Patrick van Aanholt

Patrick John Miguel van Aanholt (born 29 August 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Eredivisie club PSV, on loan from club Galatasaray, and the Netherlands national team.

He began his professional career at Chelsea, where he was used sparingly, spending time on loan at five other clubs.

Van Aanholt joined Chelsea's youth ranks in 2007, making his professional debut while on loan at Coventry City on 9 August 2009 in a 2–1 Football League Championship win over Ipswich Town.

He was later recalled to Chelsea in December due to the exit of many players due to the African Nations Cup.

Van Aanholt was first selected for Chelsea in an FA Cup tie away to Preston North End in the 2009–10 edition of the Cup, wearing the squad number 52, but did not make an appearance, remaining on the bench.

He made his Chelsea debut on 24 March 2010 in a 5–0 away win at Portsmouth, replacing Yuri Zhirkov at left-back after 71 minutes.

He then made his home debut, on 27 March 2010, against Aston Villa in a 7–1 victory, again as a substitute.

On 29 January 2010, Van Aanholt joined Newcastle United on a one-month loan deal after regular left back José Enrique suffered an injury.

He provided cover for the Spaniard, sustaining Newcastle's productive left flank alongside Jonás Gutiérrez.

Van Aanholt played his last game in the 1–2 away victory at Watford.

Van Aanholt scored his first career goal on 22 September 2010 in the 4–3 defeat to former club Newcastle in the League Cup.

On 26 January 2011, he joined Leicester City on loan until the end of the season.

He made his debut in a 1–0 win over Sheffield United on 1 February 2011, and suffered a torn muscle in his thigh at the end of the month after playing six games.

Van Aanholt scored his first senior league goal in a 4–0 victory over Burnley on 9 April 2011.

On transfer deadline day, 31 August 2011, Van Aanholt signed for Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan deal.

Van Aanholt's loan spell, originally a season-long arrangement, was later terminated by mutual consent between all three parties.

During this uneventful loan spell, Van Aanholt played three league matches and one League Cup tie for the Latics, but did not feature in their first team after 1 October.

On 6 January 2012, Van Aanholt returned to Chelsea during a season-long loan at Wigan.

Nine days later, he signed for Dutch club Vitesse on loan until the end of the season, alongside fellow Chelsea teammates Tomáš Kalas and Ulises Dávila.

On 11 July 2012, Van Aanholt rejoined Vitesse on a new loan deal for the 2012–13 season.

Van Aanholt represented the Netherlands at numerous youth levels before making his full international debut in 2013.

On 7 July 2013, the Vitesse loan deal was extended for the 2013–14 season.

He made his first start of the 2013–14 season in a 1–1 first leg draw away at Petrolul Ploiești in the UEFA Europa League, a match in which he was booked in the 86th minute.

He went on to start eight of the next nine league fixtures for Vitesse, including earning an assist in a 1–1 draw at Roda JC.

On 7 December 2013, Van Aanholt netted Vitesse's fifth goal in a 6–2 away victory over PSV, keeping Vitesse at the top of the Eredivisie table.

He joined Sunderland for around £1.5 million in 2014 and was transferred to Crystal Palace in January 2017, for a fee rising to £14 million.

On 25 July 2014, Van Aanholt left Chelsea and signed for Sunderland for an undisclosed fee, believed to be between £1.5–2 million, on a four-year contract.

He made his competitive debut on 16 August as Sunderland began their Premier League campaign away to West Bromwich Albion, assisting Sebastian Larsson for the final goal of a 2–2 draw.

On 3 November, as Sunderland won 3–1 at Crystal Palace; Van Aanholt set up the opening goal for Steven Fletcher, but was later stretchered off in the first-half with a shoulder injury and replaced by Wes Brown.

Van Aanholt scored his first goal for Sunderland on his return from injury on 4 January 2015, the only goal in an FA Cup third round win over Leeds United.

On 28 November 2015, Van Aanholt scored the first goal in a 2–0 win at home against Stoke City.

He scored his second of the season on 16 January 2016, where he gave Sunderland the lead against Tottenham Hotspur, although Sunderland would go on to lose 4–1.

His third of the season came the following week, on 23 January 2016, where he scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw at home to AFC Bournemouth.

He scored his fourth goal of the season when he opened the scoring with a 25-yard free-kick in a 3–0 win against Everton.

The result sealed Sunderland's Premier League safety, and relegated local rivals Newcastle United, along with Norwich City.

On 8 June 2016, Van Aanholt put pen to paper, signing a new four-year deal, keeping him at the club until the year 2020.

On 13 August 2016, in the opening game of the season, Van Aanholt conceded an early penalty, as Sunderland fell to a 2–1 defeat at Manchester City.

He played for the senior side at UEFA Euro 2020.

Van Aanholt was born in 's-Hertogenbosch to parents from Curaçao.

He is the cousin of fellow Dutch international Leroy Fer.