Mohamed Ihattaren Shines Again at Fortuna Sittard

Mohamed Ihattaren is back where he has always looked most at ease: on the ball, in the spotlight, deciding football matches.

In the Netherlands, the 24-year-old attacking midfielder is piecing his career back together at Fortuna Sittard, and against ADO Den Haag he produced the kind of performance that once made Europe sit up and take notice. Two goals, one assist, a 3-2 win – and a reminder of the talent that never really went away.

The game tilted on his left foot. With the score tight, Ihattaren punished a defensive mistake, gliding past a defender before unleashing a fierce strike. The ball cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and dropped over the line. A statement finish. A goal that, as reported by The National (UAE), effectively killed off ADO Den Haag’s hopes of a comeback and sealed the points for Fortuna.

He had already set the tone earlier, creating one goal and scoring another, dragging Fortuna forward in the final third. The numbers at the start of this new season underline his impact: three goals and two assists in five matches. Fortuna Sittard, a club more used to looking over their shoulders, now sit fourth in the table.

Regular minutes, renewed rhythm

This resurgence did not appear out of nowhere. The 2025/26 campaign quietly laid the foundations. Ihattaren played 28 league matches for Fortuna that season, scoring six times and delivering 10 assists. For the first time in years, he stitched together a full run of games, week after week, without the interruptions, absences and off-field turbulence that had threatened to swallow his career.

That consistency has mattered as much as any highlight reel goal. It has given him rhythm, responsibility, and a central role in a side willing to trust him.

Fortuna coach Danny Buijs, who has worked with Ihattaren for 15 months, knows exactly what that trust is worth – and how fragile it can be. Speaking to ESPN, Buijs made it clear he wants to shield his playmaker from the noise. He stressed that he aims to limit the excessive public attention around Ihattaren, insisting the midfielder must concentrate on his football and do his work away from the media glare if he is to reach his targets.

The message is simple: let the feet do the talking.

From PSV prodigy to career crossroads

For Dutch football followers, none of this feels like a surprise so much as a delayed continuation. Born in Utrecht, Ihattaren burst through at PSV as one of the brightest prospects in the Eredivisie. In 2019, at just 17, he lit up a clash with Ajax so brilliantly that former Netherlands international Pierre van Hooijdonk called him the best player on the pitch.

Then life intervened in the harshest way. The death of his father in October 2019 hit him deeply. Ihattaren has since said his father was “everything” to him, and his form and trajectory never quite looked the same in the months and years that followed.

In 2021, he left PSV and signed a four-year contract with Juventus, a move that should have launched him into the elite. Instead, it marked the start of a wandering period. A loan to Sampdoria brought no appearances at all. A spell at Ajax ended without the Amsterdam club making the deal permanent. In 2023, a proposed move to Turkish side Samsunspor collapsed, and a stint with Slavia Prague passed without a single minute on the pitch.

For a player once tipped to be a cornerstone of the Netherlands’ future, the slide felt brutal. The conversation shifted from “how high can he go?” to “will he get back at all?”

A new chapter, a new flag?

Fortuna Sittard has given him a stage again. Regular games. Responsibility. A club that, so far, has matched belief with patience. On the pitch, he is starting to repay that faith with end product and influence.

Off the pitch, another decision looms. In 2025, Ihattaren declared his intention to represent Morocco at international level. He previously played for Netherlands youth teams but has yet to make a senior appearance for either country. His choice, when it finally becomes official in a competitive match, will echo far beyond Fortuna’s stadium.

For now, though, the story is simpler. A gifted midfielder, once lost in the shuffle of big moves and bigger expectations, is back affecting games in the Eredivisie. If he keeps striking the ball the way he did against ADO Den Haag, the debate around Ihattaren will shift again – from what went wrong to just how far this second act can go.