Johannes "Joey" Martinus Sleegers (born 20 July 1994) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left winger for club Roda JC Kerkrade.
Sleegers came through the youth systems of RKC Waalwijk and Feyenoord without playing for the latter's first team, and has spent most of his career in the Eerste Divisie, where he has made more than 200 appearances. He has had three separate spells with FC Eindhoven, and was named the Eerste Divisie's most valuable player in 2021–22 after scoring 21 goals. He has also played for NEC, VVV-Venlo, ADO Den Haag, Trenčín in Slovakia, Dibba Al Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates and Terrassa in Spain.
Club career Early career and NEC Sleegers joined the RKC Waalwijk academy as a boy and moved to Feyenoord at the age of 12. He never played a competitive match for the Rotterdam club; loaned to FC Eindhoven for the 2014–15 season, he made his professional debut on 13 September 2014 against Achilles '29 and scored 13 goals in 33 league appearances.
That form earned him a three-year contract at newly promoted NEC on 25 August 2015. He made his Eredivisie debut three days later, starting a 1–0 win away to Willem II before being withdrawn at half-time, and scored his first goal for the club in a draw with SC Heerenveen in February 2016. He spent 2016–17 on loan at VVV-Venlo, scoring eight goals in 35 matches as the club won the Eerste Divisie title, but could not establish himself on his return to Nijmegen.
Trenčín and FC Eindhoven On 5 January 2018, Sleegers left the NEC bench for Slovak club Trenčín. He played 18 months there and set up a goal in a 3–0 win over his former club Feyenoord in the third qualifying round of the Europa League.
Sleegers returned to Eindhoven in July 2019, saying that he had wanted to play in the Netherlands again. The second of his three spells at the club was the most productive of his career: in 2021–22 he scored 21 league goals as Eindhoven finished third in the Eerste Divisie, and was named the division's most valuable player.
Later career In July 2022, Sleegers left for Dibba Al Fujairah of the UAE Pro League, but returned to the Netherlands after half a season, signing for ADO Den Haag on 5 January 2023. He played there for six months before rejoining Eindhoven for a third spell in July 2023, by which point he had scored 44 goals in 103 matches for the club.
Sleegers moved abroad again in July 2025, joining Terrassa in the Spanish Segunda Federación, but left by mutual agreement at the start of January 2026 after three goals in 15 matches in all competitions. He was without a club for the rest of the season, and on 12 August 2026 signed a one-year contract with Roda JC after a trial, reuniting him with the coach Rob Penders, with whom he had worked at Eindhoven.
Career statistics
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsEindhoven (loan)2014–15Eerste Divisie331310—203613NEC2015–16Eredivisie18130——2112016–17Eredivisie1000——102017–18Eerste Divisie7020——90Total26150——311VVV-Venlo (loan)2016–17Eerste Divisie35821——379Trenčín2017–18Super Liga1022000201422018–19Super Liga2884381214213Total38106381415615Eindhoven2019–20Eerste Divisie10400——1042020–21Eerste Divisie16310——1732021–22Eerste Divisie352110—436724Total612820—436731Dibba Al Fujairah2022–23UAE Pro League8110——91Career total201611748110423670
Honours VVV-Venlo Eerste Divisie: 2016–17
Individual Bronzen Stier – Best Player Eerste Divisie: 2014–15 Gouden Stier – Best Talent Eerste Divisie: 2014–15
References
External links