Mitchell Clement Dijks (; born 9 February 1993) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left back for V.League 1 club Nam Định.

Club career

Ajax Born in Purmerend, Dijks was recruited into the youth ranks of then AFC Ajax partner club FC Volendam in 2009. While playing for the Ajax A1 youth squad in 2011–12, Dijks helped his side to win the Nike Eredivisie league title, as well finishing as runners-up to Inter Milan in the NextGen Series (the Champions League equivalent for under-20 teams) after losing on penalties (5–3) following a 1–1 deadlock after extra time.

Dijks made his first team debut on 5 August 2012 against PSV in the Johan Cruyff Shield in which he played 76 minutes in before being subbed off for Dico Koppers and he also received a yellow card. Ajax lost the match 4–2. He then made his league debut with Ajax on 19 August 2012 against NEC, playing 79 minutes before being replaced by Joël Veltman. The match ended 6–1 in favor of Ajax. Dijks made a total of 6 league appearances playing in the left-back position. playing in a KNVB Cup match as well, all while helping Ajax to win the Eredivisie title in his debut season, making it the team's 32nd Dutch league title overall.

Heerenveen (loan) For the 2013–14 Eredivisie season, Dijks signed on loan with fellow Dutch top-tier club SC Heerenveen. On 3 August 2013, in the season opener against AZ, he was sent off in his first match for his new club. He was ejected following a reckless tackle in the 71st minute of the match, which ended a 4–2 victory at the Abe Lenstra Stadion.

Willem II On 28 August 2014, it was announced that Dijks had signed a two-year contract with Eredivisie side Willem II.

Return to Ajax On 26 June 2015, Ajax announced they had re-signed Dijks from Willem II. As part of the deal Ajax youngsters Richairo Zivkovic, Ruben Ligeon and Lesly de Sa will head the other way on loan. On 30 January 2017, Dijks looked to join Norwich City FC on an initial loan deal.

Norwich City (loan) In January 2017, having lost his position in the starting lineup to Daley Sinkgraven under newly appointed manager Peter Bosz, Dijks initially turned down a transfer option to play in the EFL Championship for Norwich City. He instead agreed upon a loan spell with the Canaries, which would last until the season ended. He scored his first professional goal on 7 February 2017 in a 2–2 away draw against Wigan Athletic with a powerful header in the 73rd minute.

Jong Ajax Upon his return from Norwich City, Dijks originally trained with the first team, before it was decided that he would spend the rest of the season playing for Jong Ajax, the reserves team competing in the Dutch Eerste Divisie, the second tier of professional football in the Netherlands. Jong Ajax would go on to win the second division title that season with Dijks making 3 appearances in total.

Bologna On 29 April 2018, it was announced that Dijks had signed a contract with Serie A team Bologna on a free transfer. He scored his first goal for the club on 12 August 2018 in a Coppa Italia match against Padova. He made his Serie A debut the following week in the home match against SPAL, and scored his first goal for the team on 8 April 2019, marking the final score in a 3–0 win over Chievo.

In the following season, after only five appearances, Dijks suffered an injury to the second toe of his right foot that would keep him sidelined for 5–6 months.

On 31 August 2022, his contract with Bologna was terminated by mutual consent.

Fortuna Sittard On 18 July 2023, Dijks joined Fortuna Sittard on a one-year contract.

Nam Định On 21 August 2025, Dijks joined Vietnamese club Nam Định.

International career Youth Dijks has represented the Netherlands at under-18, under-19, and the under-21 level. He was selected in the final Dutch under-19 squad for the elite stage of the 2012 Euro U19 qualification. He started and played in the team's first match of the elite stage against Norway U19 and lasted the full 90 while he gained a yellow card in the 54th minute as the Dutch won 2–1. He then played in the Netherlands last match of qualifiers against France U19 coming on a substitute in the 20th minute for Mats van Huijgevoort. The match ended in disaster for Dijks and the Dutch as they lost 6–0 and thus lost out European U19 qualification. On 15 August 2012, Dijks made his debut for the Dutch under-21 team in a friendly against Italy U21, coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for Johan Kappelhof as the Dutch lost 3–0.

Senior Dijks received his first call up to the senior Netherlands team in March 2016 for friendlies against France and England.

Career statistics

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinental OtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAjax2012–13Eredivisie6020001090Heerenveen (loan)2013–14Eredivisie24030—00270Willem II2014–15Eredivisie28000——280Ajax2015–16Eredivisie2901090—3902016–17Eredivisie1202060—2002017–18Eredivisie901020—120Total5004017000710Norwich City (loan)2016–17Championship151000000151Jong Ajax2017–18Eerste Divisie30———30Bologna2018–19Serie A25131——2822019–20Serie A13010——1402020–21Serie A20000——2002021–22Serie A16000——160Total74141——782Vitesse2022–23Eredivisie7000——70Fortuna Sittard2023–24Eredivisie31030——3402024–25Eredivisie12020——140Total43050——480Nam Định2025–26V.League 10000000000Career total2502181170102863

Honours Ajax U19 U19 Eredivisie: 2011–12 NextGen Series Runner-up: 2011–12

Ajax Eredivisie: 2012–13

References

External links Mitchell Dijks at Voetbal International Netherlands stats at OnsOranje