Laurens De Bock

Laurence Henry Cristine De Bock (born 7 November 1992), known as Laurens De Bock, is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Greek Super League club Atromitos.

Laurens De Bock

De Bock playing for Club Brugge in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Laurence Henry Cristine De Bock[1]
Date of birth	(1992-11-07) 7 November 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Dendermonde, Belgium
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Left-back
Youth career
1997–2000	HO Kalken
2000–2003	Standaard Wetteren
2003–2009	Lokeren
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2013	Lokeren	80	(1)
2013–2018	Club Brugge	130	(1)
2018–2022	Leeds United	7	(0)
2018–2019	→ Oostende (loan)	20	(1)
2019–2020	→ Sunderland (loan)	5	(0)
2020	→ ADO Den Haag (loan)	8	(0)
2020–2022	→ Zulte Waregem (loan)	59	(2)
2022	Zulte Waregem	0	(0)
2022–	Atromitos	44	(0)
International career
2008	Belgium U16	9	(0)
2008–2009	Belgium U17	14	(1)
2009–2010	Belgium U18	10	(1)
2010–2011	Belgium U19	10	(1)
2012–2014	Belgium U21	12	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 June 2024

He has represented Belgium at various youth levels including Belgium U21s. He has been named in the Belgium national team but remains uncapped.

Club career

Early career

De Bock joined HO Kalken in his youth. After three years, the defender made the switch to the neighboring Standaard Wetteren, where he was discovered at the age of 11 by scouts of KSC Lokeren. De Bock combined football with his studies at the top sports school in Ghent.

KSC Lokeren

After coming through the Lokeren youth set up, manager Georges Leekens brought then 16-year-old De Bock to the first team squad. In the 2009–10 season, in the first match of the play-offs, De Bock made his debut at the highest level under manager Emilio Ferrera. During the 2011–12 season he won the Belgian Cup.

Club Brugge

After being linked with Anderlecht, on 5 January, De Bock joined Club Brugge, where he signed a contract until the end of the 2017 season, for a transfer fee of €3.5 million. He won the Belgian Cup with Brugge during the 2014–15 season and followed this up by winning the Belgian Pro League in the 2015–16 season and then the Belgian Super Cup in 2016.

Leeds United

On 11 January 2018, De Bock signed for Championship club Leeds United on a four-and-a-half-year contract.^[2] De Bock was handed the number 12 shirt. He made his debut for Leeds on 20 January 2018 in a dramatic 4–3 loss against Millwall.^[3]

De Bock featured in seven games, including having a 'tough game' against Derby County,^[4][5] before losing his starting place to 19-year-old Tom Pearce.^[6][7]

Loan to Oostende

After falling behind left backs Barry Douglas, Leif Davis and Tom Pearce in the pecking order under new head coach Marcelo Bielsa for the start of the 2018–19 season, on 21 August 2018, De Bock joined Belgian First Division A side Oostende on a season-long loan.^[8] De Bock revealed that he had turned down a loan move to Israeli Premier League side Beitar Jerusalem F.C. to join K.V. Oostende.^[9]

In total, he made 20 appearances scoring 1 goal for K.V. Oostende in Belgian First Division A.^[10]

Loan to Sunderland

On 2 September 2019, De Bock signed for Sunderland on a season-long loan.^[11] He made his league debut for the club on 28 September in their 2–1 defeat of Milton Keynes Dons.^[12]

Loan to ADO Den Haag

On 13 January 2020, De Bock joined Eredivisie club ADO Den Haag on loan until the end of the season.^[13]

Loan to Zulte Waregem

He joined Zulte Waregem on a season-long loan in July 2020.^[14] He subsequently rejoined Zulte Waregem on a fresh season-long loan agreement in July 2021.^[15]

Having not made an appearance for Leeds since January 2018, De Bock's time with the Yorkshire club concluded in June 2022 with the end of his contract.^[16]

Zulte Waregem

It was announced on 20 May 2022 that De Bock had signed a permanent 1 year deal for the 2022-23 season with Zulte Waregem, with the option of a further year.^[16]

Atromitos

On 30 July 2022, De Bock signed a two-year contract with Atromitos in Greece, moving on a free transfer.^[17]

International career

De Bock has represented Belgium at various age levels including Under 21.

In November 2014, De Bock was named in the Belgium squad for a friendly against Romania, however was unused. In November 2014 De Bock was recalled into the senior Belgium squad as injury cover for Vincent Kompany in their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Wales,^[18] and was called up again in March 2015.^[19]

Career statistics

As of match played 13 November 2022^[20]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lokeren	2009–10	Pro League	5	0	0	0	—		—		5	0
	2010–11		25	0	2	0	—		—		27	0
	2011–12		29	1	6	0	—		—		35	1
	2012–13		21	0	1	0	2[a]	0	1[b]	0	25	0
	Total		80	1	7	0	2	0	1	0	90	1
Club Brugge	2012–13	Pro League	11	0	—		—		—		11	0
	2013–14		33	0	1	0	2[a]	0	—		36	0
	2014–15		36	0	5	0	13[a]	1	—		54	1
	2015–16		31	1	4	0	8[c]	0	1[b]	0	44	1
	2016–17	Belgian First Division A	18	0	2	0	3[d]	0	1[b]	0	24	0
	2017–18		6	0	0	0	2[e]	0	—		8	0
	Total		135	1	12	0	28	1	2	0	177	2
Leeds United	2017–18[21]	Championship	7	0	0	0	—		0	0	7	0
Oostende (loan)	2018–19[22]	Belgian First Division A	20	1	0	0	—		—		20	1
Sunderland (loan)	2019–20	League One	5	0	2	0	—		3[f]	0	10	0
ADO Den Haag (loan)	2019–20	Eredivisie	8	0	—		—		—		8	0
Zulte Waregem (loan)	2020–21[23]	Belgian First Division A	31	2	1	0	—		—		32	2
	2021–22[24]		28	0	2	0	—		—		30	0
	2022–23[25]		1	0	0	0	—		—		1	0
	Total		60	2	3	0	—		—		63	2
Atromitos	2022–23[25]	Super League Greece	12	0	0	0	—		—		12	0
Career total			327	5	24	0	30	1	5	0	387	6

1. Appearances in the Europa League
2. Appearances in the Belgian Super Cup
3. Four appearances in the Europa League and four in the Champions League
4. Appearances in the Champions League
5. One appearance in the Champions League and one in the Europa League
6. Two appearances in the EFL Trophy and one in the EFL Cup

Honours

KSC Lokeren^[20]

• Belgian Cup: 2011–12

Club Brugge^[20]

• Belgian First Division: 2015–16
• Belgian Cup: 2014–15
• Belgian Super Cup: 2016