Mexx Meerdink

Mexx Meerdink's route to AZ Alkmaar's first team ran through Winterswijk and De Graafschap before the club's own academy took him on in 2019. A clause written into that move meant AZ owed his former youth club between €40,000 and €50,000 the day he finally made his senior debut — which came against Lazio in the UEFA Europa Conference League in March 2023.

Before that breakthrough, Meerdink had already won a European trophy at youth level, scoring twice in the 5-0 rout of Hajduk Split that sealed the UEFA Youth League for AZ's under-19s. A loan to Vitesse in January 2024 gave him further senior minutes, and he returned to AZ for the 2024-25 season and established himself with 40 appearances and 14 goals.

The 2024-25 campaign also brought a first taste of a major final, though not a happy one: introduced as a substitute against Go Ahead Eagles in the KNVB Cup final, he missed his kick in the penalty shootout as AZ finished runners-up. He got that trophy the following season instead, and opened the scoring as AZ ran riot in a 4-0 win over PSV to lift the Johan Cruijff Shield.

International recognition followed in October 2025, when he received his first call-up to the Dutch national team for World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Finland. He withdrew from the squad after picking up an injury in training.