Morocco-born Dutch defender Reda El Meliani has joined Ittihad Tanger on a free transfer from Dutch side Roda JC. The 21-year-old right-back moves to the Botola Pro Inwi club after breaking into senior football in the Netherlands last season.
El Meliani, who plays primarily at right-back and is right-footed, arrives in Tanger with experience in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, where he made his first-team appearances for Roda JC. He steps into Moroccan top-flight football with a current market value of €100,000.
Born in Veghel, the defender holds both Moroccan and Dutch nationality and came through the youth system at PSV, spending over a decade with the Eindhoven club. He progressed from PSV’s youth ranks into their under-17 and under-18 sides before moving to PSV’s under-21 team.
In 2024 he left PSV U21 for Roda JC’s under-21 squad, again on a free transfer, and earned promotion to Roda JC’s senior team ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. Across his youth and under-21 seasons in the Netherlands, El Meliani featured regularly in domestic league and cup competitions, including the Dutch second tier, youth divisions and national youth cups.
Standing at 1.79m, El Meliani has built a profile as a defensively minded full-back with consistent game time at various age levels, including more than 1,000 minutes in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie. His move to Ittihad Tanger, completed on 20 July 2026, is a permanent free transfer from Roda JC.
