On Thursday, VfL Bochum announced that they had reached an agreement with Tim Hoogland to extend the defender's contract. The 31-year-old will now remain with the Ruhr club until 2019, before his previous deal had only stretched until the end of the season.
Hoogland has missed just seven games since joining Bochum back in 2015 and has grown to become a very important player in their first-team.
Mr. Versatile
After spending the entirety of his first season at the Ruhrstadion in central midfield, Hoogland has been in various different positions in his second term. Hoogland, who had played centre-back and right-back in his career before, has been largely deployed in the former due to consistent injury troubles.
However, despite being absent due to his own niggles and knocks this season, Hoogland could arguably be seen as Bochum's stand-out defender this term.
His passing from deep is an added bonus of having him in a role closer to their own goal, and his anticipation to deny Erzgebirge Aue with a stunning goal-line clearance highlighted his anticipation.
Hochstätter and Hoogland have their say
Speaking to the club website when the news was first announced, sporting director, Christian Hochstätter said: "We have a young team, therefore it is important to have one or two players in the team who exude calmness and bring an oversight to the youngsters."
Hochstätter continued, "Both on the pitch, and also in the dressing room. Tim Hoogland has shown that he can and will fill this role in the past few years."
Hoogland himself added, "It is an exciting task, as an experienced player, to advance in a young team with perspective. I am delighted that I will be able to do this at VfL over the next two years."
Quotes via VfL Bochum