Utrecht have announced that 39-year-old Moroccan midfielder Nordin Amrabat has joined the side. The former Watford and Hull City midfielder had been training with Utrecht in order to maintain fitness, but now signs a one year deal to play for the club if needed. Amrabat joins Utrecht after leaving Moroccan giants Wydad Casablanca this past summer.
Amrabat has had a pretty varied career. In the Netherlands, he has played for the likes of Almere City, VVV-Venlo and PSV. In 2011 he moved to Turkiye, playing for Kayserispor and Galatasaray. In 2014 he joined Spanish side Malaga on loan, making the move permanent the following season. However, in the winter window of the 2015/2016 season he left to join Watford, spending a year and a half with the club and making 48 appearances. Following a brief loan spell in Leganes, Amrabat left Watford to join Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, a move prior to the boom in popularity of transfers to the middle-east for players from European football.
Amrabat spent just a few seasons in Saudi Arabia before returning to European football with AEK Athens. The midfielder played 113 games for the Greek side, scoring 21 goals. In January 2025 he joined Hull City on a free, going on the play 10 games for the Tigers. However, when the contract came to an end that summer he left England and Hull City, moving to Morocco for the first time in his career and joining Wydad Casablanca. Amrabat played 36 games for the club, scoring three goals. He now returns to Dutch football in what is likely the final move of his career, but a full circle moment for the former Watford man as it was in the Eredivisie where he made a name for himself.
