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 Deila’s men sit fifth in the Pro League, which doesn’t sound too bad on first hearing. 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, though, a couple of players have shined. Andreas Skov Olsen, only 23, has netted 14 times in 25 matches across competitions, while left-back and Belgium U21 international Maxim De Cuyper has blown fans away with his performances. We at Total Football Analysis published a scout report for Skov Olsen when Brugge first brought him in, with the Dane also recently attracting 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 hasn’t been at its best across the first few months of the season while also providing an analysis of his performances at this year’s UEFA European U21 Championship.

Background

According to Transfermarkt, Maxim De Cuyper joined Club Brugge’s 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 Brugge’s Europa League playoff tie against Manchester United, which the Belgian side lost 6-1 on aggregate. He went on to play another Europa League playoff tie the following season, this time coming off the bench in both legs of Brugge’s 2-1 aggregate defeat to Dynamo Kyiv.

The club then loaned him out to KVC Westerlo, then a part of Belgium’s 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 top the division and receive promotion into the Jupiler Pro League. He remained with them for the 2022-23 season, scored eight times, and laid out six assists to help the team record a seventh-place finish in their first season back in the top flight. De Cuyper’s 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 ongoing season. So far, they seem to have made the right call.

Profile

De Cuyper operates as a left-back in Club Brugge’s 4-2-3-1 system, with winger Philip Zingernackel operating 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 Cuyper’s 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 Brugge’s 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 as well, 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.

His underlying stats, however, have been even better in the Jupiler Pro League this season, as illustrated by the dashboard below. De Cuyper is in or above the 90th percentile among his peers in the league in 36 of FBRef’s 88 metrics for shooting, passing, creativity and possession. That number improves to 49 of 88 when the percentile rank is 75 and above.

For a soon-to-be 23-year-old, those are simply outrageous numbers!

Attacking Output

De Cuyper has played 26 times across competitions for Club Brugge this season, recording two goals and nine assists. Five of those assists have come in the league, the third-highest behind Cameron Puertas (9) and Theo Leoni (6). He is averaging 2.23 key passes, 5.86 passes into the final third, 1.98 passes into the penalty area and a massive 8.83 progressive passes per 90, as well as a progressive passing distance of 414.41 yards out of a total passing distance of 1130.61 yards, both of which are the highest in the Jupiler Pro League so far this season.

De Cuyper’s preferred mode of delivering balls into the box has been via crosses; he averages 6.52 crosses per 90, a number that includes his 3.09 corners taken per 90. The maps below show the areas he typically crosses from and his progressive passes, both of which range from within the box to all the way near the sideline on the left flank.

As illustrated above, his crosses are often aimed at the penalty spot, which causes problems for defenders. Additionally, his ability to deliver balls into the box with either foot also makes him difficult to contain.

Consider the sequence below from Brugge’s clash against Genk on September 28. De Cuyper (marked in black) controls the ball with his left foot, and his marker (yellow) expects him to whip a cross in with his stronger left foot. Instead, the youngster cuts inside, shifts it onto his right and whips a ball to the penalty spot, with Hans Vanaken getting ahead of his marker to head it home.

De Cuyper also possesses a feel for the game and immense confidence in his abilities, which came through during his matches for Belgium U21 at this summer’s European U21 championship. In this match against Georgia U21, he reacts quickest to a shot that cannons off the post to get to the ball despite initially being behind the two defenders closest to him when the shot is taken. He sprints to the loose ball and, without breaking his stride, delivers a first-time cross that is attacked and headed in by Largie Ramazani (blue in the bottom grids) at the near-post.

De Cuyper isn’t all crosses alone, though, as his passing IQ also stands out in other ways, such as this through-ball in a Europa Conference League encounter against Besiktas. The Belgian (marked in black) drifts in-field to pick the ball up before bending a perfect pass into the path of striker Igor Thiago, whose near-post effort is saved.

He is also a potent ball carrier, averaging 59.95 carries and 158.04 yards of progressive carries per 90 in the league this season, ranking in the 99th and 88th percentile in those two areas, respectively. The map of his penetrating carries shows just how often he makes his way into the box from a variety of areas, and he often benefits from having a relatively strong weak foot and the ability to alter his pace as needed.

Finishing

Apart from his ability to play an excellent pass into dangerous areas, De Cuyper has also shown an eye for goal when the opportunity arises. His overall finishing has been poor, as he has gotten just 7.7% of his shots on target in the league this season, but he has stepped up in a couple of crucial moments. He notably scored with a header earlier in the game against Georgia and has also netted once apiece in the league and Conference League qualifiers for Brugge this season.

His league goal came in a crucial game against current leaders Union Saint-Gilloise, who were 1-0 up at the time. In the sequence below, De Cuyper, playing in a more hybrid role that sees him pop up on the right, initially trails the play as the ball is moved to the wing. He then notices a gap in the USG backline and makes a dash to the edge of the area, where he’s found by Skov Olsen, who has attracted two defenders to himself. De Cuyper latches onto the ball, gets into the box and cuts it onto his favoured left foot before curling the ball home to bring Brugge level.

His other goal also came in a crucial moment for his team as it was the winner away to Osasuna in the first leg of their Conference League qualifier, a tie which Brugge eventually won by only a solitary goal (4-3 on aggregate). On this occasion, De Cuyper is out wide on the left and waits for the play to develop down the middle.

As a tired Osasuna struggle to press midfielder Hugo Vetlesen but commit men anyway, space opens up for De Cuyper to make an unchallenged sprint into the left side of the box, and he does so but decelerates at the right time to keep himself onside. Vetlesen then puts him one-on-one with a measured ball through, and the left-back absolutely lashes the ball into the top-right corner to seal a precious win for Brugge.

Off-the-ball positioning and movement

In Club Brugge’s preferred 4-2-3-1 system, De Cuyper typically operates higher than the rest of his defensive line down the left, with one of the left-sided holding midfielders dropping close to the centre-backs to assist build-up and help circulate the ball. Brugge often try to draw their opponents in one direction, opening up space for the opposite full-back, who stays high and wide, as in the sequence below. De Cuyper (marked in black) doesn’t enter the frame initially, but when he does, he has the option to come infield (black arrow) or take the ball out wide (green arrow). He chooses the former and instantly has plenty of options (marked in blue) close to the box.

However, De Cuyper’s off-the-ball movement becomes even more crucial on the counter, as illustrated in this sequence from Brugge’s 1-0 win over Oud-Heverlee Leuven late last month. The youngster (marked in black) starts a late run, as he has done in some of the cases above, and overlaps former Barcelona forward Ferran Jutgla, who receives the ball (marked in blue) via a switch. De Cuyper’s run causes confusion amongst the two Leuven defenders defending the left flank (marked in yellow) and forces them to retreat a couple of steps, giving Jutgla time and space outside the box.

He takes a touch to settle himself before curling in what eventually proved to be the game-winner. And just like that, De Cuyper has played a crucial role in another Brugge goal without touching the ball.

Weaknesses

While his strengths make him a massive asset offensively, De Cuyper has been a little suspect at the back. The Belgium U21 international tends to make reactive tackles, at times over-committing to allow the opposing player to beat him or get a shot away. This is glaringly evident in this sequence, where he fails to understand the forward’s intentions and backs off before making a hopeful but misguided tackle attempt. This allows the opposing player (marked in yellow) to generate space for a shot, which, luckily for De Cuyper (marked in black) and Brugge, goes wide.

He has also averaged just 1.82 tackles (38th percentile among peers), 0.99 tackles won (40th percentile), and 6.11 ball recoveries (51st percentile), often leaving his teammates to do the heavy lifting defensively. Given that he wins only a little over 50% of his tackles and makes more tackles in the middle third than any other part of the pitch (0.83), this can also open the team up to counter-attacks and give the opposition space down his flank.

De Cuyper also has the propensity to foul unnecessarily on occasion and has already been sent off once in the Jupiler Pro League this season while also earning two yellows across the Conference League qualifiers and group stages.

Consider the sequence below from the fifth minute of Brugge’s 1-0 defeat to Kortrijk. The forward (marked in yellow) in front of him receives the ball and seems to be looking to go backwards, with limited immediate outlets to pass to. However, in his eagerness to get the ball back, De Cuyper (marked in black) fouls him, allowing the opposition to move forward.

Summary

Maxim De Cuyper turns 23 in around two weeks and is by no accounts the finished product. However, the progress he has made during his stint as Westerlo and now as one of Brugge’s primary attacking outlets is promising, and the abundance of talent he possesses is there for all to see.

While he has defensive frailties, De Cuyper has what it takes to become a left-back for some of the best teams in Europe, particularly with football essentially moving towards more offensive, possession-based systems with fluid midfield set-ups. Keep an eye on him; if he continues how he has done so far, numerous top teams could be fighting for his signature soon!