The Lion City Sailors have unveiled Dutch midfielder Bart Ramselaar as the club’s second signing for the 2024/25 Singapore Premier League (SPL) season.
Ramselaar joins the Sailors as the club looks to launch a serious assault for their second-ever SPL title, while also attempting to leave a mark on the regional front in Asia’s second-tier club competition, the Asian Football Confederation Champions League 2 (ACL2).
Joining from Dutch Eredivisie side FC Utrecht for an undisclosed fee, the 27-year-old comes onboard the Sailors on a contract that runs until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.
The Sailors said that Ramselaar promises to bring a new dimension to the team’s attacking third as he looks to form a dynamic partnership with fellow PSV Eindhoven alumni Maxime Lestienne.
It was with PSV where Ramselaar rose to prominence as a technically supreme midfield playmaker.
Winning the 2017/18 Eredivisie title with the Dutch giants, he also progressed through the national youth age-groups, before making three international appearances for the Holland senior side.
Ramselaar then returned to Utrecht – the club where he made his professional debut in 2015 – and enjoyed his most productive season in the 2021/22 campaign with nine goals.
He made 11 appearances in the ongoing 23/24 Eredivisie season and scored in a 2-0 victory over Go Ahead Eagles in December 2023, before making the move to Singapore.
“Bart is a fantastic addition to the team with his speed and intelligent link-up play in the final third,” said Sailors Head Coach Aleksandar Ranković, who worked with Ramselaar in the 2022/23 season when he was still Utrecht’s assistant coach.
“I’m already looking forward to seeing how he can complement the likes of Maxime, Shawal Anuar and Richairo Živković to give us an even better attacking threat.”
Ramselaar – who brings UEFA Champions League experience from his time with PSV – joins a squad brimming with European pedigree, alongside Živković, Lestienne, Datković and Rui Pires.
And he is already champing at the bit to start his new adventure in the Lion City.
“I’ve played my whole career in Holland, so it was always one of my targets to prove myself in a foreign league one day,” he said.
“I’m really intrigued by this new challenge in Singapore with the Sailors. The club is building a great project here with a clear direction from the Academy up to the First Team.
“This is something that I very much want to be part of.”
PHOTOS: LION CITY SAILORS