Bryan Heynen

Bryan Heynen (born 6 February 1997) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Belgian club Genk. He plays as a midfielder.[1]

Bryan Heynen
Personal information
Full name Bryan Heynen
Date of birth (1997-02-06) 6 February 1997[1]
Place of birth Bree, Belgium[1]
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Genk
Number 28
Youth career
2003–2015 Genk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– Genk 214 (26)
International career‡
2013 Belgium U16 3 (0)
2017–2019 Belgium U21 12 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 June 2019

Career

A creative midfielder, Heynen came through the youth system at K.R.C. Genk to make his Belgian Pro League debut on 25 July 2015 in a 3–1 home win against OH Leuven. He replaced Wilfred Ndidi after 66 minutes.[2]

In his second season at the club, Heynen had an elongated run in the first team under Peter Maes at the age of 19 as Genk finished eighth.

Due to a serious knee injury that he sustained in training in November 2017, he did not play much in the 2017/2018 season, but was still offered a new five-year contract at the end of 2018.[3]

With Philippe Clement now in charge, Heynen played all but five games as Genk stormed to the 2019 league title, the fourth in their history and their first for eight years.[4][5]

Clement's departure for Club Brugge saw a period of instability and major change off the pitch as the club hired four first-team coaches in the space of 15 months - Felice Mazzu, Hannes Wolf, Jess Thorup and finally John van den Brom.

With Heynen now appointed captain by Mazzu, he featured in Genk's early UEFA Champions League exit in 2019-20 having been paired with Liverpool, Napoli and a Salzburg side containing Erling Haaland and Takumi Minamino.

When Thorup departed for FC Copenhagen in his native Denmark after six games, Genk finally found stability for the 2020-21 season under van den Brom, finishing runners-up behind Club Brugge in the League, and winning the 2020-21 Belgian Cup with Heynen as captain, beating Standard Liege 2-1 in the final.[6][7][8]

After a disappointing campaign the following season where defensive frailty saw van den Brom dismissed mid-season, and Bernd Storck only able to guide Genk to the 2022 Belgian Pro League's European play-offs, Heynen's form surged under the tenureship of new coach Wouter Vrancken. Genk lost their opening league game of the season champions Club Brugge, before going on to win 15 of their next 16 league games - drawing the other one for an unbeaten run of 16 - to go ten points clear of second-placed Union St-Gilloise by Christmas 2022.

Heynen was named by Belgium national team coach Roberto Martinez in the preliminary Belgian squad of 55 ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but didn't make the plane for Qatar. A continuation in strong form saw big calls for Heynen and team-mate Mike Trésor to be capped by new national team coach Domenico Tedesco for his first games in charge against Sweden and Germany in March 2023,[9] but neither player was chosen. [10][11][12][13]

Career statistics
As of match played 22 May 2023[1]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Genk 2015–16 Belgian Pro League 10020—120
2016–17 Belgian First Division A 33040131501
2017–18 10010—110
2018–19 3552071446
2019–20 1412140202
2020–21 2924000332
2021–22 3852070475
2022–23 391130004211
Career totals 2082420131225927

Honours

Genk

References
  1. "B. Heynen: Summary". soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  2. "Genk vs. OH Leuven - 25 July 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  3. "FT België 20/12. Bryan Heynen en Jere Uronen verlengen bij Genk - Pro League verscherpt bondsregels rond racisme en spreekkoren(Bryan Heynen and Jere Uronen extend at Genk)". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 20 December 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  4. "Van gróót nieuws tot een nieuwe sensatie: de tien Genkse sleutelmomenten richting delirium". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 16 May 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  5. "Jupiler Pro League 2018-19". Sporza (in Dutch). 25 May 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  6. "Racing Genk wins the Croky Cup". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 25 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  7. "ONS RAPPORT. Twee uitblinkers bij Racing Genk, één buis bij Standard". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 25 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  8. "Reacties uit het winnende kamp: "Of ik dronken zal zijn? We zullen zien"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 25 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  9. Jackson, Ben (9 February 2023). "Domenico Tedesco must send the right message by calling up Mike Tresor". Get Football News. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  10. "Tedesco about missing Heynen/Trésor:"Close Call"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 17 March 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  11. "Genk-OHL:Heynen et Tresor répondent à Tedesco". footnews.be (in French). 2 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  12. ""If you select 20 players, is it a huge shame that Trésor is not there?"". Sporza (in Dutch). 21 March 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  13. "Après la non-sélection de Heynen et Trésor chez les Diables, Genk dézingue l'Union belge : "Un manque de respect"". L'Avenir (in French). 17 March 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  14. "Onuachu with an assist as Genk clinch Belgian Cup title after Standard Liege win". Goal. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.


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