Jacob Ondrejka Joins FC Groningen on Loan from Parma

Jacob Ondrejka has taken the next step in his European tour. The Swedish midfielder has joined FC Groningen on loan from Parma, aiming to hit the ground running in the Eredivisie and be ready for Sunday’s home clash with newly promoted ADO Den Haag.

If he makes it in time, it will be a quick return to familiar territory. Not to the Netherlands, but to the football culture he knows well from across the border. Ondrejka has already made his name in the Low Countries once, during a productive spell with Antwerp in Belgium.

The 23-year-old’s journey started far from all that. Born in Sweden, he came through at Landskrona BoIS before earning a move to Elfsborg in 2020. There, he grew from prospect to key man: 110 appearances, 20 goals, steady progress season after season.

That form opened the door to Antwerp in the summer of 2023. With the Great Old, Ondrejka found another gear. Across a season and a half he played 55 games, scored 12 goals and added seven assists. By the midway point of his second campaign, his numbers were hard to ignore: seven goals and five assists in just 26 matches. Parma called, and Serie A became the next destination.

He finished that first half-season in Italy brightly. Twelve games, five goals – a sharp return that suggested he might settle quickly in one of Europe’s toughest leagues. Then came last season, and the momentum stalled. Seventeen appearances for Parma, no goals, no assists. The minutes were there, the end product wasn’t.

Parma still believe in the long-term project. His contract runs until 2029, a clear sign they are not ready to cut ties. But they also know he needs rhythm, responsibility and a stage where he can again influence games the way he did in Antwerp.

That is where Groningen enter the picture. Back in the Eredivisie and eager to stabilise, they are betting that a change of scenery and a return to the Benelux environment can unlock the version of Ondrejka that terrorised defences in Belgium. For the player, it is a chance to reset, to play regularly, to remind Serie A why Parma moved for him in the first place.

If he can rediscover that Antwerp form in Groningen green, this loan will not just revive a season. It could reshape the trajectory of his career.