Laurent becomes third Belgian player to represent the Club
- Lauren Depoitre is the third Belgian to join Huddersfield Town
- Nico Vaesen made over 150 appearances for the Terriers
- Vaesen and Ngonge played in the same Town side under Steve Bruce
Laurent Depoitre is the third player Belgian to join Huddersfield Town, but can you remember the other two?
Nico Vaesen
It took until 1998 for the first Belgian to join ‘The Yorkshire Club’, when Nico Vaesen signed from Belgium Second Division side Eendracht Aalst.
Nico’s debut, however, was short lived. He was sent off after just nine minutes at Gigg Lane for handling the ball outside the area; Town went on to lose to Bury 1-0.
Despite this the 6ft 3’ tall goalkeeper went on to make 153 appearances for the Club between 1998 and 2001 and was named as Huddersfield Town’s ‘Player of the Year’ in his first season – the first player to win the award from outside of the UK.
Not only this, the 47 year-old was also part of Steve Bruce’s side that narrowly missed out on a Play-Off spot during the 1999/2000 season, finishing eighth just two points outside the top six.
Nico eventually left the Club in 2001 and joined Birmingham City after Huddersfield Town was relegated to the Second Division, now known as League 1.
Michael Ngonge
Despite being born in Belgium, Michael actually made two appearances for Zaire and was named in its 1996 African Cup of Nations squad.
The striker joined Town on loan from Watford in March 2000 and was brought in to add to the Club’s strike force alongside Martin Smith after Marcus Stewart’s infamous departure.
The 49 year-old went on to make four substitute appearances for Huddersfield Town in the side that finished eighth in Division One (Sky Bet Championship), missing out on a Play-Off spot on the final day of the season after a 3-0 defeat to a Lee Clark-inspired Fulham.
To find out more about Town's new Belgian signing CLICK HERE!
Did you watch Laurent's first interview at Huddersfield Town? If not watch it below courtesy of HTTV!
