Jens Toornstra

Jens Toornstra is a Dutch midfielder who plays for Feyenoord and and the Netherlands national team. He is a regular feature in the Feyenoord squad and known for his playmaking abilities.

Background

Toornstra was born on 4 April 1989 in Leiderdorp, Netherlands. His footballing journey began from a small local club based in Alphen aan de Rijn, Alphense Boys. After impressing at his boyhood club, he made a move to ADO den Haag where he spent his early years in its youth outfit.

Debut

Toornstra showed promise and ability to perform at the international level during his first season at FC Utrecht. He had previously performed well for Netherlands Under 21 team and after a decent start at Utrecht, he was selected in the Netherlands squad in 2013. He made his international debut against Indonesia on 7 June, 2013 in Jakarta. He played the entire game which the Oranje comfortably won 3-0.

Rise to glory

Toornstra rose from the youth ranks to emerge as an integral member of ADO den Haag. There he became a midfield stalwart and attracted interest from other Dutch clubs. Utrecht were the team that managed to sign him in the winter transfer window of 2012-13.

But he hit it big when Feyenoord signed him in 2015. He has become the chief attacking threat with his creativity. He was in sublime form in the 2016-17 season where he scored 14 goals in Eredivisie and guided Feyenoord to the title. He also scored in the Johan Cruijff Schaal against Vitesse that Feyenoord eventually won on penalties. His exploits even earned him a recall to the national team. He has also lifted the KNVB Cup with them in the 2015-16 season.

He has been constantly knocking the doors of the national team but a place in the national team is still elusive. His last appearance for the Netherlands was in 2017 in a 2-1 away victory against Morocco. Still just 28 years old and Netherlands in dire need of replacements for midfield legends like Sneijder and Robben, Toornstra has all the capabilities to become a regular in the national team.

Club career

Toornstra started as a deep lying midfielder at ADO den Haag but eventually excelled in the attacking midfield role. His ball holding and neat passing made him a regular at The Hague based club. His played close to 120 games for them and scored 14 goals. At Utrecht, he spent a season and half where he produced some sensational performances. He was in scintillating form in 2013-14 season where he scored 15 goals in all competitions. That drew the interest of Rotterdam based Feyenoord. At Feyenoord, he has made the attacking midfield role his own and consistently produced match winning performances.