This was the season of Club NXT U23

The Challenger Pro League - Belgium's second tier - is done and dusted. Club NXT U23 finished sixth — their best performance in the league so far. This is how their season went.

Difficult start, impressive against top sides

Club NXT started the season with just one win in five. On the opening fixture the youngsters sent Lokeren-Temse back home following a dominant 4-0 display at the NEST — a perfect start. But the three following fixtures all ended in a draw, against strong opponents. Newly promoted side La Louvière, current play-off team Patro Eisden and Seraing kept Club NXT at bay. The home side against Beveren turned into a 2-0 win again, so Club NXT remained undefeated at home ground in the season start.

The match against Zulte Waregem was decided with a free kick (2-1 defeat), yet the U23's had made it very tough for the opponent. Club NXT won against Lierse (3-1) but then were held to a draw and lost a second game. Remarkably, the 1-1 draw with RFC Liège was the last tie until the second but last game against SK Beveren (2-2).

Blauw-Zwart were seventh after ten fixtures with 13 points.

Strong sprint, great finale

In the next 10 matches, Club NXT launched a strong sprint. Although 2024 ended with two defeats, against RWDM and Zulte Waregem, they still managed an impressive 21 out of 30 points. La Louvière, Lommel, Lierse, Francs Borains, and the other U23 teams were beaten.

2025 kicked off with four consecutive wins, and Club NXT held fifth place for several weeks. Our youngsters earned respect from their opponents and delivered academic and dominant football.

The undefeated streak in 2025 was broken once again by RWDM, marking the start of a 0 out of 9 run. However, this was quickly redeemed with a hard-fought win in Seraing, cheered on by a well-filled away section thanks to Liège Division.

Meanwhile, there was a change within the coaching staff. Head coach Robin Veldman left to return to his beloved team Heerenveen — an opportunity he couldn't pass up. Assistant Mitch Delcour took over the reins for the remainder of the season. For the third season in a row, Club NXT’s head coach did not finish the season, after moving on to a higher-level opportunity. It’s proof that Club NXT not only develops talented footballers, but also coaches of a high caliber.

This was the start of a great season finale for Club NXT with some thrilling matches. After playing nearly an entire second half with ten men, youngsters Bisiwu and Delorge still secured the win against Liège. In Beveren, our very young team came just one minute short of victory after coming from behind, and they wrapped up the season in style with a solid win at The NEST against Francs Borains.

UEFA Youth League

Club NXT not only played in the Belgian League, they also played European football. A big part of the U23 selection regularly played a mid week match in the UEFA Youth League.

That had an impact on the results. Following a European match Club NXT only won twice in the Challenger Pro League. One game ended in a draw, three resulted in a defeat. It shows that the toll of a European fixture is not to be underestimated, especially not at a young age.

On the other hand, it's a wonderful experience for our talents. They develop on a higher, European football level and learn to deal with the impact of travelling by plane and be ready for the game.

Key stats

The standings

Let’s start with the basic stats. Club NXT U23 finished in sixth place and, for the third year in a row, was the best U23 team in the Challenger Pro League. It's their second-best finish ever in the 1B league.

They reached sixth place with 47 points, 14 wins, and a goal difference of +11 — their best numbers since debuting in the second division. Club NXT fielded the third-youngest squad in the league.

Two players made it into the top 10 of the scoring charts. Shandre Campbell scored 9 goals, while Lenn De Smet netted one less. Kaye Furo also scored 8 goals, despite playing fewer matches. The top assist provider this season was Tobias Lund Jensen, with 5 assists.

Young talent

The youngest starting eleven had an average age of 19.3 years (against RFC Liège, 2-1 win). The youngest line-up on the field came during the match at SK Beveren (2-2), when the average age in the second half was just 18.5 years.

Nine players made their debut for Club NXT this season: Argus Vanden Driessche, Naïm Amengai, Alexander Vandeperrie, Wout Verlinden, Lucas Delorge, Jakke Van Britsom, Shandre Campbell, Renzo Tytens, and Grady McDonnell. The first six came through the club’s youth academy and made their professional debut.

Dominant football

Club Brugge and Club NXT stand for dominant football, with careful build-up from the back. That’s reflected in the number of passes: Club NXT made a total of 14.286 passes this season with an accuracy of 82.5%. That’s 3.000 more passes than the league average.

Possession was also largely in favor of Blauw-Zwart. Over the entire season, our youngsters averaged 56.8% ball possession.