Michel Vlap

Michel Vlap (Dutch pronunciation: [miˈɕɛl ˈvlɑp]; born 2 June 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Twente. He has represented the Netherlands internationally at various youth levels.^[3]

Michel Vlap

Personal information
Date of birth	(1997-06-02) 2 June 1997 (age 28)[1]
Place of birth	Sneek, Netherlands[1]
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Twente
Number	18
Youth career
	WSZ[2]
	VV Sneek
	SC Heerenveen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2019	SC Heerenveen	59	(20)
2019–2022	Anderlecht	34	(12)
2021	→ Arminia Bielefeld (loan)	7	(1)
2021–2022	→ Twente (loan)	34	(5)
2022–	Twente	97	(10)
International career
2014–2015	Netherlands U18	5	(0)
2015–2016	Netherlands U19	5	(0)
2016	Netherlands U20	2	(0)
2018	Netherlands U21	3	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 6 June 2025

Club career

Heerenveen

Vlap is an academy graduate of Eredivisie side Heerenveen and is the son of academy coach and former player Jan Vlap.^[4][5] Having progressed through the ranks of Heerenveen's youth academy, he signed his first professional contract on 17 February 2015, penning a three-year deal with the club.^[6] He later featured for Heerenveen during the 2015–16 pre-season and scored a brace in the club's 8–1 victory over VV Heerenveen in new manager Jurgen Streppel's first match in charge of the club.^[7][8] Vlap then made his senior debut for the club on 27 November 2016, coming on as a late, second-half substitute for Kosovan international Arbër Zeneli in a 1–0 Eredivisie loss to Ajax.^[9]

Vlap failed to appear again during the 2016–17 season but returned to the first team to make his KNVB Cup debut on 20 September 2017, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win over Excelsior.^[10] He scored his first goal for the club the following month, netting in a 2–1 defeat to AZ Alkmaar.^[11] On 3 December, he signed a new five-year contract with Heerenveen after impressing with a run of three goals in his previous five appearances for the club.^[12] He ultimately scored four goals in 26 appearances across all competitions for the campaign.

He continued to feature for the club the following season and in October 2018, after scoring a league-high four goals in the month, won the Eredevise Player of the Month award.^[13] By the end of the campaign, he had scored 16 goals and recorded six assists which earned him a transfer to Belgian side, Anderlecht.^[14]

Anderlecht and loans

In February 2021, Vlap moved to Bundesliga team Arminia Bielefeld from Anderlecht, on a loan deal until the end of the season.^[15] On 15 February, Vlap scored his first Bundesliga goal in the ninth minute of his debut, in a 3–3 away draw at Bayern Munich.

Twente

Vlap again moved on loan in August 2021, returning to the Eredivisie with Twente.^[16] He made his competitive debut for the Tukkers on the first matchday of the 2021–22 season, replacing Dimitris Limnios in the 67th minute of a 2–1 away loss to Fortuna Sittard.^[17][18] He soon established himself as a starter for the club, and scored his first goal for Twente on 19 September in a 4–1 away victory against Vitesse.^[19] He played in all 34 league games that season, starting in 31 of them, as Twente secured a fourth-place finish and qualified for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League for the following season.^[1][20]

On 4 July 2022, Anderlecht and Twente agreed on a permanent transfer and Vlap signed a three-year contract with an option for an additional year.^[21] He scored on his European debut, helping Twente to a 3–1 away win over Serbian club Čukarički on 4 August.^[22]

International career

Netherlands national youth teams

Vlap has represented Netherlands at both under-18 and under-19 level.^[23] On 21 July 2016, while representing the Netherlands at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Vlap made history by becoming the first player ever to be brought on as a fourth substitute in a UEFA match when he replaced Laros Duarte in a 3–3 (5–4) penalty shoot-out loss to Germany. Regulations then ordinarily allowed a team to make only three substitutions during a match but a trial allowing for a fourth substitution in extra-time was introduced by the International Football Association Board for the tournament.^[24][25] This was since changed to five substitutions in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[26]

Career statistics

As of match played on 25 May 2025^[27]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Heerenveen	2016–17	Eredivisie	1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	2017–18	Eredivisie	24	4	2	0	—		—		26	4
	2018–19	Eredivisie	34	16	4	1	—		—		39	17
	Total		59	20	6	1	—		—		65	21
Anderlecht	2019–20	First Division A	23	11	2	0	—		—		25	11
	2020–21	First Division A	11	1	0	0	—		—		11	1
	Total		34	12	2	0	—		—		36	12
Arminia Bielefeld (loan)	2020–21	Bundesliga	7	1	0	0	—		—		7	1
Twente (loan)	2021–22	Eredivisie	34	5	2	0	—		—		36	5
Twente	2022–23	Eredivisie	32	3	1	0	4[a]	2	4[b]	1	42	6
	2023–24	Eredivisie	29	2	1	0	5[a]	0	—		35	2
	2024–25	Eredivisie	36	5	2	0	12[c]	2	—		50	7
	Total		131	15	6	0	21	4	4	1	162	20
Career total			229	48	14	1	21	4	4	1	268	54

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
2. Appearances in Eredivisie play-offs
3. Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, ten appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Individual

• Eredivisie Talent of the Month: October 2018,^[28]