The Excelsior Gazette
Squad10 Aug 2026
Irakli Yegoian signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Irakli Yegoian and Excelsior agree another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Excelsior
Szymon Włodarczyk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
Graduation day at Excelsior
3 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Excelsior training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Irakli Yegoian 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.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
KV Oostende tell Excelsior: Eden Januzaj is not for sale
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Irakli Yegoian
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market10 Aug 2026
Excelsior promote Marten Blind from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Marten Blind has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market10 Aug 2026
Joel Wijnaldum steps up from the Excelsior academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Joel Wijnaldum has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Nathan Aké joins the Excelsior first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Nathan Aké is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Market Excelsior promote Tim Wijnaldum from within
- Squad Too much change too quickly at Excelsior
- Transfer targets A loan move for Lee Young-Jun is in the works