Charles Vanhoutte (born 16 September 1998) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Belgian Pro League club Union SG.

Charles Vanhoutte
Personal information
Date of birth (1998-09-16) 16 September 1998 (age 25)
Place of birth Kortrijk, Belgium
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Union SG
Number 24
Youth career
2006–2007 KSC Wielsbeke
2007–2009 Zulte Waregem
2009–2012 KSC Wielsbeke
2012–2018 Cercle Brugge
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2023 Cercle Brugge 93 (2)
2019–2020Tubize (loan) 16 (0)
2023– Union SG 29 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 March 2024

Career edit

Vanhoutte progressed through the youth teams of KSC Wielsbeke and Zulte Waregem before finally ending up in the youth academy of Cercle Brugge. In July 2018, he was promoted to the first team and signed his first professional contract alongside fellow youth prospect Robbe Decostere.[2]

On 14 May 2019, caretaker manager José Jeunechamps[3] gave Vanhoutte his debut in the Europa League play-offs loss to Royal Excel Mouscron. In the 56th minute, Vanhoutte came onto the pitch to replace Naomichi Ueda.[4] In his first season, he made two appearances in the play-offs.[1]

On 1 September 2019, Vanhoutte was sent on loan to Tubize together with teammate Robbe Decostere on a one-year deal.[5] Vanhoutte played regularly, but was unable to prevent the club from suffering relegation to the Belgian Division 2.

After his loan spell, Vanhoutte became a permanent starter at Cercle Brugge, where he signed a contract extension until June 2023 in December 2020, just like fellow academy players Decostere and Thibo Somers.[6]

On 22 June 2023, Cercle Brugge announced the sale of Vanhoutte to Union Saint-Gilloise.[7]

Career statistics edit

As of match played 10 December 2023[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Belgian Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Cercle Brugge 2018–19 Belgian Pro League 2 0 0 0 2 0
2019–20 Belgian Pro League 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020–21 Belgian Pro League 28 0 2 0 30 0
2021–22 Belgian Pro League 31 1 2 0 33 1
2022–23 Belgian Pro League 32 1 1 0 33 1
Total 93 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 98 2
Tubize (loan) 2019–20 First Amateur Division 16 0 0 0 16 0
Union SG 2023–24 Belgian Pro League 17 0 1 0 7[a] 0 25 0
Career total 126 2 6 0 7 0 0 0 139 2
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Charles Vanhoutte at Soccerway
  2. ^ "Robbe Decostere | Verdedigers - A-kern - Teams | Cercle Brugge KSV". www.cerclebrugge.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Laurent Guyot niet langer trainer van Cercle Brugge, Jeunechamps neemt over tot einde van het seizoen". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Flemish). 2 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Cercle Brugge vs. Excel Mouscron - 14 May 2019 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Robbe Decostere en Charles Vanhoutte uitgeleend aan Tubeke | Nieuws - Cercle Brugge". cerclebrugge.be (in Dutch). 1 September 2019.
  6. ^ Verweirder, Luc (10 December 2020). "Cercle Brugge trekt kaart van eigen jeugd: Somers, Decostere en Vanhoutte verlengen tot 2023". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch).
  7. ^ "Charles Vanhoutte verlaat Cercle Brugge en trekt naar Union" [Charles Vanhoutte leaves Cercle Brugge to join Union]. Cercle Brugge. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.

External links edit