 Hato playing forChelsea in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jorrel Evan Hato[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2006-03-07)7 March 2006 (age 19) | ||
| Place of birth | Rotterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Chelsea | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2013–2018 | Sparta Rotterdam | ||
| 2018–2022 | Ajax | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2023 | Jong Ajax | 13 | (1) |
| 2023–2025 | Ajax | 75 | (3) |
| 2025– | Chelsea | 11 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021–2022 | Netherlands U16 | 6 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Netherlands U17 | 4 | (0) |
| 2023– | Netherlands U21 | 11 | (0) |
| 2023– | Netherlands | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:45, 10 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15:15, 26 June 2025 (UTC) | |||
Jorrel Evan Hato (born 7 March 2006) is a Dutch professionalfootballer who plays as acentre-back orleft-back forPremier League clubChelsea and theNetherlands national team.
Born in Rotterdam, Hato moved from the youth academy ofSparta Rotterdam toAjax in 2018.[2]
_(4)_(Jorrel_Hato).jpg)
In March 2022, Hato signed his first professional contract, keeping him with Ajax until July 2025 despite reported interest from other European clubs.[3] As captain of the Ajax under-19 team in theUEFA Youth League, he scored a notable solo goal againstNapoli in October 2022.[4][5][6] He made his professional debut forJong Ajax in theEerste Divisie on 4 November 2022, coming on as a substitute againstFC Dordrecht.[7]
On 11 January 2023, Hato made his senior competitive debut for Ajax in theKNVB Cup againstDen Bosch, appearing as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 win.[8] On 5 February 2023, he made hisEredivisie debut as a substitute againstSC Cambuur, becoming the third youngest player to debut for Ajax in the league (16 years, 335 days) behindRyan Gravenberch andClarence Seedorf.[9][10] Five days later, on 10 February, he scored his first professional goal while playing for Jong Ajax in an Eerste Divisie match away against FC Den Bosch.[11] Hato quickly gained more first-team opportunities and started the2023 KNVB Cup final againstPSV Eindhoven on 30 April 2023.[12][13] Following his debut season, Hato was awarded theAbdelhak Nouri Trophy as the most talented player from Ajax's youth academy.[14]
Hato became an undisputed starter and key player for Ajax at the beginning of the2023–24 season. Despite the team's struggles, the 17-year-old played almost every minute of the campaign across all competitions,[15] earning praise for his consistent performances and maturity. In October 2023, he was named by English newspaperThe Guardian as one of the best players born in 2006 worldwide.[16] He scored his first senior goal for Ajax againstVitesse on 25 November 2023.[17] Following the departure ofDavy Klaassen andDušan Tadić, and injuries toSteven Bergwijn andSteven Berghuis, Hato was appointed as one of the team's vice-captains. On 14 December 2023, he captained Ajax againstAEK Athens in theEuropa League, becoming the club's youngest-ever captain in a European match at 17 years and 282 days old.[18] In recognition of his rapid development and importance, Hato signed a new contract extension with Ajax on 12 March 2024, keeping him at the club until June 2028.[8]
Hato continued his role as a key defender in the2024–25 season under new managerFrancesco Farioli, playing primarily at centre-back but also providing cover at left-back.[19] He contributed offensively as well, scoring twice in the Eredivisie and once in theUEFA Europa League by mid-March 2025. At the end of the season, he was namedEredivisie Talent of the Year.[20]
On 3 August 2025, Hato joinedPremier League clubChelsea signing a seven-year contract for an initial fee of £35.5m.[21][22] On 10 January 2026, he scored his first goal for Chelsea, the opener in a 5–1 away win againstCharlton Athletic in theFA Cup Third Round.[23]
In November 2021, he was included in theDutch under-16 squad.[24] He became captain of the under-16 Dutch team in 2022.[25]
After brief spells with the U17 and U21 teams, Hato was called up to the seniorNetherlands squad forUEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches againstRepublic of Ireland andGibraltar in November 2023.[26] He made his debut on 21 November 2023 as a half-time substitute forVirgil van Dijk in the 6–0 win against Gibraltar.[27][28] Following his debut, Hato continued to be part of the senior setup, earning four more caps during 2024.[15] His sixth cap came as a substitute in theUEFA Nations League Finals quarter-final second leg againstSpain on 23 March 2025.[29]
Hato was born in the Netherlands to a Curaçaoan father and Cape Verdean mother.[30]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jong Ajax | 2022–23 | Eerste Divisie | 13 | 1 | — | — | — | 13 | 1 | |||
| Ajax | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 12[c] | 0 | 46 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 17[d] | 1 | 50 | 3 | ||
| Total | 75 | 3 | 7 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | 111 | 4 | |||
| Chelsea | 2025–26 | Premier League | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| Career total | 99 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 145 | 6 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 0 | |
Individual
Awards | |||||||
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