Promes was born in Amsterdam on January 4, 1992 and played in Ajax's youth academy since the age of ten. In 2008, he left the club and played at HFC Haarlem, Go Ahead Eagles and FC Twente, before joining Spartak Moscow for the first time in 2014. In Russia, he won both the Russian Premier Liga and the Russian Super Cup, claiming player of the year honors and finishing as top scorer along the way. In the 2018/2019 season, Promes played for Sevilla FC, before making the switch to Ajax in the summer of 2019.
The Dutch international (47 caps) made his debut for the Ajax first team on July 27, 2019, during Ajax - PSV (2-0) match. In total, he played 53 matches for the Amsterdam side, scoring 22 times. With Ajax, Promes ended first the Dutch League and won the Johan Cruijff Shield.