Mohamed Ihattaren's Revival at Fortuna Sittard

Mohamed Ihattaren is back in the spotlight – but this time, he and his coach are doing everything they can to dim the glare.

In the Netherlands, the 24-year-old attacking midfielder is rebuilding his career at Fortuna Sittard, and on nights like this one against ADO Den Haag, it looks like more than just a comeback attempt. It looks like a revival.

A match that fit the story

Fortuna edged ADO Den Haag 3-2, and Ihattaren sat right at the heart of it. Two goals, one assist. Directly involved in all three of his team’s strikes.

His second goal felt like a statement. With Fortuna holding a fragile lead, Ihattaren pounced on a defensive mistake, glided past a defender and unleashed a left-footed shot that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar. It effectively killed the contest and underlined who was running the game.

That performance continues a sharp start to the new season: three goals and two assists in five matches. Fortuna, often fighting near the bottom in recent years, now sit fourth in the table. Early days, yes, but it’s a different view for a club – and a player – used to looking up.

Regular minutes at last

The foundation for this resurgence was laid last season. In 2025/26, Ihattaren finally stitched together something he had been missing for years: continuity.

He played 28 league matches for Fortuna, scoring six goals and delivering 10 assists in the Eredivisie. Not outrageous numbers, but crucial ones. Week after week, he was on the pitch, contributing, building rhythm. After seasons disrupted by off-field issues, moves that went nowhere and long stretches without football, this was his first real run of regular action.

Fortuna coach Danny Buijs has been central to that. Working with Ihattaren for 15 months, Buijs has tried to protect him from the noise that once surrounded his name. Speaking to ESPN, the coach made it clear he wants to keep a lid on the hype, 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 performances talk.

From PSV prodigy to lost years

For Dutch football followers, Ihattaren’s talent is no surprise. Born in Utrecht, he burst through at PSV as a teenager, all flair on the ball and vision between the lines. In 2019, at just 17, he impressed so much in a match against Ajax 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 later said his father was “everything” to him, and his career trajectory soon reflected the turmoil.

In 2021, he left PSV and signed a four-year contract with Juventus, a move that was supposed to launch him onto the European stage. It never happened. A loan to Sampdoria yielded not a single appearance. A subsequent spell at Ajax ended without the Amsterdam club taking up the option to sign him permanently.

The pattern continued. In 2023, a proposed move to Turkish side Samsunspor collapsed. At Slavia Prague, he did not play a single minute. For a player once tipped as one of the brightest prospects in Dutch football, the game seemed to be slipping away.

A new direction – and a new national team?

Now, in Sittard, the story has turned again. Regular football, end product, and a coach determined to shield him from the circus.

There is another strand to his future as well. In 2025, Ihattaren announced that he wants to represent Morocco at international level. He had previously played for the Netherlands’ youth teams, but he has yet to debut for the senior side of either country. The decision adds an extra layer of intrigue to his resurgence. If he keeps producing in the Eredivisie, the question will not be whether he plays international football, but for whom.

For now, though, the focus is clear. Goals, assists, wins. The roar of a crossbar-rattling left foot against ADO Den Haag suggests that, at Fortuna Sittard, Mohamed Ihattaren finally has the stage – and the stability – to show how far this second act can really go.