Mitch Apau

Mitch Apau (born 27 April 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Telstar.

Apau joined Veendam in 2009. He signed for RKC Waalwijk after Veendam's bankruptcy in 2013, before moving abroad for the first time the following year, signing with Westerlo. After three years as a key player for the club, he joined Olimpija Ljubljana in 2017, winning the Slovenian PrvaLiga and Slovenian Football Cup. One season later he signed with Slovan Bratislava, winning the Slovak Super Liga in 2019 and 2020, as well as appearing in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Short stints with Patro Eisden and Slaven Belupo followed in 2021, before returning to Dutch football where he reached promotion to the Eredivisie by winning the Eerste Divisie title with Emmen. He joined Telstar in 2022.

Early years
Apau began his youth career at OSDO, Zeeburgia and AZ, before joining Ajax's under-19 team in 2007.

In 2009, he made a move to Veendam, where he made his professional debut in the second-tier Eerste Divisie on 7 August 2009 in a convincing 6–1 away victory against HFC Haarlem where Apau played the full game. In April 2011, his contract was extended until 2014. He scored his first goal on 18 September 2011, helping his team to a 3–0 home win over Emmen.

In March 2013, Veendam went bankrupt, making Apau a free agent. Apau then spent some time training with Groningen, before signing with RKC Waalwijk on 31 May 2013. With RKC, he faced relegation from the top-tier Eredivisie on 18 May 2014, following a loss on aggregate against Excelsior in the relegation play-offs.

Westerlo
On 6 June 2014, Apau signed with newly promoted Belgian Pro League club Westerlo, coached by compatriate Dennis van Wijk. There, he was reunited with Evander Sno, whom he had played alongside at RKC.

He impressed at Westerlo, and grew into one of the premier defenders in the league. In March 2015, Premier League club Chelsea, coached by José Mourinho, was rumoured to be interested in signing Apau, but in July 2016 he extended his contract with Westerlo by a year.

Olimpija Ljubljana
In July 2017, Apau moved to Slovenian PrvaLiga club Olimpija Ljubljana. He made his league debut for Ljubljana on 16 July 2017, the first matchday of the season, replacing Aris Zarifović in the 84th minute of a 3–1 home victory against Celje. He scored his first and only goal for Olimpija on 31 March 2018, in a 1–1 draw against Maribor. Throughout the season, he scored the one goal in 36 league appearances for Olimpija, adding four assists to his tally, as the club won the domestic double.

Slovan Bratislava
In June 2018, Apau joined Fortuna Liga club Slovan Bratislava on a three-year deal. He was given the number two jersey, and joined the team in training camp in the Czech Republic.

He made his debut for the club in the first qualifying round of the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League, starting in the 4–2 away victory against Moldovan club Milsami Orhei. He also appeared in the following qualifiers, in which Slovan knocked out Maltese side Balzan on aggregate, before his team were eliminated by Austrian club Rapid Wien in the third qualifying round.

He made his league debut for the club on 22 July 2018, the opening matchday of the season, playing the full nintety minutes in a 4–1 away victory over ViOn Zlaté Moravce. On 19 August, he scored his first goal for Slovan against MFK Ružomberok after beautiful hold-up play by Vukan Savićević, which gave his team the go-ahead lead in the 76th minute of an eventual 2–0 win. He scored his second league goal of the season in a 3–3 draw against AS Trenčín. He scored his third of the season on 8 December 2018 in a game against MŠK Žilina, lifting Slovan to a 4–0 lead in the 42nd minute, as the match would go on to end 5–2. He won league title with Slovan on 14 April 2019, six games before the end of the season, after a 3–0 win against Žilina.

Apau was a starter for Slovan in the first leg of the first qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League against Montenegrin champions Sutjeska Nikšić. Slovan were eliminated on aggregate, and Apau made appearances in all subsequent qualifying rounds of the Europa League, helping his side to wins over Feronikeli 74, Dundalk and PAOK to qualify for the group stage. However, he did not make any appearances in the group stage, as he was not included in the final Europa League roster. He was part of the team defending the league title from the previous season with Slovan. In the same season, he also triumphed in the Slovak Cup with the club to secure a double.

Apau's contract was terminated by mutual consent on 12 October 2020, having only made one league appearance for Slovan that season.

Patro Eisden and Slaven Belupo
On 22 December 2020, it was announced that Apau had signed with Patro Eisden, starting from 1 January 2021.

He spent one month in Belgium without making an appearance, before being sent on a loan deal for the remainder of the season to Croatian club Slaven Belupo in February 2021. He made his debut for the club on 19 February, replacing Franjo Prce in the 77th minute of a 2–2 league draw against HNK Šibenik. Apau made seven total appearances for Slaven, before returning to Patro.

Emmen
On 30 July 2021, Apau joined Eerste Divisie club Emmen on a one-year deal, with an option for an additional season. He made his debut for the club on 13 August – the second matchday of the season – starting in a 1–0 home loss to Eindhoven before being replaced by Luciano Carty in the 83rd minute. Apau made 21 total appearances in the league and KNVB Cup for Emmen that season, contributing to the club winning the league title and returning to the top-tier Eredivisie.

Telstar
Apau moved to Eerste Divisie club Telstar in July 2022 after his contract with Emmen expired. He made his debut for the club on the first matchday of the season, starting in Telstar's 1–1 away draw against Jong Ajax. Afterwards, he remained a key player for the rest of the season, playing all 40 possible games as a starter and helping Telstar to ninth place in the table – their best season since 2018 and their second best since 2005.

On 29 May 2024, Apau extended his contract with Telstar by one season, keeping him at the club until 30 June 2025.

Personal life
Born in the Netherlands, Apau is of Ghanaian descent.

Honours
Olimpija Ljubljana
 * Slovenian PrvaLiga: 2017–18
 * Slovenian Football Cup: 2017–18

Slovan Bratislava
 * Slovak Super Liga: 2018–19, 2019–20
 * Slovak Cup: 2019–20

Emmen
 * Eerste Divisie: 2021–22