Season preview ADO Den Haag 2026/27: 'This Feyenoord product would be an asset for many Eredivisie clubs'

Pre-season is almost over, the first competitive matches have been played and the transfer market is in full swing. The new Eredivisie season is now just around the corner. In a series of season previews, we are taking a closer look at all 18 Eredivisie clubs this week. This article focuses on ADO Den Haag. We analyse the summer transfer window, dive into Robin Peter's style of play, pick out a player who could surprise and make a number of other bold predictions for the new season.

ADO return to the top flight in the Netherlands after five seasons away. The Hague club won the Keuken Kampioen Divisie title in emphatic fashion last season. Now comes a new phase.

One obvious plus is that Peter has stayed on in The Hague. The 39-year-old German is a talented, ambitious coach whose attacking style is built on front-foot football and pressing.

The question now is whether Peter's side can bring that into the Eredivisie as well. If they can, ADO will not only stay up but also give Dutch football fans something to enjoy.

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Incoming and outgoing transfers

Mark Wotte, ADO's experienced technical director, has already brought in five new players this summer: goalkeeper Niclas Thiede (VfL Bochum), centre-back Lasse Wilhelm (1. FC Saarbrücken), midfielder Jan Zamburek (Heracles Almelo), poacher Donát Bárány (Debreceni VSC) and talented striker Yannick Eduardo (TSG Hoffenheim).

Out went star player Jari Vlak, sold to CD Castellón for €600,000. Peter also lost another key starter in Steven van der Sloot, who joined Fortuna Düsseldorf. Cult hero Diogo Tomas signed for AIK in Sweden. Milan Hokke is still an ADO player for now, despite a multimillion bid from Union Sint-Gillis. The left-footer, who came through at Feyenoord, would be an asset for plenty of Eredivisie clubs.

ADO have a talented squad, but they could still do with another two or three Eredivisie-ready additions in the final month of the transfer window. According to Tubantia, Arno Verschuren of FC Twente was a possible target, but the experienced midfielder is not keen on a move to the Hofstad.

Results in pre-season

ADO had a much calmer pre-season than last year, when Peter was only appointed head coach halfway through July. The promoted side also went through their friendly programme unbeaten.

They beat Laakkwartier 1-5 and the Westlands Elftal 0-6 without any trouble, then followed that up by seeing off KV Mechelen 2-3 and Lommel SK 0-4.

A flat 0-0 draw against Greek side Asteras Tripolis, however, made for an underwhelming end to pre-season. On Saturday evening, ADO head to Alkmaar for a tough first real test against AZ.

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The style of play

Under Peter, ADO's style of play has a number of clear hallmarks. Pieter Zwart, the tactical mastermind behind Voetbal International, did not talk up the rise of pressing last season for nothing.

ADO overran the Keuken Kampioen Divisie with fiercely aggressive pressing, dominant possession and attractive positional play. You can clearly see Peter learned his trade at RB Leipzig.

The coming months will show which parts of that ADO can carry into the Eredivisie, where the level of opposition will obviously be much higher. They will get a first indication of that this month when they visit AZ and Feyenoord.

The key player

Midfielder Juho Kilo has grown over the past two seasons into one of ADO's mainstays. During the title-winning campaign, the 24-year-old Finn also added end product to his game.

This summer, ADO rewarded Kilo with a new deal until mid-2029, with the option of an extra season. His debut for the Finland national team probably is not far away now.

Kilo is an intelligent, complete midfielder who does not shy away from the dirty work. That is exactly the sort of thing the crowd in The Hague love to see.

Who will make the breakthrough?

Illaijh de Ruijter is still only 19, but he has already played 44 matches for ADO. He missed a large part of last season because of a knee injury, which makes the coming year even more important for the multifunctional wide player from Maassluis.

Speaking to Omroep West, De Ruijter said that at least one long-cherished dream of his is now coming true. "I'm in FIFA now as well, so I'm looking forward to that. It's definitely something I thought about during my holiday. I haven't ordered the game yet, but I will do that soon."

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When will the season be a success?

Back at the start of April, Wotte was already talking ambitiously when he appeared on the ESPN podcast Tekengeld. "We want to make ourselves safe as quickly as possible and then see how high we can still finish."

He then went a step further. "You can make it very politically correct and easy for yourself by saying the season will be a success if we stay up, but we have a bit of that Hague bravado too. In five years' time, we want to be an established mid-table side that regularly challenges for the European places."

"Ultimately, we are not competing for 14th or 15th place. We are more ambitious than that, but at the same time we simply want to remain a healthy club. Naturally, we do not want to follow the Vitesse scenario," Wotte said.

For most ADO supporters, the season will already be a success if the club stay up automatically. If they do it with Peter's recognisable style of play, even more Eredivisie followers will come away encouraged.

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(Bold) predictions

Player of the year: Juho Kilo. After Vlak's departure, he has to lead the way in The Hague, especially if ADO fail to bring in a number of reinforcements with Eredivisie experience.

Biggest disappointment: Lasse Wilhelm. The German arrived on a free transfer from the 3. Liga, a considerably lower level than the Eredivisie. He also has strong competition in Hokke, Matteo Waem and Pascal Mulder, who have already proved themselves at ADO.

Best signing: Yannick Eduardo. He made his Bundesliga debut for Hoffenheim last season after registering no fewer than 12 goals and five assists for FC Dordrecht during the first half of the campaign. He earned the Schapekoppen a record fee of no fewer than €2.6 million and can now show what he can do over a season at ADO.

Top scorer: Donát Bárány. The two-cap Hungary international scored no fewer than 60 goals in 152 competitive matches for Debreceni VSC and is therefore a proven poacher.

Final Eredivisie position: 15th place. ADO are going to secure a second season in the Eredivisie, after which the club can start looking a little further up the table again. Especially if the talents continue to develop at the highest level in the Netherlands as well, the club have a bright outlook.

In the build-up to the first round of Eredivisie matches, we are putting the spotlight on all 18 clubs this week. Curious to know when the season preview of your favourite club will be published? Ask in the comments. And share your own bold predictions about ADO as well.

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