The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jong Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kayden Pierre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Jong Genk, another week without a signature from Wilson Da Costa.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Jong Genk have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Jong Genk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutMyung-jun Kim asks for a word with the manager
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Jong Genk people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 85th, and Francs Borains spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Jong Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Junya Ito was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Jan 2030
Words at Jong Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kayden Pierre is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Wilson Da Costa has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
9 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
3‑0, and Samed Baždar took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Jong Genk tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings26 Nov 2029
A brace, and Samed Baždar takes the afternoon — 8.40
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Samed Baždar provided it, and the 8.40 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Jong Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jong Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Jong Genk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Muhammadali O'rinboyev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kayden Pierre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.09 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Jong Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The name of Olivier Vliegen has come up in conversations Jong Genk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Jong Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Olivier Vliegen and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Soladio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong Genk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Jong Genk have no good answer.
In brief
SquadThe training reports on Zion Henry are not good
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jong Genk can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Soladio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Jong Genk will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong Genk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Aaron Bibout has moved up it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Soladio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Emmanuel Sarfo is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
1 appearances and 1 clean sheets. A goalkeeper learns his job by playing it, and a season that gave him neither the games nor the shut-outs is a year taken off the front of a career.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Soladio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jong Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jong Genk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Jong Genk has been clear about where Ayman Rabhi stands, which is more than many ever get.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The name of Siviwe Magidigidi has come up in conversations Jong Genk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Olivier Vliegen and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Standard Liege will make the call about Olivier Vliegen this week. Jong Genk have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Soladio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Lokeren-Temse? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Francs Borains in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Olivier Vliegen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Ali Camara falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Jong Genk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Jong Genk that is a harder question to answer.
Olivier Vliegen and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jordy Soladio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Goalkeepers do not get to make mistakes; they get to make goals. He made one, he knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.