Ryan Leijten
Ryan Yang Leijten is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Roda JC.
Career
Den Bosch
Leijten was born in 2003 in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, to a Dutch father and Chinese mother. He grew up in nearby Boxtel.Leijten progressed through the youth systems of RKSV Boxtel, the joint Willem II and RKC Waalwijk academy, and Brabant United, the joint academy of FC Den Bosch and RKC Waalwijk. In September 2020, he underwent a ten-day trial with Serie A club Napoli, though it did not result in a contract.
He made his professional debut for Den Bosch on 12 May 2021, in a 3–1 away loss to MVV. Leijten was included in the squad as a youth player due to the absence of seventeen first-team players, ten of whom were sidelined following positive COVID-19 tests. He entered the match as an 85th-minute substitute for Stan Maas. On 6 August 2021, during his starting debut in a home match against Helmond Sport, Leijten scored his first professional goal, converting a corner kick from Sebastiaan van Bakel in the 64th minute to make it 1–0. On 18 September 2021, Leijten signed a three-year contract on his eighteenth birthday.
Leijten made 86 total appearances for Den Bosch, in which he scored seven goals. He left the club at the end of the 2023–24 season, as his contract was not extended.