Erik Pieters (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈeːrɪkˈpitərs]; born 7 August 1988) is a Dutch professionalfootballer who plays as aleft-back andcentre-back forEFL Championship clubDerby County.

Erik Pieters

Pieters withPSV Eindhoven in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Erik Pieters[1]
Date of birth	(1988-08-07)7 August 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Tiel, Netherlands
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Derby County
Number	33
Youth career
2000–2004	VV Rhelico
2004–2006	Utrecht
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2008	Utrecht	51	(2)
2008–2013	PSV Eindhoven	93	(0)
2013–2019	Stoke City	190	(3)
2019	→Amiens (loan)	15	(1)
2019–2022	Burnley	56	(0)
2022–2024	West Bromwich Albion	58	(0)
2024–2025	Luton Town	0	(0)
2025–	Derby County	0	(0)
International career
2004–2006	Netherlands U17	5	(0)
2006–2007	Netherlands U19	3	(0)
2007–2010	Netherlands U21	19	(1)
2010–2014	Netherlands	18	(0)
Medal record Men'sfootball Representing Netherlands UEFA European Under-21 Championship Winner 2007 Netherlands
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:06, 28 March 2025 (UTC)

Pieters began his career withUtrecht and made his professional debut in August 2006. He impressed enough at theStadion Galgenwaard to earn a move toPSV Eindhoven in July 2008 for €2.5 million. At PSV he won theJohan Cruijff Shield in2008 and theKNVB Beker in2011–12 and also became a regular member of theDutch national team. Injuries hampered his progress in2012–13 before he moved to English sideStoke City in June 2013 for €3.6 million.

Pieters spent six years with Stoke and made 206 appearances before joiningBurnley in July 2019. He signed forChampionship clubWest Bromwich Albion in September 2022 for a further two seasons. He had a short term spell atLuton Town without making a first-team appearance prior to moving to Championship sideDerby County in late March 2025 in a deal until the end of the season.

Born inTiel, Pieters grew up inEnspijk and started as a central midfielder in the juvenile ranks of VV Rhelico inRumpt.^[3] There he was scouted byFC Utrecht and, after a trial period, he joined the Utrecht youth academy.^[3]

Pieters made hisEredivisie debut for Utrecht in a 2–1 defeat againstWillem II and went on to make 29 appearances in his maiden season as Utrecht finished the2006–07 season in 9th position and they went on to win in the Intertoto Cup playoffs.^[3] In the2007–08 season, Pieters made his European debut in July in theIntertoto Cup.^[3] He made 35 appearances and scored twice against Willem II andFC Groningen as Utrecht finished in 10th position. His solid performances attracted the interest of PSV Eindhoven.^[4]

On 9 July 2008, it was confirmed that Eredivisie championsPSV Eindhoven had signed the left-back for reportedly €2.5 million.^[5] Pieters was given the number 14 shirt, which was previously worn bySlobodan Rajković.^[6][7] He made his PSV debut in the league against his former club in a 5–1 win. HisUEFA Champions League debut came in September againstAtlético Madrid. After a bright start to his PSV career, he was benched after some indifferent performances. In2008–09 Pieters played 23 times for PSV as they finished in 4th position, winning the2008 Johan Cruijff Schaal by beatingFeyenoord 2–0.

The following season, Pieters regained his place in the starting eleven and played his part as PSV went on an unbeaten run for the last two months leading up to the winter break. His season was interrupted by a knee injury sustained while on international duty and he returned to within two weeks.^[8] The2009–10 campaign saw PSV finish in 3rd position and reach the round of 32 in theUEFA Europa League. Pieters played 48 times in2010–11 as PSV came close to reclaiming the Dutch title, finishing third four points off champions Ajax and he also helped PSV beat Feynoord 10–0.^[9] The2011–12 season saw Pieters struggle with a fractured metatarsal and played 25 times before deciding to undergo foot surgery.^[10]

He made his return from injury in a league match againstPEC Zwolle on 18 January 2013 after a nine-month layoff, and with PSV losing 3–1 Pieters was sent-off for a foul onFred Benson. Such was Pieters' anger that he ran down the players entrance and punched a window, badly cutting his arm and was ruled out for a further three months.^[11] He returned in the top-of the table clash with Ajax towards the end of the2012–13 season, replacingJetro Willems after 73 minutes. A mix up with Pieters and PSV goalkeeperBoy Waterman allowedDerk Boerrigter to scoring the winning goal and Ajax went on to win the Eredivise.^[12]

Pieters signed for English clubStoke City on 28 June 2013 on a four-year contract for a fee of €3.6 million (£3 million).^[13][14] After agreeing to join Stoke, Pieters revealed that his main ambition was to play in England. – "Of course, I've always wanted to play in the Premier League. It's one of the hardest competitions to play in with some great players and teams and I'm really excited about it. I'm really looking forward to playing for this Club. It's important for me that the first impression is good and I've got a great feeling about Stoke City."^[15] He made his debut for Stoke on 17 August 2013 in a 1–0 defeat againstLiverpool.^[16][17] Pieters scored his first goal for Stoke on 12 April 2014 in a 1–0 win overNewcastle United after his intended cross beatTim Krul.^[18][19] Pieters played 39 times for Stoke in2013–14 as they finished in ninth position in the Premier League.^[20]

Pieters retained his place at left-back underMark Hughes in2014–15, playing in 32 matches as Stoke finished in ninth position.^[21] Stoke suffered a number of defensive injuries during the season with Pieters suffering from a groin injury.^[22] Stoke ended the campaign with a 6–1 victory against Liverpool.^[23] Pieters signed a contract extension in December 2015, keeping him contracted at the club until 2020.^[24] Pieters played 41 times for Stoke in2015–16 as the Potters again finished ninth.^[25] At the end of the seasonOpta Sports revealed that Pieters made more tackles than any other defender in the Premier League during the campaign.^[26]

Pieters again remained Hughes' first choice left-back in2016–17, making 38 appearances as Stoke finished in 13th position.^[27][28] Pieters was criticised at times during the campaign by supporters due to some poor performances and assistant managerMark Bowen admitted that Pieters "has come off his standards".^[29][30] Pieters was fined £70,000 by managerPaul Lambert in March 2018 after attending a late night party just hours before a league fixture againstEverton.^[31] Pieters played 32 times in2017–18 as Stoke suffered relegation to theEFL Championship.^[32] Pieters began the2018–19 season with two rare goals againstPreston North End andWest Bromwich Albion.^[33]

On 31 January 2019, Pieters joined French clubAmiens on loan for the remainder of the2018–19 season.^[34] Pieters played 15 times for Amiens helping them avoid relegation.^[35]

On 8 July 2019, Pieters signed forBurnley for an undisclosed fee.^[36] On 10 June 2022, Burnley announced Pieters would leave the club at the end of June when his contract expired.^[37]

On 13 September 2022, Pieters joinedEFL Championship clubWest Bromwich Albion on a free transfer, signing a deal until the end of the season.^[38] He made his Albion debut the following day, coming on as a substitute in a home defeat toBirmingham City.^[39] On 22 May 2024, the club announced he would be leaving in the summer when his contract expired.^[40]

On 19 December 2024, Pieters joined Championship sideLuton Town on a short-term deal.^[41] He left the club on 19 January 2025, without making an appearance.^[42]

On 7 March 2025, it was reported Pieters was training with Championship clubMiddlesbrough, however the club opted not to sign him.^[43]

On 28 March 2025, Pieters signed a contract withDerby County of the Championship on a short-term deal until the end of the2024–25 season.^[44]

Pieters played five matches for the Netherlands at the2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship where they reached the semi-finals.^[45][46] In 2007 Pieters was called up byNetherlands U-21 coachFoppe de Haan to be part of his squad for the2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship held in the Netherlands. Pieters did not play in their first round group match againstIsrael (1–0 win), but did come on as a substitute in the second match againstPortugal (2–1 win) to secure a semi-final spot and to qualify for the2008 Summer Olympics.

In the semi-finals againstEngland (1–1, 13–12 after 32 penalty kicks), Pieters played in the starting eleven, but was later substituted byTim Janssen to improve the attack as well as due to a small injury. Pieters returned on the pitch and the Dutch went on to retain their 2006 title by beatingSerbia 4–1 in the final. On 7 May 2012, Pieters was named in the provisional list of 36 players for theEuro 2012 tournament, but he did not recover in time for the competition due to a foot injury. PSV team memberJetro Willems replaced him in theEuro 2012 squad.

Pieters' natural position is atleft-back and describes himself as an attacking full-back and is also capable of playing as a centre-back if required.^[15] "My first job is to defend but I always want to attack and contribute as much as I can for the team. I've played a couple of times in the centre of defence as well but left-back is my position."^[15]

As of match played 16 March 2024

As of match played 4 September 2014^[61]

PSV Eindhoven

• KNVB Cup:2011–12
• Johan Cruijff Shield:2008

Netherlands U17

• FIFA U-17 World Cup Third place:2005^[62]

Netherlands U21

• UEFA U-21 Championship:2007^[63]

• Erik Pieters at Soccerbase