Neel Shelat continues our Transfer Gurus series with a deep dive on the work behind a Belgian club’s rapid rise to the top
As far as scouting and player trading are concerned, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise have to be considered among the most interesting teams in the world right now. Ever since Brighton & Hove Albion chairman Tony Bloom took over the club in 2018, Belgian football’s long-sleeping giants have been transformed into consistent overachievers. One of the masterminds behind their success has been Sporting Director Chris O’Loughlin.
O’Loughlin’s career path before joining Union makes for some very interesting reading, not least because he had no prior experience as a sporting director. After an unremarkable playing career that failed to go too far beyond the reserve teams of some Northern Irish clubs, he quickly pivoted to coaching. His first jobs were in South Africa – the country where he spent much of his childhood – in the late 2000s. He took on an assistant coach role for the Orlando Pirates and then worked in Supersport United’s academy before getting a chance as a head coach at AS Vita in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He then spent a year in Australia with Melbourne Victory, working alongside the likes of Ange Postecoglu and Kevin Muscat. The Irishman finally moved back to Europe in 2013, spending a good chunk of time in Belgian side STVV’s coaching staff, largely as an assistant but also as the head coach in 2015/16. He also spent some time at Charlton Athletic in that period, but his final coach job was in Kortrijk as an assistant manager for the 2018/19 season.
Union had spent one season under the new ownership prior to O’Loughlin’s arrival, and they had already started to make some interesting moves. Marcel Mehlem (€480,000 from Karlsruher SC), Teddy Teuma (€350,000 from Red Star FC) and Ismaël Kandouss (€100,000 from USL Dunkerque) all proved to be great transfers from the 2018/19 season, but there were many more to come in subsequent seasons.
Before diving into them, it is worth noting that O’Loughlin has revealed in an interview with Training Ground Guru that his role at Union has predominantly involved creating the right environment and aligning all of the club’s departments. Based on what he said, chairman and now majority stakeholder Alex Muzio is the leader of those responsible for the especially interesting scouting, though O’Loughlin is surely closely involved in recruitment given his post.
2019/20: Finding Bargains in the North
By the time O’Loughlin joined Union, they were a relatively established second-tier side but did not look in the best shape to challenge for promotion. Obviously, then, his first job was to change that – all while operating within a modest budget. Crucially, he started off with a couple of great signings from Denmark, laying the first foundations of what would become an unforgettable team.
Given their tight budget, Union Saint-Gilloise have been extremely cautious about overspending on any individual transfers. Their policy of trying to unearth hidden gems or otherwise underrated players naturally has a greater element of risk attached to it, but they seem to only be willing to take bigger chances on free transfers. When transfer fees are involved, their track record so far is near impeccable, starting from the very first window under O’Loughlin.
| Player | Previous Club | Transfer Fee |
| Casper Nielsen | Odense BK | €530,000 |
| Jonas Bager | Randers FC | €308,000 |
| Siebe Van der Heyden | FC Eindhoven | €100,000 |
| Sigurd Haugen | Sogndal | N/A |
| Nik Lorbek | NS Mura | Free |
| Ibrahima Sory Bah | KV Oostende | Free |
(Union Saint-Gilloise’s permanent signings in the 2019 summer transfer window.)
Both Casper Nielsen and Jonas Bager had not played outside Denmark before being signed by Union, but both proved to be great buys. The former developed into an excellent well-rounded midfielder who would go on to (temporarily) become the club record sale after about 100 performances, while the latter offered a solid presence in defence before being moved on in a couple of years.
Siebe Van der Heyden was another fantastic signing. The Anderlecht academy graduate joined on the back of a breakout season at the senior level with Dutch second-tier side FC Eindhoven, but he did not instantly become a first-team regular. He gradually developed into a fantastic player, making well over 100 appearances for the club before earning a move to La Liga.
The other three moves did not work out half as well as each of those players left quite quickly after only making a handful of appearances, but the lack of transfer fees involved meant that Union did not suffer any major damage. The only remotely subpar signing that involved a transfer fee came that winter as Aron Sigurðarson joined from Norwegian second-tier side IK Start for €300,000, but even he did score eight goals in 26 appearances before leaving for Denmark in 2021. It should also be noted that his failure to establish a starting spot was largely down to a couple of unbelievably impactful signings in the following summer.
2020/21: Second Tier Superteam
After finishing fourth in both stages of the 2019/20 season, Union decided to undertake something of an overhaul in the 2020 summer transfer window. As many as 10 permanent additions to the squad were made, but only one of them required a transfer fee.
| Player | Previous Club | Transfer Fee |
| Dante Vanzeir | KRC Genk | €300,000 |
| Deniz Undav | SV Meppen | Free |
| Tibo Herbots | Sint-Truiden | Free |
| Senne Lynen | Telstar | Free |
| Christian Burgess | Portsmouth | Free |
| Anthony Moris | RE Virton | Free |
| Loïc Lapoussin | RE Virton | Free |
| Guillaume François | RE Virton | Free |
| Brighton Labeau | FC Rapid | Free |
| Edisson Jordanov | RE Virton | Free |
(Union Saint-Gilloise’s permanent signings in the 2020 summer transfer window.)
Arguably, though, the most important signing of all that summer was not a player. Instead, it was head coach Felice Mazzù. After an impressive six-year spell at Sporting Charleroi, he moved to Genk in the summer of 2019 but was out by November. In typical fashion, Union Saint-Gilloise saw enough in his previous work to give him a shot, and that proved to be a masterstroke. Mazzù led Union to promotion in his very first season with a record-smashing tally of 70 points in 28 matches. Crucially, he also laid the foundations for what would become Union’s consistent style of play in the top flight, placing a significant emphasis on transitions regardless of the quality of the opposition. As is clear from these Coach ID wheels, Mazzù’s style revolved around sitting deep and countering quickly and directly against stronger teams, and pinning weaker teams back in their own third, again with an emphasis on transitions but also using crosses against deeper blocks.
Of course, the players Mazzù had to work with were not half bad themselves. Dante Vanzeir joined him in moving from Genk to Union, though he had only made one appearance for the Smurfs having spent the vast majority of the 2019/20 season on loan at Mechelen. He only scored three league goals for the Yellow-Reds but did show promising well-roundedness in his performances besides registering a decent xG tally.
The €300,000 Union spent on his transfer fee proved to be more than worth it many times over. The Belgian forward registered 69 goal involvements in 91 appearances for the club across two and a half seasons before making a €5 million move to the New York Red Bulls.
His strike partner Deniz Undav was arguably an even better find. The German forward had only ever played in his nation’s lower leagues and spent 2019/20 in the 3. Liga with SV Meppen. He stood out in the division with 17 goals in 34 appearances that season, showcasing a level of physicality that translated quite well to Belgium.
He continued to bully defences both in the second tier and top flight, earning a €7m move to Brighton in 2022. Although he never quite managed to star for the Seagulls, Undav got back on track in Germany with Stuttgart and ultimately joined them permanently in a €26.7m deal.
Union also capitalised on Virton’s failure to get a pro license for the 2020/21 season as they signed four experienced players from them who would go on to become senior figures at the Stade Joseph Marien. Besides them, Portsmouth’s Christian Burgess was another great free transfer as he has remained a solid figure in their back line over the years. Young Senne Lynen took a while to settle in after joining from Telstar but ultimately impressed enough to earn a €2.25m move to Werder Bremen.
With these signings, Union assembled a side with a great balance of experience and young talent that not only blew away all competition in the second tier but also went on to make instant waves in the top flight.
2021/22: Supporting an Instant Title Charge
Despite their stellar season in the second tier, Union were able to hold on to all of their key players in the summer of 2021. Their only departures were free transfers, while their signings also included some loans. Among the arrivals were Dutch wing back Bart Niuewkoop, Brighton loanee Kaoru Mitoma and Ivorian midfielder Lazare Amani, who left Charleroi on loan with an option to buy (which would be exercised the following summer).
Union got off to an absolute flyer in the Pro League and found themselves seven points clear at the top of the standings by the end of December. As positive as they might have been, they surely could not have anticipated such a sudden and serious title charge. At such a time, most sides might have been tempted to go big in the winter transfer window, but Union did not do so. Instead, they stuck to their principle of never spending more than they earn, which O’Loughlin has emphasised in interviews.
So, as they struck a deal for Undav’s move to Brighton in the following summer, they only reinvested a portion of that fee in the winter window. The only permanent signing they made was Cameron Puertas, who left Swiss Super League side Lausanne-Sport for a little over €1m.
Although he took some time to settle into USG’s 3-5-2 system, he proved to be yet another excellent signing in the long run. After a stellar 2023/24 season, he would go on to earn a move to Saudi Pro League newcomers Al Qadsiah for a fee north of €15m!
The other noteworthy arrival was centre back Koki Machida, who had put up some very impressive numbers as a defensively dominant centre back in the 2021 J1 League season. He initially joined on loan but became a permanent squad member after a €1m deal was struck in the summer.
Despite making very few additions to their squad, Union very nearly did the unthinkable by winning the title in their very first season after winning promotion. Although they finished first at the end of the regular season with a five-point buffer, the Belgian Pro League’s convoluted format (which sees the title challengers enter the championship playoff with their points halved) proved to be their undoing. In the end, they had to settle for second place, which still had to be considered mightily impressive from a broader perspective.
2022/23: Sustaining Success Despite Departures
After such an eye-catching season in the Belgian Pro League, Union’s players were inevitably on the radars of clubs all around Europe and the world in the summer of 2022. Even so, were somehow able to keep hold of most of their stars, losing only one player who was still under contract. That must not have been an easy deal to accept, though, as key midfielder Casper Nielsen made a club-record €7.5m move to none other than Club Brugge, the side that snatched the title away from Union in the playoffs.
Nevertheless, Union did not deviate from their approach and prepared to compete with the big boys once again despite still having one of the lowest budgets in the league. Their signings that summer were aimed at replacing Nielsen and more importantly Undav, so they signed as many as four strikers.
| Player | Previous Club | Transfer Fee |
| Victor Boniface | Bodø/Glimt | €6.10m |
| Gustaf Nilsson | Wehen Wiesbaden | €1.00m |
| Ross Sykes | Accrington Stanley | €280,000 |
| Oussama El Azzouzi | FC Emmen | €100,000 |
| Arnaud Dony | STVV U21 | Free |
| Dennis Eckert | FC Ingolstadt | Free |
| José Rodríguez | Maccabi Haifa | Free |
| Viktor Boone | KMSK Deinze | N/A |
(Union Saint-Gilloise’s permanent signings in the 2022 summer transfer window.)
Most of the money they spent in terms of transfer fees went to Bodø/Glimt for one Victor Boniface. After two relatively lowkey seasons with the Norwegian club, he had started making waves in 2022 with some impressive all-round play capped off by a prolific scoring record. Boniface was in the 90th percentile for almost every key striking metric, and nailed the three key areas of expected goals (100th percentile), touches in box (85th percentile), and forward passes received (97th percentile).
Of course, he went on to become Union’s star striker for the 2022/23 season and earned a club-record-smashing move to Bayer Leverkusen. The rest, as they say, is history.
The strikers they signed beside him turned out to be quite handy as well, particularly after Dante Vanzeir’s mid-season departure. José Rodríguez’s free transfer did not work out quite so well as he left at the end of the season, but both Dennis Eckert (also free) and Gustaf Nilsson (€600,000) proved to be well worth the investment. Interestingly, just like Undav, they were both signed from the German lower leagues too.
Perhaps the biggest loss for Union that summer, though, was head coach Felice Mazzù. He decided to take another shot at managing an established top club, this time city rivals Anderlecht. Crucially, his assistant Karel Geraerts stayed put and preserved the tactical system and style of play he used to a fair extent, although less extreme and with more of a focus on possession against weaker sides.
Union came even closer to the title this term, losing it late on the very final day of championship playoff fixtures. The disappointment must surely have been incredibly bitter in the moment, but once again, they had a lot of reasons to be proud of their achievements in the big picture.
2023/24: Ramping Up Global Recruitment
Having established themselves as consistent competitors at the top of the Pro League and also put together an impressive European campaign that culminated in a Europa League quarterfinal, Union had made too many waves on the big stage to continue getting away without sufficient interest in their star players. The 2023 summer transfer window remains a record-breaking one for them in terms of departures, as nine sales raised over €38m altogether.
| Player | Buying Club | Transfer Fee |
| Victor Boniface | Bayer Leverkusen | €21.70m |
| Teddy Teuma | Stade Reims | €5.05m |
| Siebe Van der Heyden | RCD Mallorca | €2.70m |
| Bart Nieuwkoop | Feyenoord | €2.40m |
| Oussama El Azzouzi | Bologna | €2.29m |
| Senne Lynen | Werder Bremen | €2.25m |
| Ismaël Kandouss | Gent | €1.75m |
| Ilyes Ziani | SL16 FC | €200,000 |
(Union Saint-Gilloise’s sales in the 2023 summer transfer window.)
With some serious cash to play with by their standards, Union now had the opportunity to ramp up the scope of and investment in their player recruitment. Previously, they had mostly stuck to markets in Western Europe and Scandinavia, but now they could not only afford to invest more heavily in them but also managed to broaden out to South America.
| Player | Previous Club | Transfer Fee |
| Kevin Rodríguez | Independiente del Valle | €4.50m |
| Mohamed Amoura | FC Lugano | €4.00m |
| Alessio Castro-Montes | Gent | €2.00m |
| Kevin Mac Allister | Argentinos Juniors | €1.50m |
| Noah Sadiki | Anderlecht | €1.40m |
| Mathias Rasmussen | Brann | €1.20m |
| Charles Vanhoutte | Cercle Brugge | €1.00m |
| Henok Teklab | Preußen Münster | Free |
| Elton Kabangu | Willem II | Free |
| Fedde Leysen | PSV U21 | Free |
| Maxime Wenssens | N/A | N/A |
(Union Saint-Gilloise’s new permanent signings in the 2023 summer transfer window.)
Their most expensive signing of the window came from Ecuador as Kevin Rodríguez left Independiente del Valle for €4.5m. A couple of injuries limited his game time in 2023/24, but he still has a good deal of time to bounce back.
The best signing of the window, then, was Mohamed Amoura. After an impressive season as a winger for Lugano in Switzerland, he did a great job in a second striker role for Union. By the end of the season, clubs from the big five European leagues were interested in his services and he ended up joining Wolfsburg.
Besides bringing in Kevin Mac Allister (yes, he is Alexis’s brother and was named after the Home Alone character) from Argentinos Juniors and Mathias Rasmussen from Brann, Union also used their funds to make three signings from domestic rivals. They did not forsake their annual German lower league gem in this flurry of activity, though. This time, it was Eritrean wide attacker Henok Teklab who caught their eye, and he proved to be yet another inspired find for a wing back role in their system.
Union had to contend with another coaching change in the summer as Geraerts left, so they decided to hire Alexander Blessin as his successor. The German tactician had impressed at Oostende in the past, and he bounced back from a disappointing stint at Genoa with another successful spell in Belgium. Once again, ensuring stylistic and tactical continuity was a key facet in ensuring the smoothness of the transition, although there’s no doubt that Blessin was a much closer fit to Mazzù’s style and even more extreme in aggressiveness.
Union did not get third-time lucky in the league as they finished seven points clear at the end of the regular season but lost out on the title by a point in the Championship playoff. They did, however, manage to lift their first major trophy in nearly nine decades by winning the cup, so their efforts were finally rewarded in the form of silverware.
2024/25: Suffering From Success?
The fact that Union have been able to sustain such a high level of success for three seasons is mightily impressive, but it is only natural that they face some (at least temporary) dropoffs given their budget and approach. This season, for example, they are fifth from bottom in the Pro League in terms of player payrolls, and they were second last in each of the last two seasons!
The bigger issue is that their model relies on the acquisition of promising young talents, who are then developed and given a platform to shine before – all being well – being sold for massive profits. Although USG can now invest greater sums in their signings, they will never be able to eliminate the adaptation time youngsters need, especially as many of the players they bring in are making their first moves away from their home countries. Further, as they expand to markets in regions with significant cultural differences such as South America and Eastern Europe, it becomes all the more unrealistic to expect new signings to hit the ground running. As good as their scouting might be, a €15m departure can almost never be instantly replaced by a signing who costs less than a third of that.
Another issue is their constant coaching changes, as their impressive performances have led to other sides courting their head coaches after almost every season. Blessin also left this summer to take up the post at St. Pauli, after which Union gave Sébastien Pocognoli his first senior coaching job. Yet again, some stylistic and tactical continuity has been maintained, but the picture will be clearer after more games.
So, the fact that Union are ninth in the Pro League at the time of writing is neither a reflection of a drop in their scouting or recruitment nor an indictment of their approach. Instead, it is simply a natural part of their model which they will inevitably have to come across at some point. At such a time, the Belgian Pro League’s format might turn out to be a blessing for once, as USG only need to finish in the top six at the end of the regular season to retain a serious shot at a European spot.
As far as transfers go, they conducted yet more interesting business this summer. The sales of Cameron Puertas and Gustaf Nilsson alone brought in over €20m, much of which they distributed across six transfers.
| Player | Previous Club | Transfer Fee |
| Anan Khalaili | Maccabi Haifa | €6.50m |
| Franjo Ivanovic | HNK Rijeka | €4.00m |
| Mohammed Fuseini | Sturm Graz | €2.00m |
| Anouar Ait El Hadj | KRC Genk | €1.50m |
| Ousseynou Niang | Riga FC | €1.50m |
| Promise David | Kalju FC | €400,000 |
| Kamiel Van De Perre | Jong Genk | Free |
| Vic Chambaere | Genk | Free |
| Sofiane Boufal | Al-Rayyan | Free |
(Union Saint-Gilloise’s permanent signings in the 2024 summer transfer window.)
Perhaps a part of the reason behind their dropoff so far is that their arrivals got even younger this summer. Teenage midfielder Anan Khalaili was their most expensive signing, followed by 20-year-old striker Franjo Ivanovi?.
The only player over the age of 22 they brought in was Sofiane Boufal. The others came from various places such as Sturm Graz’s Ghanaian forward Mohammed Fuseini, who spent last season on loan in Denmark with Randers – again, look at the expected goals, touches in box, and forward passes received.
Union also made as many as three signings from Genk, but the most interesting market they bought from has to be the Baltics. They made two signings for under €2m combined, including Riga FC’s Senegalese winger Ousseynou Niang…
… and Canadian-Nigerian striker Promise David from the Estonian top flight.
Obviously, it is quite unreasonable to expect such youngsters coming in from all over the globe to hit the ground running in one of the world’s top ten leagues, so Union may have to accept a lower league position this season. If their previous track record and TransferLab’s projections are anything to go by, many of these players should go on to shine in a year or two, powering Union to yet more success and earning big moves for themselves at the end of the day.
So, as long as O’Loughlin keeps doing his job of fostering the right environment and aligning all of the club’s departments, the scouting department can be expected to maintain their brilliant success rate. All things considered, then, there is no reason why Union cannot keep overachieving in the long run.
Stats courtesy Transfermarkt, FotMob and Capology.
Header image copyright IMAGO / Isosport / Stijn Audooren
