Joost van Aken
Joost Maurits van Aken (born 13 May 1994) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was born in Haarlem, Netherlands, and is 1.93 meters tall.
Career:
Van Aken came through the youth systems of several clubs before making his senior debut with SC Heerenveen in February 2014. He played for Heerenveen until 2017, making 84 league appearances and scoring 3 goals.
In August 2017, he joined Sheffield Wednesday in England on a four-year contract, wearing the number 4 shirt. He made his Football League debut in September 2017 against Nottingham Forest and played 32 league games for Wednesday.
In August 2019, Van Aken went on loan to VfL Osnabrück in Germany for the 2019–20 season, scoring 1 goal in 22 league appearances.
He left Sheffield Wednesday at the end of the 2020–21 season. In May 2021, he signed a two-year deal with Belgian club Zulte Waregem, but he was released in January 2022 after making 1 league appearance.
In February 2022, Van Aken returned to SC Heerenveen on a short-term contract, playing for them through the 2021–22 season and into 2022–23, with 18 league appearances and 1 goal in that period.
International:
Van Aken represented the Netherlands at under-21 level, earning 2 caps in 2014.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:13 (CET).