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The three-time Belgian Championship winners KRC Genk have a reputation of nurturing youngsters in a unique way to produce extraordinary talents. The Belgian club set up their new academy next to their stadium in 2003.
Ronny Vangeneugden took care of these youngsters and eventually got promoted to first team manager. Their scouting is also highly regarded.
It was Ronny who started to promote youngsters to the first team, but a lack of maturity from the youngsters meant the 50-year-old had to get the sack in 2008, due to a string of poor results. But, those players have gone on to become one of the finest on the European continent.
Patrick Jannsens, CEO of Genk opened up about the club in an interview with Goal, "Do we consider ourselves a selling club? This is not our ambition but it is the reality. We look upon ourselves as a club that’s a university of football. A club that develops high-quality players."
Let's look at the six players who have come through the Genk academy to become some of the hottest prospects in Europe right now.
#6 Leon Bailey ( Bayer Leverkusen )
Hailing from Kingston, Leon Bailey spent his early career at Phoenix All Stars academy. Witnessing his immense talent, Austrian FC club Liefering made their move to sign the Jamaican winger. He was just 13 years of age when he moved to Europe.
After two years, he made a move to Slovakian club Trencin, before eventually moving to the Belgian heavyweights during the summer of 2015. During his stay at Cristal Arena, the winger had scored 16 goals from 77 appearances, which included seven in the Europa League.
Those numbers were able to attract interest from Bayer Leverkusen. Staying as an integral part of the team, Bailey has made a name for himself in the Bundesliga. He has made 44 appearances for the German club, attracting interest from Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Chelsea last summer. All three clubs balked at the price tag. At the age of just 21, Leon Bailey is going to one of the names to watch out for years to come.
#5 Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio)
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic made his first footballing steps with Sporting Lisbon, while his father Nikola Milinkovic was representing Portuguese club Averca. Following his father's retirement from football, their family moved to Serbia.
The 23-year-old trained with Serbian club Vojvodina, and rose through their academy ranks. His talent was the pulling factor for Genk, where he spent a year and attracted interest from several parts of Europe. The Serbian appeared for the Belgian club 24 times and scored five goals.
His move to Lazio in 2015 did no harm as he has been excellent for the Rome side over the last three years. Juventus, Chelsea and Manchester United were some of the clubs trying to recruit him, but Lazio were not prepared to sell him. He has won seven caps for his senior national date till date.
#4 Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang)
Yannick Carrasco spent five years in the city of Genk, between 2010 and 2015. However, he was not able to make a single senior appearance for the Belgian club.
Succeedingly, move to Monaco appeared on the cards for the winger. He spent five fruitful years at the French club, two with the junior team and three with the senior team. His eye-catchy performances saw heading the wish list of many clubs. But, Atletico Madrid was the club to secure his signature for a fee of 20 million. He had several memorable outings with the Spanish club including scoring the equalizer in the 2016 Champions League finals against Real Madrid.
He had a fallout with Atletico Madrid manager Deigo Simeone, and several other teammates after the inception of the 2017/18 season. Manchester United were interested on the winger, but he preferred to move to China.
#3 Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)
Born in north-east France, Kalidou Koulibaly decided to represent Senegal at the international level as per his parents wish, after spending one-year with the French Under-20 squad.
It was Metz who provided him with the opportunity at the youth level. Due to restricted game time in France, he decided to join Genk in the summer of 2012 for a reported fee of £1.3 million. This amount proved to be a bargain for the Belgian club as he was immense at the back by cutting down the goals conceded with his prowess defending ability.
Rafa Benitez expressed interest on the Senegalese defender and signed him for Napoli. Since then, he has been the first name on the teamsheet under three different managers - Rafa Benitez, Maurizio Sarri and Carlo Ancelotti. He has made 165 appearances for Napoli in five years and was linked with Chelsea and Manchester United last summer.
#2 Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
At the tender age of 18, Thibaut Courtois stood between the sticks to help Genk win the Belgian Pro League. His awe-inspiring performances saw him bag Genk's Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year awards.
Chelsea knocked onGenk's door for the signature of their goalkeeper, and then within weeks, he was loaned out to Atletico Madrid, who saw him as a potential replacement for David De Gea.
It indeed paid off for Diego Simeone, as Courtois proved a point by spending three excellent years at Atletico Madrid, including the run of 820 minutes without conceding a goal and winning the man of the match award in the Copa Del Rey final in 2013.
In 2014, Courtois was made number one at Chelsea and penned a new five-year deal with the Blues. He enjoyed success with the Londoners by winning two Premier League titles and a number of domestic cups. Courtois made it clear that he wanted a move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2018. He's yet to make an appearance for the Los Blancos.
#1 Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
Kevin De Bruyne is in the world class bracket by taking his game to another level under the guidance of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, and would easily sneak into the top three attacking midfielders in the world at the moment.
De Bruyne rose through the ranks of Gent, and played four years of senior football at the Belgian club. During the summer of 2012, English side Chelsea came calling for De Bruyne when he was aged just 20. To gain more top-flight football experience, the Belgian moved to Werder Bremen. His loan stint was successful, where he scored 10 goals from just 33 games.
His noteworthy performances caught the eyes of former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who promised him game time at Stamford Bridge. But, injury and restlessness from Mourinho played a part in his permanent move to Wolfsburg. He caught the eyes of several scouts while representing the German club. Manchester City made a bid in a region of £55 million to seal the signature of the Belgian during the summer of 2015.
Kevin De Bruyne has been instrumental in Manchester City's success since joining the club. He has scored 35 goals in his 142 appearances in the process.
Notable mentions:
Having established themselves as one of the finest players in their respective leagues, Genk have also produced players including Christian Benteke, Divock Origi, Wilfred Ndidi and Steven Defour.
