Melle Meulensteen

Melle Meulensteen came through Manchester United's academy before moving to Preston North End, where a loan spell at Lancaster City preceded an early exit from the club by mutual agreement. RKC Waalwijk picked him up on a free transfer in January 2018, and he became a fixture there for four seasons, including the 2019 Keuken Kampioen Play-Offs final against Go Ahead Eagles, a goalless draw remembered for a VAR decision that ruled out a Go Ahead Eagles goal.

A roughly €1 million move took him to Vitesse in 2022, and two years later he left for Italy, joining UC Sampdoria for around €200,000. His time in Genoa produced the defining moment of his career so far: in the first leg of Sampdoria's Serie B relegation play-off against Salernitana, he scored in the 39th minute as his side won 2-0. The return leg was suspended after crowd trouble and awarded to Sampdoria by forfeit, sealing a 4-0 aggregate win that kept the club out of Serie C.

That result made Meulensteen's goal one of the more unusual survival stories of the Italian season. In August 2025, Go Ahead Eagles brought him back to the Netherlands on a four-year contract, for a fee of around €400,000 — the same club whose play-off hopes he had helped derail as a teenager at RKC Waalwijk.

He holds both Dutch and English citizenship, reflecting his years in England's academy system. He has not yet earned a senior or youth international call-up for the Netherlands.