Birger Verstraete
based on the 2025/26 season · updated 25 Aug 2026
Profile
Season stats
Full career & schedule →Domestic-league season · OH Leuven.
Scout report
B. Verstraete is a 32-year-old defensive midfielder at OH Leuven, rated 20.6 overall by Field Insider's model, ranking 73rd of 75 on scout potential in the Jupiler Pro League. A seasoned veteran, he has been a rotation option this season (47.6% of available minutes). His defensive output reads 3.79 tackles, blocks and interceptions per 90. Below: strengths, watch-points, market-value outlook and the latest transfer news on Verstraete.
Judged on this season alone, Verstraete graded 14 — a workmanlike campaign that ranks 6th of 7 of the 7 defensive midfielders in the Jupiler Pro League, on 0 goals, 0 assists and 3.785 defensive actions per 90.
Year-on-year, that's a drop on last season (Season 33 → 14). Over the 6 seasons on record his form has drifted down, peaking in 2021/22.
On long-term talent our Rating reads 21, 7th of 7 of the 7 defensive midfielders in the Jupiler Pro League. At 32 Verstraete is into the veteran stage, where the age curve weighs on the projection, and a market index of 2.9 reflects that trajectory.
Below his 2021/22 peak but holding a solid level — the platform for a return is there.
Output in context · OH Leuven finished 16th of 18 · a relegation-threatened side
3.79 tackles, blocks & interceptions per 90 — solid defensive volume, with 5 clean sheets across 26 appearances. Doing that for a relegation-threatened side (16th of 18) is harder than the bare numbers suggest: a back line under more pressure has to defend more often and protects fewer leads, so the volume — and any clean sheets — carry real weight.
Strengths
- Defensive volume. 3.79 tackles, blocks & interceptions per 90 — does the unseen work.
Watch points
- Game time. Only 47.6% of available minutes — needs a settled run to prove the level.
- Age curve. At 32, both level and resale value are on the downslope.
- Level. Rates below a nailed-on top-tier starter on our model.
Outlook
With a Rating of 20.6, Verstraete carries the 7th-highest potential of the defensive midfielders in the Jupiler Pro League of 7, and he is posting that for a relegation-threatened side (OH Leuven finished 16th of 18) — individual numbers are harder to earn on a struggling team, so his underlying level likely sits a touch above the ranking. Defensively he reads as solid defensive volume (3.79 tackles, blocks & interceptions per 90). Veteran phase — a short-term, lower-fee proposition as both level and value decline (0.8× and falling).
Generated from Field Insider's rating model · AI-written analysis to follow.
Season statistics
Bars = where he ranks among defensive midfielders in the Jupiler Pro League with 600+ minutes this season.
Shooting
Passing
Defending
Yellow/red cards
Transfer news
No transfer news found for this player.
