21-year-old yet to make debut for new club since Leeds exit, not even in the squad for two games

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Leeds United allowed a plethora of players to leave on a free transfer in the summer as The 49ers streamlined the squad, possibly to reduce the wage bill and save some cash.

The likes of Cody Drameh, Ian Poveda, Luke Ayling and Jamie Shackleton all left Leeds at the end of their contracts and joined Championship clubs. Liam Cooper could make his CSKA Sofia debut later today.

Some younger players left Leeds on free transfers too, and one of those was 21-year-old Dani van den Heuvel. A Dutch goalkeeper signed from Ajax during Victor Orta’s youth drive back in August 2020.

The 21-year-old failed to make a single senior appearance for Leeds during his time in Yorkshire but was a regular for the U21 team, either side of suffering a broken back while on duty with Netherlands U21’s.

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Dani van den Heuvel has joined Club Brugge on a free transfer

He was also on the bench six times during Daniel Farke’s first season, and once under Jesse Marsch. The win over Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup, the infamous win that saw Rodrigo break a bone in his foot.

Now, he’s joined Champions League outfit Brugge. A side currently preparing to take on Dortmund on Wednesday, van den Heuvel has penned a two-year deal at Brugge but is yet to make his senior debut.

Indeed, Brugge have played five times already this season and while van den Heuvel has been a part of three of those games, he is yet to get a single minute of game time, and failed to make the squad twice.

Van den Heuvel likely to be involved in Champions League

The chances are, that despite never playing for Leeds’ first team, van den Heuvel will find himself in a Champions League squad this week. But he is second, if not third-choice with the Belgian giants now.

Former Liverpool stopper and current Belgium international Simon Mignolet is easily first choice at Brugge and but for an injury a bit of a goalkeeper crisis, van den Heuvel is unlikely to get his chance.

Having left Leeds over a lack of game time and the subsequent lack of need to extend his contract, it seems van den Heuvel is set to suffer the same fate albeit at a club in Europe’s elite competition.