# Kaj Sierhuis

Kaj Sierhuis (born 27 April 1998) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard. Born in Greece, he is a former youth international for the Netherlands.

## Club career
### Ajax

Sierhuis was born in Athens, Greece, on 27 April 1998, when his father, Cock Sierhuis, was president of AEK Athens. The family returned to the Netherlands when Kaj was four years old, and he grew up in Jisp, North Holland.
He had started playing football with WSV '30 in Wormer in the province of North Holland as a five-year-old before moving the to Ajax Youth Academy at age 11. In August 2016, he signed his first professional contract and made his first appearances for Jong Ajax on 25 November 2016 in an Eerste Divisie match against Telstar. That season he also continued to play for the under-19 team in the league and in the UEFA Youth League. In the 2016–17 season, he was top goalscorer in the UEFA Youth League alongside Jordi Mboula of Barcelona. In the 2017–18 season, Sierhuis, who had outgrown the youth teams, was not always part of the regular lineup, but scored 14 goals in 20 appearances and became second-tier Eerste Divisie champion with Ajax's second team, which could however not win promotion due to Dutch league rules. Sierhuis made his first competitive appearance for the Ajax first team on 25 July 2018 in a 2–0 win in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round against Sturm Graz.
After making just two appearances in the Eredivisie, Sierhuis agreed to a loan move to Groningen until the end of the season with an option to buy. He quickly earned a starting place as Groningen qualified for play-offs for a place in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. There, the Groningen side was eliminated in the first round by Vitesse.

### Reims

On 1 February 2020, Sierhuis signed with Ligue 1 club Reims on a long-term contract. He made his debut for the club on 5 February 2020, starting in a league game against Nice, but had to be replaced by Nathanaël Mbuku in the 13th minute after falling out with a hamstring injury. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this remained Sierhuis' only appearance for Reims in the 2019–20 season.
In the 2020–21 season, he made regular appearances for Reims, but his playing time decreased from the beginning of 2021 and he was sent on a one-season loan to Eredivisie club Heracles Almelo in August 2021. After 19 total appearances in which he scored one goal, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament on 11 February 2022 against Utrecht and was sidelined for the rest of the season.
He rejoined the Reims squad for the 2022–23 season.

### Fortuna Sittard

On 2 August 2023, Sierhuis returned to the Netherlands and signed a three-year contract with Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard. He made his debut for the club on 19 August, replacing Paul Gladon in the 83rd minute of a 2–1 victory against Almere City. On 21 October, he scored his first goal for Fortuna, converting a penalty in injury time during a 3–1 defeat against PSV. He secured his first brace for the club on 2 December, contributing to Fortuna's 3–1 triumph over Vitesse, as both assists were provided by Ivo Pinto. Sierhuis scored 15 goals in 35 appearances during his debut season with the club. However, on 3 May 2024, during a match against Go Ahead Eagles, he sustained a serious knee injury that sidelined him for an extended period.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 3 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Jong Ajax | 2016–17 | Eerste Divisie | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 4 |
| Jong Ajax | 2017–18 | Eerste Divisie | 20 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 14 |
| Jong Ajax | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 13 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 4 |
| Jong Ajax | Total | Total | 41 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 41 | 22 |
| Ajax | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Ajax | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Ajax | Total | Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Groningen (loan) | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 19 | 4 |
| Groningen (loan) | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 16 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 6 |
| Groningen (loan) | Total | Total | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 37 | 10 |
| Reims | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Reims | 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 1 |
| Reims | 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Reims | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 2 |
| Reims | Total | Total | 41 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 47 | 3 |
| Heracles Almelo (loan) | 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 4 |
| Reims II | 2022–23 | National 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Fortuna Sittard | 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 31 | 12 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 35 | 15 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 167 | 47 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 183 | 54 |
* ↑ Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
* ↑ Appearances in Eredivisie play-offs
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

## Honours

Jong Ajax
* Eerste Divisie: 2017–18