Maccabi Tel Aviv agreed with PSV Eindhoven on the transfer of Derrick Luckassen (186cm) who joined the club on a 2-year-deal after successfully completing his medical.
The 27-year-old Dutch central defender who will wear the number 25 at Maccabi said after signing his contract: “I am happy and excited to join Maccabi Tel Aviv, a club I played against in the past and know this is a massive club in Israel with great supporters . I spoke with Joris Van Overeem and Eran Zahavi and I am very positive about this move and excited ahead of this new chapter in my career”.
Barak Itzhaki, Head of Maccabi’s Football Department, added: “We are delighted Derrick is joining us. He is a player with great attributes, has solid experience at the top level and will be a significant addition to this team”.
A product of AZ Alkmaar youth’s department, Luckassen made his senior league debut for AZ at the age of 19 against Dordrecht in August 2014. Two seasons later (2016/17) Luckassen featured for AZ in the two Europa League matches against Maccabi 0-0 at Netanya and 2-1 at the Afas stadion. In July 2017 PSV Eindhoven bought Luckassen from AZ but after 25 appearances in all competitions during his first season spent loan spells with Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin (2018/19) and Belgian outfit Anderlecht (2019/20).
In January 2021, Luckassen joined Turkish outfit Kasimpasa on a six month long loan spell and made 17 appearances for the Istanbul club. In the summer, Luckassen returned to Turkey and joined Fatih Karagumrk last season, where he made 21 appearances scoring 1 goal for the Istanbul club that finished 8th in the table.
Luckassen represented the young Dutch national sides at U-18, U-19, U-20 and U-21’s and has a total of 19 international appearances.
