ON-LOAN Dutchman Rajiv van La Parra scored twice in six games for Brighton, spurring parent club Wolverhampton Wanderers to recall him.
Georginio Wijnaldum’s half-brother was only on the winning side once during his time with the Seagulls, but Wolves boss Kenny Jackett was happy to give him another chance at Molyneux after he’d mysteriously been frozen out.
But the thaw didn’t last long. While Albion had moved on by signing Anthony Knockaert on a three-year deal from Standard Liege, van La Parra was soon on the move again, this time to Huddersfield.
It was in November 2015 that Chris Hughton seized on an opportunity to shake up Albion’s attacking options in the last few hours of the loan transfer window by offering the unsettled van La Parra a chance to replicate the form he’d shown the previous season for Wolves.
“Rajiv will give us pace and creativity in the forward areas, and supplements our existing wide options,” Hughton said. “He is something different to the players we already have here, and I am delighted to have him on board.
“With Sam Baldock currently injured and Kazenga LuaLua having missed the amount of games he has, we have been very keen to bring in offensive options.
“In Rajiv we have a player who regularly featured in Wolves’ promotion chase last season.”
Albion were top of the table at the time and, having watched from the bench as Albion saw off Birmingham 2-1 at the Amex, van La Parra went on in the 27th minute of the away game at Derby County after Solly March was clattered by a challenge that ultimately ruled him out for the rest of the season.
The substitute certainly made a positive impact, edging Albion 2-1 ahead with a goal in the 75th minute before Chris Martin equalised for County with a last-ditch penalty after Gordon Greer was harshly adjudged to have fouled Johnny Russell.
Van La Parra was also on target at Loftus Road on 15 December when he beat former England goalkeeper Rob Green with a 30-yard shot in the 55th minute to put Albion 2-0 up. QPR hit back with two Charlie Austin goals to share the points.
It emerged when he signed that van La Parra had been a Brighton target for some while, with the Wolverhampton Express and Star reporting he’d spoken to the club about a possible permanent move before that August’s transfer deadline day.
Leeds United were also keen, and he might later have ended up at rock bottom Bolton Wanderers, but he stayed on at Molyneux, where he found James Henry and Nathan Byrne ahead of him in the pecking order.
Ironically, his one and only league goal for Wolves was scored against the Seagulls at the Amex in a 1-1 draw the previous season.
The winger admitted in an interview with Andy Naylor for The Argus that he was baffled why he’d fallen out of favour at the Black Country club.
“It’s a mystery,” he said. “I didn’t understand what happened but sometimes these things happen in football.
“The manager maybe wanted to try some different players but I cannot explain what happened. It’s unreal. I played last season and I then went onto the bench not playing as many games.
“I’m the type of person who goes to the manager and asked for an explanation why I wasn’t playing. He (Jackett) couldn’t really give a reason but he motivated me by saying that I was close to the team and training well.
“That was keeping me positive about the manager and his opinion of me. At the end of the day, they were just words and not actions and I can just focus on playing now.”
His arrival at the Amex was somewhat overshadowed by the signing at the same time of striker James Wilson on loan from Manchester United but he discovered a couple of familiar faces in the Albion dressing room: Elvis Manu – a fellow product of Feyenoord – and Danny Holla.
“It’s nice to have them,” he said. “They can help me. I know Manu very well because we played at Feyenoord. He was in a younger team than me. I’ve played against Danny a few times and we’ve had a number of conversations.”
Although van La Parra made a mark with the Seagulls, it was apparent in December that a permanent move to the south coast looked unlikely. Wolves boss Jackett had noted his form and said: “He’s been keen to get the opportunity and so far at Brighton he’s taken it. He’s still a Wolves player and we’ll assess the situation. He’s got a couple of goals and assists which is very good.”
Van La Parra hoped an impressive performance in his last game on loan might persuade Hughton to view him as a long term prospect but Albion went down 1-0 at home to Ipswich Town, their fifth winless game on the trot, and he returned to Molineux.
Born in Rotterdam on 4 June 1991, of parents from Suriname, he was named by his mum after Rajiv Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, the former Indian prime minister who was assassinated in 1984.
Van La Parra went through the youth ranks at Dutch giants Feyenoord between 1999 and 2008 and earned selection for the national side’s under 17s and under 19s.
It was only while playing in Dutch youth football that former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, then playing for Sparta Rotterdam, met his half-brother van la Parra.
“I knew I had another brother, but I never saw him until that moment,” Gini explained. “I never saw pictures because at that time you didn’t have the internet or social media. There was no Instagram or Facebook or anything.
“I went to play a game, but I found my brother.”
Wijnaldum eventually moved to Feyenoord, and van La Parra said: “When he came to play for Feyenoord, we saw each other more often and we were closer.”
In 2008, van La Parra had moved to French Ligue 1 club Caen where he thought he stood a better chance of first team football. He was there for three years and, although he managed 16 outings in their first team, he mainly played for the B side.
At the end of his contract, he returned to the Netherlands and joined Eredivisie outfit SC Heerenveen where in three years he scored 16 goals in 94 appearances and got to play Europa League football. In the 2012-13 season, he also played six times for the Dutch under 21s, when he got the chance to play alongside Wijnaldum.
“I played on the wing and Gini in midfield. He didn’t give me the ball. He always passed to the other side,” joked van La Parra.
In the summer of 2014, the winger moved to then Championship side Wolves and quickly established himself as a regular.
La Parra’s form for Brighton only revived his Wolves career temporarily, Jackett recalling him to their side in an FA Cup tie against West Ham and a 3-2 win over Fulham, in which he provided an assist and combined well with Michal Zyro.
Jackett said: “I felt that we’ve lost some pace along our front line and Rajiv has that and it’s a reason for bringing him back in to the group.
“He did well at Brighton, and I knew that against Fulham, tactically, I could play either system – 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 – with Rajiv on the pitch and be able to switch from one to the other. That was the advantage.
“He showed how much he wanted to play for Wolves. And the crowd responded to him, and if he keeps showing that work rate and desire, everyone will follow up on him.”
However, two months later he joined fellow Championship side Huddersfield on loan until the end of the season, and the move was made permanent that summer. He was a regular in the Town side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2017.
He made 38 appearances during the 2017-18 season amongst the elite, but incurred Sean Dyche’s wrath when he went to ground rather too easily in the penalty area during a Premier League game against Burnley. The referee didn’t buy it and the player was booked and subsequently fined by his own manager, David Wagner. “It’s unacceptable in my book. I can’t abide it,” said Dyche.
The following season, van La Parra struggled for game time and went on loan to Middlesbrough.
He eventually left the Terriers in 2020 having made a total of 102 appearances and signed for Serbian club Red Star Belgrade. He only played 11 games for them and then moved to Spanish second division club Logroñés for the 2020-21 season but, after only four appearances for them, he was released from his contract in January.
He then switched to Germany and signed for Bundesliga second division club Würzburger Kickers but, after they were relegated, he was on the move again.
Next stop was in Greece, for Apollon Smyrnis, but footballleagueworld.co.uk reported in November 2021: “It’s been a tough start for the player, who is featuring regularly, as he has failed to score or register an assist as his new side are third from bottom.”
In parallel lines 
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