Michel Vlap

Michel Vlap
Personal information
Date of birth 2 June 1997
Place of birth Sneek, Netherlands
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Twente
Number 18
Youth career
WSZ
VV Sneek
SC Heerenveen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 SC Heerenveen 59 (20)
2019–2022 Anderlecht 34 (12)
2021 → Arminia Bielefeld (loan) 7 (1)
2021–2022 → Twente (loan) 34 (5)
2022– Twente 20 (0)
International career
2014–2015 Netherlands U18 5 (0)
2015–2016 Netherlands U19 5 (0)
2016 Netherlands U20 2 (0)
2018 Netherlands U21 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:25, 20 February 2023 (UTC)

Michel Vlap (Dutch [mɪˈxɛl ˈvlɑp]; born 2 June 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Twente. He has represented the Netherlands internationally at various youth levels.

Club career

Heerenveen

Vlap is an academy graduate of Eredivisie side Heerenveen and is the son of academy coach and former player Jan Vlap. Having progressed through the ranks of Heerenveen's youth academy, he signed his first professional contract on 17 February 2015, penning a three-year deal with the club. He later featured for Heerenveen during the 2015–16 pre-season and scored a brace in the club's 8–1 victory over VV Heerenveen in new manager Jurgen Streppel's first match in charge of the club. Vlap then made his senior debut for the club on 27 November 2016, coming on as a late, second-half substitute for Kosovar international Arber Zeneli in a 1–0 Eredivisie loss to Ajax.

Vlap failed to appear again during the 2016–17 season but returned to the first team to make his KNVB Cup debut on 20 September 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Excelsior. He scored his first goal for the club the following month, netting in a 2–1 defeat to AZ Alkmaar. On 3 December, he signed a new five-year contract with Heerenveen after impressing with a run of three goals in his previous five appearances for the club. He ultimately scored four goals in 26 appearances across all competitions for the campaign.

He continued to feature for the club the following season and in October 2018, after scoring a league-high four goals in the month, won the Eredevise Player of the Month award. By the end of the campaign, he had scored 16 goals and recorded six assists which earned him a transfer to Belgian side, Anderlecht.

Anderlecht and loans

In February 2021, Vlap moved to Bundesliga team Arminia Bielefeld from Anderlecht, on a loan deal until the end of the season. On 15 February, Vlap scored his first Bundesliga goal in the ninth minute of his debut, in a 3–3 away draw at Bayern Munich.

Twente

Vlap again moved on loan in August 2021, returning to the Eredivisie with Twente. On 4 July 2022, Anderlecht and Twente agreed on a permanent transfer and Vlap signed a three-year contract.

International career

Netherlands national youth teams

Vlap has represented Netherlands at both under-18 and under-19 level. On 21 July 2016, while representing the Netherlands at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Vlap made history by becoming the first player ever to be brought on as a fourth substitute in a UEFA match when he replaced Laros Duarte in a 3–3 (5–4) penalty shoot-out loss to Germany. Regulations ordinarily allow a team to make three substitutions during a match but a trial allowing for a fourth substitution in extra-time was introduced by the International Football Association Board for the tournament.

Career statistics

As of match played on 10 August 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Heerenveen 2016–17 Eredivisie 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2017–18 Eredivisie 24 4 2 0 0 0 26 4
2018–19 Eredivisie 34 16 4 1 0 0 39 17
Total 59 20 6 1 0 0 65 21
Anderlecht 2019–20 First Division A 23 11 2 0 0 0 25 11
2020–21 First Division A 11 1 0 0 0 0 11 1
Total 34 12 2 0 0 0 36 12
Arminia Bielefeld (loan) 2020–21 Bundesliga 7 1 0 0 — 7 1
Career total 100 33 8 1 0 0 108 34

Honours

Individual