Wout Faes

Wout Faes

Faes celebrating promotion with Leicester City in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Wout Felix Lina Faes [1]
Date of birth	(1998-04-03) 3 April 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth	Mol, Belgium
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) [2]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Leicester City
Number	3
Youth career
2003–2006	Rauw Sport Mol
2006–2012	Lierse
2012–2016	Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2018	Anderlecht	0	(0)
2017	→ Heerenveen (loan)	7	(0)
2017–2018	→ Excelsior (loan)	19	(0)
2018–2020	Oostende	57	(1)
2020–2022	Reims	73	(5)
2020	→ Oostende (loan)	6	(0)
2022–	Leicester City	76	(4)
International career‡
2013	Belgium U15	5	(1)
2013–2015	Belgium U17	27	(0)
2016–2017	Belgium U19	9	(1)
2017–2020	Belgium U21	21	(0)
2022–	Belgium	20	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:38, 24 August 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:33, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

Wout Felix Lina Faes (born 3 April 1998) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as centre-back for Premier League club Leicester City and the Belgium national team.

A promising talent from the Anderlecht academy, Faes was sent on loan with Heerenveen and Excelsior in the Eredivisie, but never experienced his breakthrough with Anderlecht. As a result, he moved to Oostende, where he was able to grow into a solid starter. In January 2020, Faes was signed by Ligue 1 club Reims and was sent back on loan to Oostende for the rest of the season. He subsequently joined Leicester City in 2022.

Faes represented Belgium in youth levels, where he gained attention as the captain of Belgian national youth teams. He made his senior debut for Belgium in 2022 and was part of their squads for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2024.

Club career

Anderlecht

Early years

Faes moved to the Anderlecht youth academy from Lierse in 2012. He could then count on interest from Premier League club Chelsea and Manchester United, ^[3] but he still signed his first professional contract with Anderlecht. ^[4] From the 2015–16 season, Faes began practicing regularly with the club's first team. ^[5] A month after he took bronze with Belgium U17 at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, he extended his contract with Anderlecht. ^[6] Faes reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Youth League with the club in both the 2014–15 season and the 2015–16 season, with him captaining the team in the latter campaign. ^[7]

Loans

Anderlecht sent Faes on loan to Dutch Eredivisie club Heerenveen for the second half of the 2016–17 season. ^[8] Anderlecht did not include an option to buy. ^[9] Faes made his debut in the Eredivisie on 1 April 2017. He came on as a substitute against Heracles Almelo in the 35th minute for Reza Ghoochannejhad. The defender then received a place in the starting lineup in all remaining games of the regular season. His last match for Heerenveen was the first leg of the semi-final of the play-offs for European football against Utrecht. Heerenveen ultimately lost twice to Utrecht, which meant that the club missed out on UEFA Europa League participation that season. ^[10]

On his return to Anderlecht, Faes was immediately demoted to the C-team by the new head coach René Weiler. ^[11] On 12 July 2017, it was announced that Excelsior had signed Faes on a one-season loan deal. ^[12] Shortly after his arrival, Faes was joined by a fellow countryman in Jinty Caenepeel. ^[13] The first three matchdays, Faes was in the starting lineup of head coach Mitchell van der Gaag, who emphasized defensive football, but afterwards he received less playing time due to the renewal of Jordy de Wijs's loan deal. ^[14] Despite the fact that De Wijs formed a very strong central defensive duo with Jurgen Mattheij that season, Faes made nineteen league appearances in the Eredivisie that season. ^[15]

Oostende

In the summer of 2018, Faes decided to permanently leave Anderlecht as he signed a three-year contract with first-tier club Oostende, where he was reunited with Gert Verheyen, his former coach from the national youth teams. ^[16] It was also Verheyen who had insisted on the club signing Faes. ^[17] In Ostend, Faes grew into a regular in the centre of the defense. In his first season, he missed only five league games, three of which were due to suspension and two due to a minor foot injury. ^[18] He also reached the semi-finals of the Belgian Cup with the club, in which the club was only knocked out after a penalty-shootout against Gent.

Faes was also an important force at Oostende in the 2019–20 season, who, however, experienced a rough season. ^[19] During the first half of the season, Faes' name regularly emerged in media as a potential sale object. ^[20] Faes, who played a good first half of the season and regularly wore the captain's armband, was eventually sold on 31 January 2020 to the French Ligue 1 club Reims. ^{[21] [22]} Reims let Faes finish the season at Oostende on loan, who at that time were still involved in a relegation battle. The club was ultimately able regain themselves in the top-tier Belgian First Division A, although the club had not yet been mathematically saved when the competition was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reims

After officially joining Reims from the start of the 2020–21 season, Faes made his Ligue 1 debut on 23 August 2020 in a 2–2 away draw against Monaco, in which he played the full match. ^[23] On 1 November, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 home win over Strasbourg; a powerful header from a corner-kick taken by Valon Berisha. ^[24] He finished his first season with Reims with 35 appearances in which he scored two goals, ^[25] as the club finished 14th in the league. ^[26] Faes also featured in the Europa League qualifiers with Reims, who were eventually knocked out by Fehérvár in the third round. ^[27]

Leicester City

On 1 September 2022, Faes joined Premier League club Leicester City on a five-year deal for a reported fee of £15 million. ^[28] He made his debut for the club in a 6–2 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur on 17 September. ^[29] Faes was praised for his impact on the club's defence since his debut, and in the seven Premier League games since the match against Tottenham, Leicester recorded five clean sheets. ^[30] On 30 December 2022, he scored two own goals in a 2–1 loss to Liverpool, becoming the fourth player in Premier League history to score two own goals in the same match. ^[31]

Faes scored his first goal for Leicester on 28 May 2023 in a 2–1 victory against West Ham United on the final match day of the season. Despite the win, Leicester were relegated to the Championship due to Everton's 1–0 win over Bournemouth. ^[32]

International career

Faes represented the Belgium under-17s at the 2015 U-17 World Cup in Chile. ^[33]

In November 2021, he received his first call-up to the senior Belgium national team for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Estonia and Wales, and was an unused substitute in the latter match. ^[34] Faes made his debut for Belgium on 8 June 2022 in a 6–1 win over Poland in the UEFA Nations League. ^[35] Together with Leicester City teammates Timothy Castagne and Youri Tielemans, he was subsequently called up to Belgium's squad for the World Cup in November 2022. ^[36]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 24 August 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [lower-alpha 1]		League cup [lower-alpha 2]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Heerenveen (loan)	2016–17 [15]	Eredivisie	7	0	0	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	—		8	0
Excelsior (loan)	2017–18 [15]	Eredivisie	19	0	1	0	—		—		0	0	20	0
Oostende	2018–19 [15]	Belgian Pro League	26	1	5	1	—		—		9 [lower-alpha 4]	0	40	2
	2019–20 [15]	Belgian Pro League	22	0	2	0	—		—		0	0	24	0
	Total		48	1	7	1	0	0	0	0	9	0	64	2
Oostende (loan)	2019–20 [15]	Belgian Pro League	6	0	0	0	—		—		0	0	6	0
Reims	2020–21 [15]	Ligue 1	33	1	0	0	—		2 [lower-alpha 5]	0	—		35	1
	2021–22 [15]	Ligue 1	37	4	2	0	—		—		—		39	4
	2022–23 [15]	Ligue 1	3	0	—		—		—		—		3	0
	Total		73	5	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	77	5
Leicester City	2022–23 [15]	Premier League	31	1	2	0	3	0	—		—		36	1
	2023–24 [15]	Championship	43	2	1	0	2	0	—		—		46	2
	2024–25 [15]	Premier League	2	1	0	0	0	0	—		—		2	1
	Total		76	4	3	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	84	4
Career total			229	10	13	1	5	0	2	0	10	0	259	11

1. Includes KNVB Cup, Belgian Cup, Coupe de France, FA Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearance in Eredivisie Europa League play-offs
4. Appearances in Belgian Pro League Europa League play-offs
5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 6 September 2024 ^[37]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Belgium	2022	1	0
	2023	10	0
	2024	9	0
Total		20	0

Honours

Leicester City

• EFL Championship: 2023–24 ^[38]

Belgium U17

• FIFA U-17 World Cup third place: 2015 ^{[39] [40]}

Individual

• Stade de Reims Player of the Season: 2021–22 ^[41]
• 2015 UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament ^[42]

References

1. "FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015: List of Players: Belgium" (PDF). FIFA. 28 October 2015. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2019.
2. "Wout Faes". Leicester City F.C. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
3. "Chelsea en Man Utd vissen naast Anderlechtspeler". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 1 April 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
4. "Talent Wout Faes tekent profcontract bij Anderlecht". Bruzz (in Dutch). 3 April 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
5. "Beloftevolle Wout Faes blijft Anderlecht langer trouw". sporza (in Dutch). 21 December 2015. Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
6. "U17-revelatie Faes verlengt contract bij Anderlecht". De Morgen (in Dutch). 21 December 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
7. "Bekijk hier hoe de Anderlecht-jonkies Arsenal kloppen". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 10 February 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
8. Timmer, Marco (31 January 2017). "SC Heerenveen verguld met komst talentvolle Belg". Voetbal International (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
9. "Anderlecht laat grote belofte Wout Faes ervaring opdoen in Nederland". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Dutch). 31 January 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
10. "Utrecht zet stap richting Europa tegen labiel Heerenveen". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 16 May 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
11. "Weiler houdt grote schoonmaak". De Standaard (in Dutch). 17 June 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
12. "Excelsior versterkt zich op huurbasis met Wout Faes". sbvexcelsior.nl (in Dutch). SBV Excelsior. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
13. "Ex-Gentenaar Caenepeel ruilt FC Eindhoven voor Excelsior Rotterdam". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 22 July 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
14. "Wout Faes: 'Anderlecht is een gesloten hoofdstuk'". Sport/Voetbalmagazine (in Dutch). 31 July 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
15. "Wout Faes » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
16. "Anderlecht laat Wout Faes vertrekken naar KV Oostende, Doumbia (Essevee) naar Rusland". De Krant van West-Vlaanderen (in Dutch). 21 June 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
17. Taecke, Tomas (25 June 2018). "Faes blij met overstap naar KVO: "Nooit een kans gehad bij Anderlecht"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
18. "KV Oostende mist sterkhouder tegen RSC Anderlecht". Voetbal België (in Dutch). 16 March 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
19. "Sportieve en extrasportieve malaise bij KVO". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 28 October 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
20. "KV Oostende: investeerder zoeken en Faes verkopen". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 7 November 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
21. Faesen, Bob; Geril, Jürgen (31 January 2020). "Oostende ziet Wout Faes naar Reims vertrekken, maar huurt hem nog tot het einde van het seizoen". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
22. "Gert Verheyen kiest beste elftal van de heenronde, met alleen spelers van de 'kleine' ploegen: "Deschacht moet erin"". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 22 November 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
23. "AS Monaco - Stade Reims 2:2 (Ligue 1 2020/2021, 1. Round)". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
24. Durand, Joachim (1 November 2020). "Le premier but de Wout Faes avec le Stade de Reims". Walfoot.be (in French).
25. "Wout Faes | Football Stats | Stade de Reims | Season 2020/2021 | Soccer Base". soccerbase.com. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
26. "Tables - Ligue 1 Uber Eats". Ligue1. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
27. "Fehérvár-Reims 2021 History | UEFA Europa League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
28. "Leicester City Sign Wout Faes From Reims". www.lcfc.com. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
29. "Tottenham 6–2 Leicester City: Premier League – as it happened". The Guardian. 17 September 2022.
30. "'Made for me' - How Leicester City summer signing Wout Faes has made instant impact". Leicester Mercury. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
31. "Faes scores two own goals against Liverpool". The Guardian. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
32. Hafez, Shamoon (28 May 2023). "Leicester relegated despite win over West Ham". BBC Sport.
33. "Wout Faes, Belgium's natural leader". FIFA. 22 October 2015. Archived from the original on 30 October 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
34. "Martinez roept Dante Vanzeir en Wout Faes op voor WK-kwalificaties" [Martinez calls up Dante Vanzeir and Wout Faes for World Cup qualifiers] (in Dutch). Sporza. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
35. "Belgium 6–1 Poland: Red Devils turn on the style". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
36. "Roberto Martinez selects 26 Devils for the World Cup". Royal Belgian Football Association. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
37. Wout Faes at National-Football-Teams.com
38. "Championship: 2023/24: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
    "Leicester: Squad details: 2023/24". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
39. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.fifadata.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
40. FIFA.com
41. "Wout Faes plébiscité: le Belge élu meilleur joueur de Reims de la saison" (in French). Le Soir. 19 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
42. "Team of the Tournament". uefa.com. Union of European Football Associations . Retrieved 20 July 2015.

External links

• Profile at the Leicester City F.C. website
• Wout Faes at the Royal Belgian Football Association
• Wout Faes – UEFA competition record ( archive )