Bologna ended the calendar year with a win at Sassuolo and again the Dutch in the selection of Sinisa Mihajlovic played no part in this success. Now that the transfer market is about to reopen, Mitchell Dijks and Sydney van Hooijdonk are faced with an important decision.
The playing minutes are very scarce this season for Dijks and Van Hooijdonk at Bologna. The same applies to Jerdy Schouten, but he is experiencing a particularly frustrating football year due to injuries. Schouten only participated in two league games this season and has been sidelined since the end of October. The midfielder was also not part of the group against Sassuolo.
Dijks and Van Hooijdonk were part of the selection, but again did not play. That is anything but unique this season. This is especially frustrating for Dijks: he was still a basic player last season, but was played out of the team by Aaron Hickey. The young Scot was responsible for the 0-2 against Sassuolo on Wednesday evening.
In the last nine league games, including Wednesday evening’s game, Dijks has only played against Fiorentina. His total in this Serie A season stands at just 142 minutes played. Dijks’ contract with Bologna will continue until mid-2023, but it is quite possible that he will want to look for a solution to his situation in January.
Van Hooijdonk is only 34 minutes into the Serie A. The attacker came over from NAC Breda last summer and was mainly taken with a view to the future. Mihajlovic does not need Van Hooijdonk at the moment: a rental period in January may be possible. SC Heerenveen was already mentioned in the corridors as a possible new club for the striker.
Abdou Harroui
At Sassuolo, Abdou Harroui is in his first season in Italy. The midfielder, who was taken over from Sparta Rotterdam, doesn’t get much time to play either: Harroui never started in the starting line-up and has to make do with short raids. He got no playing time against Bologna on Wednesday.
Ridgeciano Haps did not play on Wednesday at Venezia, which lost 1-3 to Lazio. Pedro, Francesco Acerbi and Luis Alberto scored the goals on behalf of the Romans. Haps has so far played nine league games for Venezia, eight of which as a starting player. In the 1-1 draw against Juventus, he was good for his first assist earlier this month.
