Jens Cools

Right Back - Mouscron
21 Nov 2027
Sunday
Process
54 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Zinho Lukaku keeps Mouscron in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Jaden Brown says Mouscron went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Match

5 matches without a win for Mouscron

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Mouscron are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Jens Cools signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jens Cools commits to Mouscron for another 2 years.

Squad

Juliano gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Match

Mouscron draw a blank against Zulte Waregem

The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Zulte Waregem defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.

In brief

Back issues
41 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

10 May 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Alexander Freitag: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mouscron have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Juliano out for 47 days

The medical room confirms 47 days on the sidelines for Juliano, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Loan watch

Thomas Januzaj keeps scoring at Cultural Leonesa

32 appearances away from home and 8 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Mousa Courtois

“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.

Loan watch

6 goals on loan for Zinho Lukaku

21 appearances at FC Metz and the goals keep coming. Mouscron are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

Market

The Charles Chadli talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mouscron know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

40 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

3 May 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

César Amaral is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Mouscron is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Jens Cools asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

Hans Januzaj linked with a move away

The name of Hans Januzaj keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Mouscron say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

33 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Josh Benson stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Josh Benson and Mouscron agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Mouscron lose Juliano

107 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Juliano gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

23 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Racing Genk come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Mouscron did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Josh Benson stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Josh Benson and Mouscron agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Jens Cools gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Romelu Chadli is carrying Mouscron

6 goals and a season average of 7.24. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Match

Honours even between Mouscron and Waasland-Beveren

2-2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Market

The clock runs on Josh Benson's contract

49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.

Squad

Youri Vertonghen knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mouscron, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

César Amaral told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” César Amaral has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Mouscron.

The terraces

Supporters make their feelings known about Charles Chadli

The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Mouscron would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.

In brief

20 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Eden Chadli stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Eden Chadli and Mouscron agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Match

Mouscron see off Standard Liege

Three points for Mouscron, 1-0 the final word against Standard Liege in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

Youri Vertonghen gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Romelu Chadli is carrying Mouscron

5 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Jens Cools knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mouscron, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Loan watch

3 goals on loan for Zinho Lukaku

6 appearances at FC Metz and the goals keep coming. Mouscron are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

Loan watch

3 goals on loan for Jason Witsel

13 appearances at Zwolle and the goals keep coming. Mouscron are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

Market

Mouscron pick up Andréa Librici for nothing

The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Andréa Librici arrives at Mouscron with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.

Boardroom

Mouscron answer back

A squad written off a fortnight ago has closed ranks. Whatever was said behind that door, it has held so far.

In brief

17 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Tyrese Gegra says Mouscron went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Mouscron

The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

Martin Remacle is carrying Mouscron

9 goals and a season average of 7.33. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

In brief

13 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Zinho Lukaku keeps Mouscron in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

Mouscron find a way past KV Oostende

KV Oostende made Mouscron work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Juliano gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

Jens Cools asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

Market

The Thomas Chadli talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mouscron know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Squad

Hans Januzaj unhappy with how he is being used

Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Hans Januzaj has let it be known that he does not like the way Mouscron are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.

In brief

1 Edition

The Mouscron Gazette

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Chastening afternoon for Mouscron

A 0-4 beating by Zulte Waregem was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Market

Mouscron turn down PSV for Thomas Courtois

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

The terraces

The boos come down from three sides

“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 9 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Zinho Lukaku

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Youri Vertonghen signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Youri Vertonghen commits to Mouscron for another 2 years.

Squad

Youri Vertonghen gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Boardroom

Inquest at Mouscron

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

Market

Mouscron and Martin Remacle are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Market

Niklas Zimmermann is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Mouscron has been clear about where Niklas Zimmermann stands, which is more than many ever get.

In brief