Jeremain Lens

Jeremain Marciano Lens (born 24 November 1987) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for club Versailles.

He is a versatile attacking player, known for his pace and stamina, primarily being used as a winger or a striker, but he can successfully play as a second striker.

Lens made his debut into professional football in the 2005–06 season.

He played two matches for AZ that season.

Before that, he played in the youth team of AZ, Omniworld, Ajax and his regional team, Spartaan.

In June 2007, AZ reached a deal concerning a loan involving Lens; it meant he would play the 2007–08 season for NEC, and that he would return to AZ the season afterwards.

Lens agreed with the deal, and the player officially joined NEC on loan in the summer of 2007.

After a difficult beginning with his new club NEC before the winter, Lens' as well as his team's situation improved with Lens scoring eight goals in 16 matches.

NEC qualified for the UEFA Cup preliminaries.

For a long time, it seemed he would join NEC permanently, but he eventually decided to return to AZ.

Lens began his career at AZ, and after a loan at NEC, played a part in their 2008–09 Eredivisie triumph.

In July 2008, Lens had an operation on his left foot, which meant he was out for some time.

The 2008–09 season was a personal disappointment for Lens, who did not contribute much to AZ's championship win.

When head coach Louis van Gaal left the team for Bayern Munich, Lens saw a chance for himself to play more matches.

He grabbed the chance under the new coach, and he played well and scored important goals for AZ.

In 2010, he moved to PSV, where he won the 2011–12 KNVB Cup, and in 2013 was signed by Dynamo Kyiv.

In August 2010, he received his first international cap against Ukraine and scored a debut goal.

On 21 May 2010, PSV contracted Lens for four years, swapping Dirk Marcellis as part of the deal.

Lens was given the number 9 shirt, and his first year at the club was a successful one for the player.

He was moved from a central position to the flanks, being more utilised on both wings or working behind strikers as a second striker.

He struggled to score in first few matches, but eventually became used to the new position.

He reached the Europa League quarter-finals with the team, scoring 3 goals in 11 appearances, and reached 10 Eredivisie goals in 33 appearances, while the Eindhoven-based team only finished in third place, despite being the table leaders for the most of the 2010–11 season.

At the beginning of the 2011–12 season, Lens' jersey number was changed to number 11, which was free since the departure of Nordin Amrabat to Kayserispor in January 2011.

On 6 November 2011, Lens came in from the bench against Heracles and scored a hat-trick, his first for the club.

On 18 June 2013, Lens signed a four-year contract with Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv.

On 29 August, he scored his first official goal for Dynamo, opening the score on the ninth minute of a 5–1 victory over Kazakhstani club Aktobe in the UEFA Europa League play-offs second leg, an 8–3 aggregate win.

On 6 October, Lens scored his first two goals in the Ukrainian Premier League in a crushing 9–1 victory over Metalurh Donetsk.

He helped Dynamo win the Ukrainian Cup in his first season.

He was part of the Dutch squad which came third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

He won the Ukrainian Cup in his first season, the double in his second, and signed for Sunderland in July 2015.

Lens is a full international for the Netherlands, and has earned 34 caps.

On 23 April 2015, Lens was sent off for two bookings in the first half, as Dynamo lost 0–2 at Fiorentina and were eliminated from the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

His second yellow card was when the referee judged that he had dived in the penalty area.

In his second and final season for Dynamo, he managed to help his team win both the Premier League and Ukrainian Cup without suffering a single defeat in both competitions.

On 15 July 2015, after completing a medical, Sunderland signed Lens for an undisclosed fee on a four-year contract.

This move reunited him with head coach Dick Advocaat after previously working under him at PSV and AZ.

Lens scored his first English Premier League goal on 29 August 2015, securing a 2–2 draw at Aston Villa.

He scored his second Sunderland goal against West Ham United on 3 October 2015, lobbing the ball over goalkeeper Adrián to put Sunderland 2–0 ahead.

However, Lens was then sent off after receiving two yellow cards for rash tackles, and West Ham went on to earn a 2–2 draw.

The match turned out to be Advocaat's final one in charge of Sunderland, as he left the club the next day.