KV Mechelen had a successful season last term under the tutelage of Wouter Vrancken, with the club finishing in seventh place during the regular season to make it into the European playoffs. One key contributor to this success was 25-year-old Belgian forward Hugo Cuypers, who in 34 appearances last season, managed 13 goals and 8 assists. After those performances in the last campaign, KAA Gent decided to pay a modest fee of just under €3 million for the services of the forward.
This scout report and tactical analysis will take a look at the strengths of Cuypers, as well as where he may fit in Hein Vanhaezebrouck’s system at Gent.
Player profile
Though at Mechelen Hugo Cuypers was deployed as the centre-forward in a 4-2-3-1 system; as the heat map above shows, he likes to drop into the pockets of space in midfield to link the play together and get on the ball. At Mechelen, he was part of a potent attacking quartet, with these forward players constantly interchanging positions with each other. Cuypers also went relatively under the radar during his time last season with Mechelen, with the other attacking players, most notably Nikola Storm, getting the majority of the attention.
However, going to Gent represents a change in the style of play as well as the system for Cuypers. Under Vanhaezebrouck, Gent have opted to utilise a 3-4-1-2 system, with Cuypers likely going to be playing as one of the two strikers, or as the number 10 behind them. This stylistic change should not negatively impact Cuypers however, with his ability to play in either position making him likely to become a key part of the project that is developing at Gent under Vanhaezebrouck.
