Club Brugge trumps Anderlecht and Genk: ‘Five top talents’

Club Brugge‘s youth academy has grown rapidly in recent years. This year it is even seen by the Pro League as the best in Belgium. Normally that honor always goes to KRC Genk or RSC Anderlecht. CEO of Club NXT, Guillaume Preud’homme spoke with The Newspaper.

Club Brugge has invested a lot in the Belfius BaseCamp and with The Nest it is also the only Belgian club with its own stadium for youth. It is therefore no surprise that Club NXT is doing well in the Challenger Pro League. More talents are also breaking through into the first team.

Huge evolution

Preud’homme explains that Club Brugge invests a lot in youth, but for example the club was able to sell Sylla for twenty million and Antonio Nusa was also sold for 28 million euros. “A large budget is spent there, but it will pay off,” said the CEO of Club NXT.

Belgian players will also be looked at first. “We only bring in foreign players if we believe they can grow into the first team. It also has to be such a great talent that cannot be found in Belgium, otherwise we won’t do it. Fortunately, thanks to our good structure, we can usually go for it financially if we absolutely want a talent.”

Next batch

According to The Newspaper the next group of top foreign talents is already ready. Five foreign players are facing a breakthrough in the first team. “Granados, Lund Jensen, Campbell, Yameogo and Faraas from the Bruges promises should be the next bull’s eye,” it said.

Club NXT has a big advantage, it plays at a high level in 1B. Reserve teams only play in the second division in Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium. “Offering foreign talents professional football every week helps to convince them. The same goes for coaches. De Mil, Hoefkens, Hayen, Jonckheere and Milkon: they have all passed by NXT.”