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Dennis Praet
Dennis Praet2016.jpg
Praet playing for Anderlecht in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-05-14) 14 May 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Leuven, Belgium
Height 1.81 m
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Leicester City
Number 26
Youth career
1999–2000 SJV Motbroek
2000–2002 Stade Leuven
2002–2003 OH Leuven
2003–2010 Genk
2010–2011 Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2016 Anderlecht 139 (20)
2016–2019 Sampdoria 98 (4)
2019–2024 Leicester City 81 (3)
2021–2022 Torino (loan) 23 (2)
National team
2009 Belgium U15 3 (0)
2009–2010 Belgium U16 10 (1)
2010–2011 Belgium U17 11 (2)
2011 Belgium U18 2 (0)
2012 Belgium U19 7 (2)
2012–2016 Belgium U21 17 (2)
2014– Belgium 15 (2)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:09, 23 April 2024 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:51, 11 June 2022 (UTC)

Dennis Praet (born 14 May 1994) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Leicester City and the Belgium national team.

Early life

Praet was born in Leuven, Flemish Brabant.

Club career

Youth at Genk

Praet joined the Genk youth academy in 2003 at the age of 8. He went on to spend most of his youth career at Genk, where he quickly made an impression and played for the club's youth teams until 2010. He was part of a strong generation at the club and scouts considered him one of the top talents. He became part of Belgium's youth teams and attracted the interest of clubs like Arsenal, Barcelona, Ajax and Lille.

Anderlecht

Dennis Praet'14-15
Praet playing for Anderlecht in 2014

In May 2010 Praet transferred from Genk to Anderlecht turning down more lucrative offers. At Anderlecht he started out with the under-19 team, continuing to impress. In 2011, he received the prize for best player during the AEGON Future Cup in Amsterdam, a youth tournament in which teams like Ajax and Bayern Munich also competed.

Praet debuted in Anderlecht's first team on 21 September 2011 starting in the Belgian Cup against Lommel United and provided two assists in a 4–0 win. In the next round of the cup he scored his first official goal for Anderlecht, against Rupel Boom FC. Not long after, on 30 October, he also made his debut in the Belgian Pro League as a substitute for Fernando Canesin while playing against Lierse SK. In March 2012, Praet signed a new contract until 2015.

During the 2012–13 season, Praet played regularly for Anderlecht as the club won their second straight league title. A two-year contract extension was agreed in early 2014 to take him through to the summer of 2017. He scored the third goal in Anderlecht's 3–1 Jupiler Pro League play-off win over Lokeren on 25 May 2014 to seal Anderlecht's 33rd league title, and their third in a row.

Praet made his 100th competitive appearance for the club in the league match at Club Brugge on 31 August 2014. On 16 September, he scored away to Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League group stage to put Anderlecht in front, but the Turkish club equalised in added time. His first league goal of the 2014–15 season came in the 2–2 draw at home to Club Brugge when he scored Anderlecht's opening goal to equalise midway through the first-half. Like his strike against Galatasaray in the Champions League, it went in off the post. He scored in four consecutive games for Anderlecht between 14 and 26 December 2014, with the league wins over KV Oostende, Waasland Beveren and KVC Westerlo and the Belgian Cup win against SV Zulte Waregem.

This rich of form at the end of the year was rewarded at a ceremony on 14 January 2015 where Praet won the 2014 Belgian Golden Shoe, the annual award given to the best player in the Jupiler Pro League for the previous calendar year. He polled five points (250) ahead of Víctor Vázquez of Club Brugge (245).

Sampdoria

On 24 August 2016, Praet's move to Sampdoria was finalised. Sampdoria paid a transfer fee of €10 million. After being heavily linked with a move to reigning Serie A champions Juventus during the 2018 summer transfer window, in November 2018, Praet signed a contract extension with Sampdoria, extending his stay at the club until 2021.

Praet was an ever present in the Sampdoria side during his three-year spell, appearing in 98 Serie A games and scoring 4 goals, as the club finished in the top half of the table all three seasons.

Leicester City

On 8 August 2019, Praet signed for Premier League club Leicester City on a five-year contract, for a reported fee of €20 million. On 18 August 2019, he made his league debut as a 73rd-minute substitute in a 1–1 draw against Chelsea. On 11 January 2020, Praet scored his first goal for Leicester City in 1–2 defeat against Southampton. On 20 September 2020, he scored his second goal in a 4–2 win over Burnley.

Torino (loan)

On 31 August 2021, Praet joined Torino on a season-long loan.

Return to Leicester

Praet returned to Leicester for the 2022–23 season, scoring his only goal of the Premier League campaign in a 4–2 away win over Aston Villa on 4 February 2023. However, the club were relegation after ending up in the 18th position on the league table.

In the 2023–24 season, he achieved the EFL Championship with the club, securing promotion back to the Premier League. On 7 June 2024, he was among the players announced to depart the club upon the conclusion of the season.

International career

Praet has represented Belgium at every age group under-15 and older making an appearance in the U21 team a mere three years after first playing for the U15 team.

On 6 November 2014, Praet received his first call up to the senior Belgian squad for the friendly at home to Iceland on 12 November, and the Euro 2016 Qualifier against Wales on 16 November. He made his senior international début coming on as a 76th-minute substitute for Christian Benteke after all four goals had been scored in the 3–1 friendly win over Iceland in Brussels.

Praet earned his second cap for Belgium almost four years on from his debut featuring in a 1–1 draw against rivals Netherlands in October 2018. On 17 May 2021, he was named in the Belgian squad for the UEFA Euro 2020.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Anderlecht 2011–12 Belgian Pro League 7 0 2 1 9 1
2012–13 Belgian Pro League 27 2 6 2 6 1 1 1 40 6
2013–14 Belgian Pro League 37 5 2 0 6 0 1 0 46 5
2014–15 Belgian Pro League 30 7 2 1 6 1 1 0 39 9
2015–16 Belgian Pro League 37 6 0 0 9 0 46 6
2016–17 Belgian Pro League 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
Total 139 20 12 4 28 2 3 1 182 27
Sampdoria 2016–17 Serie A 32 1 2 0 34 1
2017–18 Serie A 32 1 3 0 35 1
2018–19 Serie A 34 2 3 0 37 2
Total 98 4 8 0 106 4
Leicester City 2019–20 Premier League 27 1 4 0 5 0 36 1
2020–21 Premier League 15 1 2 0 1 0 6 1 24 2
2022–23 Premier League 22 1 2 0 3 0 27 1
2023–24 Championship 17 0 2 1 1 0 20 1
Total 81 3 10 1 10 0 6 1 107 5
Torino (loan) 2021–22 Serie A 23 2 1 0 24 2
Career total 339 29 31 5 10 0 34 3 3 1 417 38

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Belgium 2014 1 0
2015 0 0
2016 0 0
2017 0 0
2018 1 0
2019 4 0
2020 3 0
2021 5 2
2022 1 0
Total 15 2
Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Praet goal
List of international goals scored by Dennis Praet
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 30 March 2021 Den Dreef, Leuven, Belgium 10  Belarus 5–0 8–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 8 September 2021 Central Stadium, Kazan, Russia 14 1–0 1–0

Honours

Anderlecht

Leicester City

Individual

  • Best player of AEGON Future Cup: 2011
  • Belgian Golden Shoe: 2014

See also

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