1. FC Köln have strengthened their attack with the signing of Thijs Dallinga. The 26-year-old striker has joined FC on loan for the season from Bologna FC.
“We are very pleased that Thijs has decided to join FC. He is a striker that we’ve looked at intensively and one that brings many attributes that we’ve been looking for in our attack. Thijs has a strong presence in the box, makes good runs and is very hard-working when we don’t have the ball. With his experience in several top European leagues and his profile, he extends our options up front and increases the quality in our squad and adds to the competition for places in our squad,” said FC Managing Director Thomas Kessler.
“I had very good talks with René Wagner, who convinced me that it is the right decision to move to Köln. FC is a really cool club with amazing fans. I always wanted to play in the Bundesliga and I’m really looking forward to that. I want to score as many goals as possible to help the club reach its goals,” said Thijs Dallinga.
Thijs Dallinga was born on 3rd August 2000 in Groningen and took his first footballing steps localy with VV Siddeburen and VV Hoogezand. In 2012, he moved to the FC Emmen academy. At the age of 17, he made his debut in the Eerste Divisie with Emmen before making the move to FC Groningen in 2018. He worked his way up through the under-19s and the reserves before featuring in an Eredivisie match for the first time in December 2020. His first real breakthrough in professional football came in the 2021-22 season, where he scored 32 goals to help Excelsior return to the top flight. He then made the move to Toulouse, finding the back of the net on 26 occasions in two Ligue 1 seasons. After that, Dallinga made the move to Serie A side Bologna. In his two years in Italy, he made 80 competitive appearances, scoring 12 goals and registering eight assists. He has also made his debut for the Dutch national team. Dallinga will wear the number 27 for FC.
