Kuyt signed professionally for Utrecht that summer, aged 18, and immediately established himself in the first team. However he was more often than not played as a winger, as Utrecht preferred to play Serbian Igor Glusevic up front.
This continued until the 2002–03 season when Utrecht installed Foeke Booy as their new manager. Booy played Kuyt as a striker for the entire season, and Kuyt repaid him with 20 league goals. Utrecht also reached the Dutch Cup final, where they met Feyenoord. Although they were the underdogs Utrecht comfortably won the cup 4-1, with Kuyt scoring one and being given the man-of-the-match award. At the end of the season Kuyt completed a €1 million move to Feyenoord Rotterdam, where he replaced the out-going Pierre Van Hooijdonk.
At Feyenoord Kuyt immediately became a fan favourite with his continued goal scoring success. His first season saw him net another 20 league goals. The opening game of the 2004–05 season marked Kuyt's first ever hat-trick against De Graafschap. He later went on to score four against ADO Den Haag and ended the season as the Eredivisie's top scorer with 29 goals — a career high.
In summer 2005 Kuyt was linked with moves to Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, but no transfer materialised. Kuyt was instead handed the Feyenoord club captaincy and went on to have a third successful season with the club, scoring 25 goals in all competitions.
Over the summer of 2006 Kuyt was again linked with moves to many top English clubs, most notably Liverpool and Newcastle. Rumours started in May with Kuyt stating "I am happy at Feyenoord but would like to play in the Premier League. The rumours continued throughout the summer, finally coming to a head on 16 August when Kuyt was due to play for the Dutch national team against Ireland. Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder was reportedly going to watch Kuyt, and complimentary quotes from him appeared in the press. However, there were also stories saying that Liverpool were poised to sign Kuyt. Kuyt finally completed his move to Liverpool on 18 August for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be in the region of £9 million.
Upon joining Liverpool Kuyt stated "I only wanted to leave Feyenoord for a really big club, and that is what Liverpool are. They are a fantastic, big club and it will be a real pleasure to play here.
After sitting out the first game Kuyt made his Liverpool debut as a substitute against West Ham on 26 August. His first start came against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League and he has been first choice in the three games since. In his third start for the club on 20 September 2006 Kuyt scored his first goal against Newcastle United in a Premiership game at Anfield, and followed up with another against Tottenham Hotspur in the next game. He scored his third goal for Liverpool with his father watching the game at Anfield, contributing to Liverpool's 3-1 win over Aston Villa.
Kuyt has won much praise for his early performances with The Mirror stating "The Dutch striker has the look of a cult hero in the making" and The People reporting that he is "propelling himself towards iconic status.
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