27 Feb 2027
Saturday
Process
30 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Seiji Kimura asks to leave Westerlo

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Westerlo turn down Omiya Ardija for Felix Tsimba

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

The dugout

Florian Michel keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Westerlo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk 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.

Squad

Words at Westerlo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cisse Sandra 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.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Oskar Annell

“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.

Market

The Doğucan Haspolat talk will not go away

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

The dugout

The manager makes Nils Schouterden a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Westerlo. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

The dugout

Fernand Gouré 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 Westerlo, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

Back issues
29 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Eliot Bujupi at 20 — 7.85

The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Eliot Bujupi did not need any: 7.85, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Match

The run at home goes on for Westerlo

11 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.

Squad

Serhiy Sydorchuk in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Westerlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

6 unbeaten for Westerlo

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Westerlo did not have in the autumn.

Transfer targets

Westerlo rebuffed over Anteo Fetahu

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. SV Ried have kept their man, and Westerlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Words at Westerlo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christophe Janssens 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.

Squad

5 new faces, and Westerlo are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

Match

Naoufal Bohamdi-Kamoni rescues a point for Westerlo

It needed Naoufal Bohamdi-Kamoni to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Standard Liege, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

The dugout

Michy Onana: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

In brief

28 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A move Alexánder Licona would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Alexánder Licona is living that version at Westerlo, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Botond Balogh stays put

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

Squad

Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

Transfer targets

Reggiana tell Westerlo: Leon Šipoš 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 dugout

Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

The dugout

Michy Onana: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

Match

Point won or two lost for Westerlo?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Racing Genk? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

Market

The Andreas Jungdal talk will not go away

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

In brief

27 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Felix Tsimba has said yes to Gornik Leczna

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Westerlo have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Market

Nils Schouterden puts it in writing

“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 Westerlo, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Reda Laalaoui, 21, steals the show — 8.04

Marked 8.04 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Boardroom

Westerlo close the window on a squad of their own making

2 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Squad

Words exchanged at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk 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.

Match

Westerlo make home a hard place to visit

10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.

Transfer targets

Sivasspor tell Westerlo: Julián Rodríguez Seguer 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 terraces

Westerlo supporters have found a favourite in Dylan Ourega

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Dylan Ourega 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.

Match

Dylan Ourega sends Westerlo past Lokeren

It finished 2‑0, and it was Dylan Ourega’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Westerlo.

In brief

26 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Westerlo turn down Northampton Town for Ndoh Wamfor

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

Squad

Tempers go at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk 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.

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Transfer targets

St. Gallen tell Westerlo: Andrin Hunziker 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Westerlo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nils Schouterden was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Anteo Fetahu is in the works

Westerlo have made the call to SV Ried. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Florian Michel

“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.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Michy Onana chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

The dugout

The form table has caught Nils Schouterden

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.

In brief

25 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Hatayspor come back empty-handed

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

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Serhiy Sydorchuk in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Westerlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Federico Vietto

Westerlo asked and Blackburn Rovers said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Ndoh Wamfor attracts admirers

The name of Ndoh Wamfor has come up in conversations Westerlo were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Fernand Gouré signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fernand Gouré and Westerlo agree another 4 years.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Andrin Hunziker is in the works

Westerlo have made the call to St. Gallen. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Squad

Westerlo are still strangers to each other

5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

In brief

  • The dugout Clinton Nsiala gets it from the manager
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Somebody else is better right now than Nils Schouterden
24 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Westerlo say no — this time

The offer from KAA Gent for Isa Sakamoto was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Transfer targets

Leon Šipoš will not be coming to Westerlo

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Reggiana is saying, and nobody at Westerlo is enjoying the guessing.

Squad

A falling-out at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

The drought breaks for Westerlo

6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Mouscron were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

Match

Nobody wins at Westerlo

9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Juan Manuel Cruz

Westerlo asked and Bristol City said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

The terraces

Westerlo supporters have found a favourite in Cisse Sandra

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Cisse Sandra 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.

Match

Westerlo see off Mouscron

Three points for Westerlo, 1‑0 the final word against Mouscron in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

Words at Westerlo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cisse Sandra 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.

In brief

23 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Seiji Kimura asks to leave Westerlo

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Match

No end in sight to Westerlo's wait for a win

6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Westerlo has to find a result from somewhere.

The dugout

Fernand Gouré keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Westerlo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Words exchanged at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Nuno Santos

Westerlo asked and Mamelodi Sundowns said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Match

KV Kortrijk take the points off Westerlo

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

A row about effort at Westerlo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Christophe Janssens was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Hernandes signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Hernandes commits to Westerlo for another 4 years.

The dugout

Felix Tsimba 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

22 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Westerlo's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Westerlo has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Tempers go at Westerlo

Doğucan Haspolat 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.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Westerlo

The unbeaten run reaches 6. 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

Words at Westerlo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

The terraces

One of their own: Simon Onana

He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Match

Nobody wins at Westerlo

8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.

Player ratings

Dylan Ourega did the work nobody counts — 7.72

11 combined actions and 7.72. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.

Player ratings

Simon Onana in the eights

A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

César Bernal signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” César Bernal commits to Westerlo for another 2 years.

In brief

21 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Andreas Jungdal keeps Westerlo in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

Nikola Storm beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 30. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

The wait goes on for Westerlo

4 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.

Squad

Serhiy Sydorchuk in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Westerlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Westerlo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thomas Van Den Keybus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Isa Sakamoto

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Seiji Kimura

“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.

Match

Two points walk out of the ground

Level with 86 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Westerlo had all but put away. Anderlecht will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.

Player ratings

Isa Sakamoto takes the honours

Marked 7.98 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Westerlo had the best player on the pitch.

In brief

20 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Nikola Storm was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

A falling-out at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Christophe Janssens 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.

Squad

Appearance number 100 for Dylan Ourega

100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.

The dugout

Amando Lapage 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.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Michy Onana on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

The dugout

Nils Schouterden dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Doğucan Haspolat

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Botond Balogh

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

In brief

19 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Westerlo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thomas Van Den Keybus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Felix Tsimba

“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.

Player ratings

Nikola Storm runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Fatihan Kâhya signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Fatihan Kâhya commits to Westerlo for another 4 years.

Squad

A place in the month's best eleven for Lucas Mbamba

Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Lucas Mbamba has come out of that comparison in the side, and Westerlo have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.

Match

Westerlo and Sint-Truiden take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Michy Onana was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Westerlo dressing room was either.

The dugout

Westerlo pick somebody else ahead of Nils Schouterden

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

In brief

18 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Tempers go at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk 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.

Squad

Cisse Sandra 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.

Match

Westerlo refuse to lose to KAA Gent

A point taken on 92 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.

The dugout

Nils Schouterden 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

Westerlo share the spoils with KAA Gent

A 1‑1 draw with KAA Gent leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

Michy Onana: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

Squad

Doğucan Haspolat suspended

One booking too many, and Doğucan Haspolat sits out. Westerlo lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.

Squad

A Westerlo teenager takes the young player award

Lucas Mbamba is 20, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.

In brief

17 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Nobody could get near David Amegnaglo

Successful dribbles: 35. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

14 days out for Michée Ndembi after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Westerlo will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

The dugout

Felix Tsimba: 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.” Westerlo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

A brace, and Nikola Storm takes the afternoon — 8.13

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Nikola Storm provided it, and the 8.13 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

Serhiy Sydorchuk in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Westerlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Nikola Storm the difference as Westerlo beat Waasland-Beveren

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nikola Storm. 2‑0 against Waasland-Beveren, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

Christophe Janssens 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.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Michy Onana kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Clinton Nsiala

“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.

In brief

16 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

21 days out for Michée Ndembi after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Westerlo will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

The dugout

Clinton Nsiala: 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.” Westerlo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

After 9 games, Westerlo finally taste it again

The first defeat in 9 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Club Brugge; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.

Squad

A falling-out at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Westerlo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

Match

Westerlo come up short against Club Brugge

Club Brugge left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The terraces

Westerlo supporters have found a favourite in Simon Onana

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Simon Onana 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.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Andreas Jungdal

“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.

Squad

Amando Lapage signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Amando Lapage and Westerlo agree another 4 years.

In brief

15 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

30 days out for Michée Ndembi after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Westerlo will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 31. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

Whatever happens, Westerlo do not lose

9 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Words exchanged at Westerlo

Doğucan Haspolat 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Westerlo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thomas Van Den Keybus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Halfway: Westerlo sit in position 6

26 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.

The dugout

Amando Lapage 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.

The dugout

Michy Onana: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

The dugout

Westerlo pick somebody else ahead of Nils Schouterden

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

In brief

14 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

39 days out for Michée Ndembi after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Westerlo will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Match

8 unbeaten for Westerlo

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Westerlo did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Tempers go at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk 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.

Match

Westerlo are at home on the road

4 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Thomas Van Den Keybus sends Westerlo past Standard Liege

It finished 1‑0, and it was Thomas Van Den Keybus’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Westerlo.

Squad

Words at Westerlo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christophe Janssens 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.

The dugout

No hiding place for Nils Schouterden

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nils Schouterden, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Thomas Van Den Keybus was the difference for Westerlo

Marked 7.94. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.

In brief

13 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

46 days out for Michée Ndembi after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Westerlo will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Westerlo

The unbeaten run reaches 7. 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

Tempers go at Westerlo

Simon Onana 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.

Squad

Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

Player ratings

Nikola Storm runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

Seiji Kimura 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

Westerlo share the spoils with Racing Genk

A 1‑1 draw with Racing Genk leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Michy Onana chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.

The dugout

Westerlo pick somebody else ahead of Christophe Janssens

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

In brief

12 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

No mercy from Westerlo

Lokeren will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Westerlo were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.

Squad

A fracture rules Michée Ndembi out for 55 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Westerlo will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.25

A mark of 8.25 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Squad

Thomas Van Den Keybus in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Westerlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Westerlo

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Match

Another one collected away from home

3 on the bounce on the road for Westerlo. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Isa Sakamoto at his very best

Marked 8.67. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Westerlo.

Match

Nikola Storm at the heart of a fast Westerlo start

2 goals inside twenty minutes with Nikola Storm in the middle of it, and Lokeren unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.

Squad

Words at Westerlo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christophe Janssens 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.

In brief

  • Player ratings Ninety minutes of Nikola Storm at his very best
  • The dugout A promise honoured for Isa Sakamoto
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
11 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Westerlo

Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

The terraces

Westerlo supporters have found a favourite in Cisse Sandra

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Cisse Sandra 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.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Andreas Jungdal

“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.

Squad

Botond Balogh stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Botond Balogh and Westerlo agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A row about effort at Westerlo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Christophe Janssens was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

One of those days for Cisse Sandra

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Nikola Storm was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

Westerlo share the spoils with OH Leuven

A 2‑2 draw with OH Leuven leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Michy Onana chose the glass-half-full version of 2‑2; the supporters left with the other one.

In brief

10 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.89

A mark of 7.89 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Squad

Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk 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.

Player ratings

Nikola Storm was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

Nils Schouterden 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

12 new faces, and Westerlo are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

Squad

Andreas Jungdal named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Andreas Jungdal is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

Match

Westerlo and Zulte Waregem take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Michy Onana was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Westerlo dressing room was either.

In brief

9 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.20

A mark of 8.20 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Match

Westerlo make it 3 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Westerlo have 3 straight wins of it.

Squad

A falling-out at Westerlo

Thomas Van Den Keybus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Isa Sakamoto

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

Match

Westerlo see off Mouscron

Three points for Westerlo, 2‑0 the final word against Mouscron in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

Cisse Sandra 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.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Michy Onana kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.

The dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Nils Schouterden

The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Isa Sakamoto

Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

8 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Cruel end for KV Kortrijk as Westerlo pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Westerlo scored in the 92th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

A falling-out at Westerlo

Doğucan Haspolat and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The terraces

One of their own: Shunsuke Saito

He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Match

Westerlo see off KV Kortrijk

Three points for Westerlo, 1‑0 the final word against KV Kortrijk in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Doğucan Haspolat takes the honours

Marked 7.67 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Westerlo had the best player on the pitch.

The dugout

The form table has caught Simon Onana

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.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Michy Onana, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.

The dugout

Joachim Van Damme 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

7 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Westerlo

Simon Onana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

Transfer targets

Westerlo rebuffed over Idrissa Guèye

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Udinese have kept their man, and Westerlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

Westerlo see off KV Oostende

Three points for Westerlo, 1‑0 the final word against KV Oostende in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Nikola Storm at his very best

Marked 8.02. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Westerlo.

The dugout

Michy Onana: “That is the standard”

“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.

The dugout

No hiding place for Amando Lapage

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Amando Lapage, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Simon Onana knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Simon Onana trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Looking ahead

A test against the best for Westerlo

The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against KV Kortrijk.

In brief

6 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Transfer targets

Door shut on Momodou Sonko

Westerlo asked and KAA Gent said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Westerlo turn down KAA Gent for Fernand Gouré

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

Boardroom

Window shuts: 5 in, 2 out at Westerlo

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 5 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Transfer targets

No deal for Luca Monticelli at that price

Westerlo offered $590.0K; Charleroi said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

Squad

Simon Onana in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Westerlo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nikola Storm

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

Match

Westerlo come up short against Anderlecht

Anderlecht left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

Nils Schouterden 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

5 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The cup run ends for Westerlo

0‑1 against Standard Liege, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.

Market

Christophe Janssens is a Westerlo player again

He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.

Transfer targets

Westerlo make their move for Luca Monticelli

$590.0K on the table at Charleroi. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.

Squad

A falling-out at Westerlo

Thomas Van Den Keybus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Doğucan Haspolat did the work nobody counts — 7.29

13 combined actions and 7.29. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.

Player ratings

Nikola Storm beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Charleroi take the points off Westerlo

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

Michy Onana faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Michy Onana after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

The terraces

The spotlight tightens on Andreas Jungdal

Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.

In brief

4 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Isa Sakamoto scores twice — 8.94

Two goals and a mark of 8.94 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Transfer targets

Westerlo agree $1.3M for Christophe Janssens

The clubs have shaken hands with Waasland-Beveren; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 28. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Transfer targets

Racing Genk tell Westerlo: Josué Kongolo 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.

Match

Westerlo get the job done against Sint-Truiden

A 4‑3 win over Sint-Truiden, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Match

7 goals as Westerlo and Sint-Truiden go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Westerlo and Sint-Truiden, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Squad

Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Westerlo

Serhiy Sydorchuk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Isa Sakamoto

At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

In brief

  • Player ratings Cisse Sandra was on a different afternoon to everybody else
  • The dugout Seiji Kimura gets it from the manager
  • The dugout Michy Onana: “That is the standard”
3 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Transfer targets

Westerlo rebuffed over Thibaud Verlinden

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. OH Leuven have kept their man, and Westerlo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Player ratings

Felix Tsimba, 20, steals the show — 7.68

Marked 7.68 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Market

Simon Onana is a Westerlo player

The fee is $1.8M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Mouscron drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.

Squad

Tempers go at Westerlo

Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Match

A bad afternoon for Westerlo against KAA Gent

1‑3 to KAA Gent, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Andreas Jungdal

“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.

Squad

A row about effort at Westerlo

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cisse Sandra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Nikola Storm is still being punished for one mistake

Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.

In brief

2 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Transfer targets

Westerlo make their move for Thibaud Verlinden

$6.2M on the table at OH Leuven. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.

Transfer targets

Club Brugge tell Westerlo: Joel Ordóñez 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.

Squad

Andreas Jungdal signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andreas Jungdal commits to Westerlo for another 4 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Westerlo

Thomas Van Den Keybus and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The terraces

One of their own: Cisse Sandra

He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Westerlo see off Waasland-Beveren

Three points for Westerlo, 1‑0 the final word against Waasland-Beveren in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Nikola Storm in the eights

A performance of 8.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Dylan Ourega

“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.

In brief

1 Edition

The Westerlo Courier

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Koen Van Langendonck: 12 seasons and counting

280 appearances across 12 seasons in one shirt. Careers like that are not built on purpose any more, and Westerlo know exactly what they have.

Squad

Doğucan Haspolat signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Doğucan Haspolat and Westerlo agree another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Westerlo

Doğucan Haspolat 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.

Squad

Words at Westerlo training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Van Den Keybus 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.

Player ratings

David Amegnaglo was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Market

49 months and counting on Doğucan Haspolat

Still no offer on the table, and Doğucan Haspolat’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.

Player ratings

Nikola Storm was the difference for Westerlo

Marked 7.70. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Geovanni Vianney is in the works

Westerlo have made the call to FC Copenhagen. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Match

Nikola Storm rescues a point for Westerlo

It needed Nikola Storm to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Club Brugge, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

In brief