home against RKC Waalwijk. After the death of Vitesse legend Theo Bos on 28 February 2013, Vitesse retired jersey number 4; Van der Heijden exchanged this number for 23. At the end of March 2013, Vitesse announced that it was making use of an option in the contract of Van der Heijden, which meant that it was extended until mid-2015. After winning play-offs for European football on 31 May 2015, Van der Heijden left Vitesse. Feyenoord In the summer of 2015, Van der Heijden signed a three-year contract with Feyenoord, where he was given jersey number 6. He made his debut for the club from Rotterdam on 8 August, when he came on for Jens Toornstra after 67 minutes in the 3–2 league win over Utrecht. He would make 19 appearances in the Eredivisie his first season at Feyenoord, mostly as a substitute. In the following season, fellow centre-back Sven van Beek struggled with a persistent injury. As a result, Van der Heijden became a starter in defense, a position he held on to throughout the season, forming a defensive duo with Eric Botteghin. On 11 December 2016, he scored his first league goal for Feyenoord in a 0–4 win over AZ. That season, he won the league title with Feyenoord. Van der Heijden also remained a starter for the club in the 2017–18 season. On 22 April 2018, he played as Feyenoord won the 2017–18 KNVB Cup final 3–0 over AZ. In the 2018–19 season, Van der Heijden remained a starter, until manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst benched him in March 2019. At the start of the 2019–20 season, new head coach Jaap Stam would usually leave him out of the starting line-up. His successor Dick Advocaat would again prefer Van der Heijden as a starter, partly because he wanted to improve communication on the pitch. After the 2019–20 season, Van der Heijden's contract was not extended and he left the club on a free transfer. Willem II On 5 October 2020, Van der Heijden signed a one-year contract with Willem II. International career Van der Heijden also participated in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, where the Netherlands reached the semi finals, but they were beaten by the later winners Mexico. He was called up for the 2008 Toulon Tournament. On 13 October 2009, he made his U-21 debut in a 2011 European Championship qualifier. Honours Feyenoord Eredivisie: 2016–17