Jens Cools

Jens Cools (born 16 October 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Eupen. He gained two caps for the Belgium under-21 team.

Jens Cools
Personal information
Full name Jens Cools
Date of birth (1990-10-16) 16 October 1990
Place of birth Westerlo, Belgium
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Eupen
Number 26
Youth career
1997–2010 Westerlo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2016 Westerlo 147 (10)
2016–2018 Waasland-Beveren 49 (5)
2018–2019 Pafos 25 (6)
2019– Eupen 73 (3)
National team
2011 Belgium U21 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 April 2022

Career

Westerlo

In the 2009–10 season, Cools was promoted from the youth academy to the first team of Westerlo, the club from the municipality where he grew up.[2] He made his professional debut one season later. After having played for six seasons in the first team, Cools' contract expired at the end of the 2015–16 season, as a result of which he left Westerlo on a free transfer.[2] A key player of the club during his time there, Cools managed to make 161 appearances for the club, in which he scored 12 goals.[1]

Waasland-Beveren

On 1 July 2016, Cools moved Waasland-Beveren after having been convinced by their manager Stijn Vreven. Cools signed a two-year contract.[3] He made 51 appearances for the club during his two seasons there, in which he scored two goals.[1]

Pafos

After two seasons, he chose to accept an offer from Cypriot club Pafos.[4] He experienced a strong season there in which he scored six goals in 25 appearances.[1]

Eupen

After playing in Cyprus for one season, Cools expressed a wish to return to his home country.[5] On 16 July 2019, Eupen announced that he had signed a three-year contract with them.[6] In his first season there, he made 27 appearances and scored one goal.[1]

In October 2020, he tested positive for SARS‑CoV‑2 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] Despite being sidelined for some time with the disease, Cools made 26 appearances and scored one goal during the 2020–21 season,[1] as Eupen finished mid-table in a disappointing 12th place.[8]

Career statistics

Club
As of 18 May 2019
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Westerlo 2010–11 Pro League 21050––––260
2011–12 15000––10160
2012–13 Proximus League 26320––––283
2013–14 29342––––335
2014–15 Pro League 28000––––280
2015–16 28420––––304
Total 14710132001016112
Waasland-Beveren 2016–17 First Division A 36410––––374
2017–18 13110––––141
Total 495200000515
Pafos 2018–19 Cypriot First Division 25631––––287
Career total 22121183001024024

References
  1. Jens Cools at Soccerway
  2. "Waasland-Beveren haalt Jens Cools weg bij Westerlo". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 2016-05-06.
  3. Collard, Timothy (2016-06-17). "Één van de opmerkelijkste transfers in België: "Na 19 jaar was het tijd om de stap te zetten"". Voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch).
  4. "Jens Cools 2 jaar naar Paphos". RTV (in Dutch). 2018-08-05.
  5. t'Sjoen, Arjan (2019-07-19). "Jens Cools is terug in België: "Ik wil met Eupen een goed seizoen draaien in 1A"". Voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch).
  6. Elst, Maarten (2019-07-16). "Eupen haalt ervaren Jens Cools terug naar België". Gazet van Antwerpen (in Flemish).
  7. Wens, Nils (2020-10-22). "Het coronavirus vindt nu ook zijn weg naar KAS Eupen: middenvelder heeft positief getest". Voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch).
  8. "Benat San José stopt bij Eupen, ex-speler Luis Garcia in beeld als opvolger". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 2021-04-26.
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