FC Twente lost somewhat unhappily to Go Ahead Eagles this weekend and are looking for revenge. That the Tukkers are a dangerous opponent is well known among the top teams. Besides the 1-1 draw in Eindhoven in November, Ajax went down in the Grolsch Veste a month later.
Mercenaries
Twente, currently seventh, is having a good season anyway. Star player Ziyech left for Ajax after four games, but Twente's expected decline did not materialize. That cannot be separated from the forward consisting of Manchester City mercenaries. Bersant Celina, Yaw Yeboah and Enes Ünal combined to score 20 of Twente's 39 goals.
Most scoring Turk
Ünal is responsible for 14 of those hits. He is now the most scoring Turkish player ever in the Eredivisie. He thus succeeds Ayhan Tumani, who scored his goals for N.E.C. Nijmegen and FC Volendam in the late 1990s. Ünal scored in the 1-1 draw against PSV and seems to be in form again: he scored four times in his last five games.
Own youth
However, it is not just the Manchester City mercenaries who give Twente color. Nineteen-year-old Finn Frederik Jensen was transferred from youth to the A-squad last summer and is increasingly finding his feet. He was directly involved in three (two goals, one assist) of the last four Twente goals.
Penalty specialist
The more experienced Mateusz Klich also has an important part to play as a midfielder. Together with Kamohelo Mokotjo, the 26-year-old Pole shapes the Tukkers' play from midfield and has another special specialty: penalty kicks. Twente received five penalties in the Eredivisie this season, together with Vitesse the most of any club, and Klich cashed in all five. He did not score any field goals, but is nevertheless Twente's most scoring player after Ünal.