SINGAPORE – He bears an uncanny resemblance to his namesake Bart Simpson, and just like the cartoon character, new Lion City Sailors signing Bart Ramselaar also sports a defiant and adventurous streak.

When asked what convinced him to play outside the Netherlands for the first time, the 27-year-old Dutch playmaker joked: “Durian!”

Since he arrived in Singapore in February for a rumoured €1.5 million (S$2.2 million), Ramselaar has wasted no time getting acclimatised to his new home.

With a glint in his eye, he said: “I was brought to an Indonesian restaurant where we could select the spiciness rating from one to 10. I don’t eat spicy food, so I chose two and it was already really, really spicy.

“I also heard about the durian a lot. I saw it in Chinatown for the first time. People were eating it with gloves on and it smelled really, really bad. But I’m curious, and I have to try it one time. Just don’t have it in the MRT, yeah?”

Ramselaar grew up on the streets of Amersfoort, a municipality in Utrecht with a population of just 160,000, where he would religiously play football after school, dribbling and scoring while imagining he was former Barcelona and Brazil forward Ronaldinho.

“My older brother and I played and fought a lot together. We wanted to be better than one another, but in the end I’m better,” he said with a laugh.

Ramselaar was 14 when he was accepted into FC Utrecht’s youth academy, and 19 when he played in the Eredivisie for the club under current Manchester United manager. Erik ten Hag.

Almost 50 games and 10 goals later, he was signed by Dutch giants PSV for €5 million in 2016, when he also made his Dutch national team debut under Danny Blind. His meteoric rise continued when he won the Eredivisie in 2018 under Phillip Cocu, and these were the best moments of his career.

Ramselaar, who was capped thrice, said: “Playing for the national team was second only to becoming Dutch champions.

“Just to be with the big players like Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, seeing their abilities and to shake their hands, have breakfast and lunch and train with them was a dream come true for a 20-year-old.”

Unfortunately, his career met with speed bumps when Mark van Bommel took over the PSV helm in 2018 and told him he was surplus to requirements. Ramselaar returned to Utrecht where he notched 21 goals in 100 games in his second spell despite a knee injury in 2022.

He said: “The last season at PSV was one of the most difficult times for me. A new trainer came in, chose another system and told me I didn’t fit in. I tried to fight my way back into the team but it didn’t work out so I had to make a decision for my career and returned to Utrecht to play more games.”

The episode made him realise the importance of a “good connection” with the coaches, which he felt he had with ten Hag, Cocu and Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic, who was Utrecht’s assistant coach when he was playing there in 2022.

Ramselaar said: “As a youth player, I played just a few games for the first team before ten Hag brought me through. We finished fifth, I made the transfer to PSV where I won the league, and I have to thank him for that because he had a big impact on me.

“He spoke a lot with me, and after every game he showed me videos where I can do better. He got really personal with me, and not every coach will do this with a young player. He helped me become a better player, and it is the same with Cocu.

“Rankovic is also a coach who has a really good connection with his players. This is really important that you can be honest with your players and to tell them what you want. Players want to fight for him, and this can help the team play on a high level and achieve things.”

Rankovic is an obvious admirer of his latest signing, hailing him as “a fantastic addition to the team with his speed and intelligent link-up play in the final third”, while club captain Hariss Harun was impressed with his pace and power.

The Serb flew to Amsterdam in January to make his pitch to Ramselaar, who was convinced by Singapore’s positive image and the Sailors’ football ambitions. He joked he was prepared to move even if his wife objected but was glad when she was happy to join him.

Ramselaar said: “I played 10 seasons in the Eredivisie, so I just wanted to try a new competition, culture and environment. I think it will be good for me and I’m really looking forward to it.”

With reigning Player of the Year Maxime Lestienne, Australian World Cup defender Bailey Wright, former Croatia international Toni Datkovic, former Portugal youth international Rui Pires, former Dutch youth international Richairo Zivkovic and a host of Lions, the Sailors are hot favourites to win the Singapore Premier League which kicks off in May.

Ramselaar said: “We want to win the league and defend the Singapore Cup. We want to compete better in the AFC Champions League 2 than we did in the ACL the last time.

“I think the situation is normal. When I went to PSV, when I went back to Utrecht, there’s always pressure in football. But a player needs that to perform, so it’s only a good thing.”