Nick Fichtinger

Nick Fichtinger started out at the age of four with SV Saestum, an amateur club in his hometown of Zeist, and stayed there until 2019, when he was scouted by PEC Zwolle, PSV and NEC Nijmegen alike. He chose PEC Zwolle's academy and worked his way up through the O16, O17, O18 and O21 sides before signing his first professional contract in September 2023. His debut in the Eredivisie followed the same month, against FC Twente, though his first season was modest: six appearances, five of them starts, and no goals or assists.

The 2024-25 campaign told a different story. Fichtinger made 22 league appearances and scored four goals. The season's defining moment, though, came in a goal that never counted. Against RKC Waalwijk in December, he struck late to what looked like a winner, only for VAR to chalk it off for offside — an offside flagged from the corner that preceded it, despite the fact that a player cannot be offside directly from a corner kick. PEC Zwolle contested the decision through the KNVB and then IFAB, but neither body reversed it, and the goal stood disallowed. The episode lingered as a point of contention around the club well into the following year.

The disallowed goal did nothing to slow his progress at Zwolle. In May 2025, the club tore up his existing deal and handed him a new contract running to 2028, a vote of confidence.