Vicente Besuijen is delighted to be back playing with a smile on his face with FC Emmen after a mentally challenging two years at Aberdeen.
The Dutch playmaker was signed by Stephen Glass in January 2022 on a four-and-a-half year deal.
And he began life at Pittodrie in excellent form, endearing himself to the Red Army.
However, managerial changes didn't help Besuijen's prospects since then and he spent the second half of the 2022/23 campaign on-loan with Excelsior Rotterdam before returning to the Dons in the summer to be greeted by a lack of first team minutes.
That led to Eredivisie 2 outfit, Emmen, taking a punt on him in another temporary deal for the second half of this season, and it's certainly paying off.
The 23-year-old has been in exceptional form for his loan club, scoring six goals and providing one assist in his last seven games - with his latest contribution helping Emmen go one step closer to the Netherlands top-tier.
Speaking following Emmen's play-off quarter-final win over FC Dordrecht, Besuijen said: “This is not normal. I wanted to do this, especially because they already thought they were there on Tuesday (2-2 first leg draw). The season is not over yet.
“Mentally I had a very hard time at Aberdeen. I really enjoyed it there in the beginning, but after the change of manager I was no longer given a chance.
“Then it was very difficult for me. I had to fight myself back to what and who I was. I wanted the play-offs.
“A lot has changed in six months. If you see where I’m coming from, this is just amazing.
“It just goes to show that if you believe in yourself and you know you can do it, everything will always work out.”
