Radja Nainggolan rejects comparison of Daan Heymans to Hans Vanaken

Racing Genk Dominates KV Kortrijk as Daan Heymans Sparks Heated Debate Over Midfield Role

KRC Genk secured a decisive 3-0 victory over KV Kortrijk on October 10, 2026, breaking a winless streak in the Jupiler Pro League, as reported by VoetbalNieuws.be and Sporza. The match’s turning point arrived early when Daan Heymans opened the scoring in the third minute during his first league start since the opening weekend of the campaign.

Radja Nainggolan Rejects Comparison to Hans Vanaken

Following the match, analytical praise for Heymans sparked a direct clash of opinions on DAZN’s podcast Ongefilterd. Analyst Olivier Deschacht heaped praise on the midfielder, stating that Heymans should always play and labeling him the potential “Hans Vanaken of Genk.”

Radja Nainggolan immediately pushed back against the comparison on the podcast panel. VoetbalNieuws.be reported that Nainggolan dismissed the parallel outright, stating, That is overdrijven, hé vriend. Alsjeblieft, ‘wa zegde gij na?’ You compare a player like Heymans with Vanaken. You can’t give him that role now.

Nainggolan argued that Heymans lacks the necessary consistency and technical orchestrating profile to dictate tempo in the manner of Club Brugge playmaker Hans Vanaken. While acknowledging that Heymans possesses strong goalscoring instincts from the central attacking midfield position—projecting him to easily reach ten goals per season—Nainggolan maintained that Heymans functions best as an infiltrating goal threat rather than a primary metronome and playmaker.

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