Ruud Neustad

Ruud Nijstad grew up playing for the amateur club DETO in Almelo before joining the joint FC Twente/Heracles Almelo academy, where he spent seven years working through the youth ranks. The move paid off on 5 October 2025, when he came on as a substitute for Robin Pröpper against Heracles Almelo to make his professional debut.

He had signed his first professional contract in February 2024, initially tying him to Twente until the middle of 2027. Twente moved to secure his long-term future in June 2026, extending the deal to run until 30 June 2029. Since breaking into the side, Nijstad has built a regular run of appearances, reaching 22 league games by August 2026 and scoring his first senior goal against Volendam.

Nijstad has also progressed steadily through the Dutch youth international set-up, representing the Netherlands at U16, U17, U18 and U19 level, and finding the net once for the U18s. That combination of first-team minutes at Twente and a consistent presence in the national age groups has not gone unnoticed elsewhere: reports have linked clubs including FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea with the player, whose market value has climbed into the €8–10 million range. For now, though, his development continues at the club where it began, with Twente having tied him down for years to come rather than cashing in on the early interest.