Melle Meulensteen, an Italian defender who previously played for Preston North End, has joined Sampdoria.
The 25-year-old, who finished seventh in the second division of Italian football last season, is moving on for the sixth time in his career after agreeing to a three-year contract with Sampdoria. The legendary Italian football player Andrea Pirlo, a two-time Champions League champion and World Cup winner with Italy, is their manager.
Melle is the son of René Meulensteen, who was previously a coach at Man United under Sir Alex Ferguson, and later managed Fulham. He came through the academy system at Carrington, but moved to North End in 2014
Meulensteen played for the first team during the 2017–18 preseason while he was a member of North End from 2014 to 2018, although he never had an appearance in a competitive game. Later that year, he was given permission to go out on loan to Lancaster City, and in January, after mutual consent, his contract was dissolved.
The Dutchman captained North End’s young squad, which advanced to the FA young Cup quarterfinals in 2016–17. After that, he signed a professional contract, but Alex Neil let him go because there wouldn’t be many chances for him to play in the first team.
For a player that struggled to get game time at Lancaster City, Meulensteen has since turned his career around and has gone on to play in the top flight of Dutch football. He joined RKC Waalwijk, a team in the second tier of football in the Netherlands, and spent four years there.
Meulensteen played a key role in helping them win promotion via the Keuken Kampioen Divisie play-offs, and for two seasons he was at the heart of their defence. Vitesse Arnhem signed him for a fee of around €1m in 2022, and for two years, he’s been been one of their first choice midfielders, earning 60 starts in 62 games.
A move to Italy has now been confirmed what will be the fifth club of his senior career. Lecce, a club in Serie A, had reportedly been interested but Sampdoria have won the race.
