Odysseus Velanas ( el, Ὀδυσσεύς Βελανάς; born 5 June 1998) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club PEC Zwolle. Born in Greece, he has represented the Netherlands at youth level.

Club career

Born in Samos, Greece, Velanas subsequently joined the youth system of VV Jonathan after moving to the Netherlands at a young age, before he was later picked up by Utrecht in July 2013. Velanas made his professional debut in the second-tier Eerste Divisie for Jong FC Utrecht on 5 August 2016 in a game against

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eerste Divi ...

. He played two matches for the first team in the 2017–18 season and otherwise played for Jong Utrecht. After having had not played for the professional team in the first half of the 2018–19 season, he was sent on a six-month loan to second-tier Helmond Sport at the end of January 2019. Velanas suffered a thigh injury in his fourth league appearance in February 2019 and was sidelined for large parts of the spring. By the end of the season he made six appearances. On 1 July 2019, Utrecht announced their intention to extend his contract, an agreement which ran until the summer of 2022. On 22 July 2021, he signed contract with

for one year with an option for the second year. On 7 July 2023, Velanas moved to PEC Zwolle on a three-year contract.

International career

Holding both Dutch and Greek citizenship, Velanas has played for the Netherlands at under-17, under-18, and under-19 level.

References

External links

* * 1998 births Living people People from Samos Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's youth international footballers Dutch people of Greek descent Greek men's footballers Greek expatriate men's footballers Greek emigrants to the Netherlands Greek people of Dutch descent FC Utrecht players Jong FC Utrecht players Helmond Sport players NAC Breda players PEC Zwolle players Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players Men's association football midfielders Sportspeople from the North Aegean {{Netherlands-footy-midfielder-stub