. In 2023, he continued his career at Samsunspor, for whom he made 112 appearances, scoring 8 goals and providing 3 assists.

He has represented the Netherlands at the youth national team levels, playing for the U-17, U-18, U-19, and U-21 teams.

We welcome Rick to the Panathinaikos family.

*photo source: pao.gr