Maxim De Cuyper Scout Report At Club Brugge 2023/2024 – The Young Left-Back Lighting Up The Belgian Pro League

Belgian giants Club Brugge find themselves in uncharted territory this season in the Jupiler Pro League.

Having won the league title in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, finished second in 2021-22, and fourth in 2022-23, they have gotten off to an uncharacteristically poor start this time around.

Ronny Deilas men are fifth in the Pro League, which seems good on first glance.

However, they have collected just seven wins from 16 matches and are already eight points adrift of second-placed Anderlecht and 12 behind leaders Union Saint-Gilloise.

While they have secured their spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League knockouts, their league form has certainly been worrying.

Among their struggles, however, a couple of players have stood out.

Andreas Skov Olsen, only 23, has scored 14 times in 25 matches across competitions, while left-back and Belgium U21 international Maxim De Cuyper has impressed fans with his performances.

Total Football Analysis published a scout report for Skov Olsen when Brugge first brought him in.

The Dane has also recently attracted interest from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

However, very little is known about De Cuyper, who could be a potential star in the making.

This scout report and tactical analysis aims to explain how the youngster has stood out within the tactics and performance of a team that hasnt been at its best across the first few months of the season, while also providing an analysis of his performances at this years UEFA European U21 Championship.

Maxim De Cuyper Style Of Play

According to Transfermarkt, Maxim De Cuyper joined Club Brugges youth set-up in 2008.

He rose through the ranks, making their U19 squad aged 17 and their U21 squad at 19, before breaking into their first team in 2020.

The left-back, born December 22, 2000, started both legs of Brugges Europa League playoff tie against Manchester United, which the Belgian side lost 6-1 on aggregate.

He played another Europa League playoff tie the following season, coming off the bench in both legs of Brugges 2-1 aggregate defeat to Dynamo Kyiv.

The club then loaned him out to KVC Westerlo, a part of Belgiums second tier, for the 2021-22 season.

De Cuyper played in various positions, ranging from left-back to right-wing, and recorded six goals and five assists in 25 league games, helping Westerlo secure the division title and earn promotion to the Jupiler Pro League.

He remained with them for the 2022-23 season, scoring eight times and providing six assists to help the team record a seventh-place finish in their first season back in the top flight.

De Cuypers impressive performances also saw him receive his first Belgium U21 call-up, and he played five times for them across two international breaks during the season.

Brugge decided they had seen enough improvement from the youngster and brought him back for the remainder of the season.

So far, they seem to have made the right call.

Maxim De Cuyper Style Of Play

De Cuyper plays left-back in Club Brugges 4-2-3-1 system, with winger Philip Zingernackel playing further ahead of him.

Manager Ronny Deila has also occasionally utilized a 4-3-1-2 formation, which leaves the left-back as their most advanced operator out wide.

A look at De Cuypers touch map in the Jupiler Pro League this season shows that while he typically spends his time on the left side of the attacking third, he also contributes to Brugges build-up and attacks in and around the penalty area; he occasionally pops over to the other flank as well.

De Cuyper played a similar role for Belgium in the U21 European Championship this summer, being deployed as a left-back in a 4-2-3-1 system.

He impressed during that tournament, averaging 2.7 key passes, 21.7 passes in the opposition half (compared to 19.7 in his own half), 1.0 fouls won, and 1.0 successful dribbles on 70.7 touches per game.

However, his underlying stats have been even better in the Jup