Gino van Kessel

Ajax

Van Kessel was acquired by AFC Ajax from the youth ranks of AZ Alkmaar in 2012, from where he joined the reserve squad of the Amsterdam club at first. Prior to his acquisition from Alkmaar he had finished as top scorer of the 2012 Copa Amsterdam with 5 goals while playing for AZ, a feat he would repeat a year later finishing as the top scorer of the Copa Amsterdam once more, this time with Ajax, when he scored three goals for the Amsterdam side.

Almere City (loan)

In December 2012, Van Kessel was loaned to neighboring Almere City FC, where he played in the Dutch Jupiler League for the remainder of the 2012–2013 season. In Almere he was rejoined with his fellow Ajax teammates Sven Nieuwpoort and Henri Toivomaki, all playing for Almere City on loan from Ajax. During his loan period, he appeared in ten league matches, scoring once. Starting the 2013–14 season back with Ajax, following his second appearance in the Copa Amsterdam in which he would finish as top scorer of the tournament, Van Kessel was given the number 34 shirt participating in the Ajax pre-season training camp, and appearing in a friendly fixture against SDC Putten coming on in the second half for Tobias Sana in the 1–4 away victory.

AS Trenčín (loan)

On 14 July 2013, it was announced that Van Kessel would serve a 6-month loan spell in Slovakia, playing for FK AS Trenčín in the Corgoň Liga until the winter transfer window in January. At Trenčín, the club owned by former Ajax player Tschen La Ling, he was given the number 9 shirt. He was on the bench in Sweden for his new clubs UEFA Europa League qualifying match against IFK Göteborg on 18 July 2013 but did not make an appearance in the 0–0 draw. Instead Van Kessel made his debut for Trenčín in a regular season away loss against Spartak Trnava which ended 2–1 for the opposition in Trnava. Van Kessel started in the striker position, and was substituted off in the 61' minute, after having been cautioned in the 56' minute. He made his continental debut on 8 August 2013, in a UEFA Europa League qualifying match against Astra Giurgiu from Romania, having been brought in for Karol Mondek in the 61' minute, and scoring on his debut in the 88' minute. The match ended in a 2–2 resulting in a 3–5 aggregate loss for AS Trenčín, and elimination in the third qualifying round. A few days later on 11 August 2013, Van Kessel scored his first league goal in the Corgoň Liga in an encounter with DAC which ended in a 6–0 victory for Trenčín. On 1 December 2013 Van Kessel returned to Amsterdam with AS Trenčín sitting in second place in their league table at the time of his return, making a total of 16 league appearances, scoring 8 goals, and six assists during league play, having also scored once in the Europa League while playing for the Slovakian side.

On 18 January 2014 his loan was extended until 1 July 2014 for an additional 6 months completing the season with the Slovakian side.

Arles-Avignon

On 25 August 2014 it was announced that Van Kessel had joined the French Ligue 2 side from Avignon, signing a 2-year contract with the club. He made his debut for Arles-Avignon in an away match against Nîmes Olympique on 29 August 2014 which ended in a 2–2 draw. On 12 September 2014 he scored his first goal for Arles-Avignon in a 1–0 victory at home against Tours FC.

Return to Trenčín

On 1 January 2015, Van Kessel returned to Trenčín, the club where he had previously won both "MVP" and "Fans Favorite" club awards during his loan spell from Ajax. He made his first appearance of the season on 28 February 2015 in a 2–0 home win against Dukla Banská Bystrica.

SK Slavia Prague

In July 2016, Van Kessel joined the Czech side Slavia Prague becoming one of the most expensive players ever bought by a Czech team with a transfer fee equivalent to €1.2 million. On 21 July 2016, he played his first game with Slavia, scoring a goal and an assist against Levadia Tallinn in a second qualifying round match of the UEFA Europa League.

Lechia Gdańsk (loan)

On the final day of the 2016–17 winter transfer window, it was announced that Van Kessel would serve out the remainder of the season on a six-month loan spell with Polish club Lechia Gdańsk competing in the Ekstraklasa, the top flight of football in Poland. During his half-season in Poland, he only appeared in three league matches, playing for a combined total of 166 minutes.

Oxford United (loan)

In August 2017, Van Kessel joined English side Oxford United on loan from Slavia Prague. He scored on his debut, as a substitute in a 3–0 home victory over Portsmouth in League One.

Curaçao national team

On 24 May 2015 it was announced that Van Kessel had received his first International call-up by head coach Patrick Kluivert to represent Curaçao in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Cuba on 7 June 2015. He made his first appearance in the 0–0 draw at home on 10 June 2015, coming on as a 69-minute substitute. He made his debut on 10 June 2015 in the home leg against Cuba which ended in a 0–0 draw, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute for Quenten Martinus. Curaçao were able to defeat Cuba based on the away goal rule following a 1–1 draw in Havana, thus qualifying for the Third Round of CONCACAF qualification.

Curaçao were eliminated from qualifications in the third round by El Salvador, losing both matches 1–0 with Van Kessel playing the full 90 minutes in both matches, failing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. On 26 March 2016, Van Kessel scored his first goal for the national team in his sixth match for Curaçao in a 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification match against the Dominican Republic. Curaçao advanced to the second round, with a 2–1 win. In the following round, the team defeated Guyana (5–2) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (7–0) advancing to the third round. Van Kessel managed to score twice against Guyana, while scoring a hattrick against the U.S. Virgin Islands.

On 11 October 2016, Curaçao finished the third qualifying round ahead of the 2017 Caribbean Cup atop of their group, finishing ahead of Antigua and Barbuda and Puerto Rico, thus qualifying for the final tournament, as well as the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. It was the country's first berth to the finals of the Continental tournament since the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, and their first time to the tournament since 1969.

Having appeared in all qualifying matches, Van Kessel finished as joint top scorer of the qualification rounds of the tournament, together with his teammate Felitciano Zschusschen, with 7 goals each. As a result, he was subsequently nominated for the 2016 CONCACAF Best XI selection, losing to contenders André-Pierre Gignac and Bryan Ruiz in the process.

Club performance

¹ Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.

² Includes Johan Cruijff Shield, Slovak Super Cup and Coupe de la Ligue matches.

International performance

Statistics accurate as of matches played on 26 July 2017,

International goals

Club

AS Trenčín

International

Curaçao

Individual