Sven Kums

Sven Kums (born 26 February 1988 in Asse) is a Belgian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A side Udinese, on loan from Watford.

Career

He began his career at Dilbeek Sport, before joining R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1996. He played in the youth and reserve teams for 10 years, and in 2006 he became part of the first team. In the first half of the 2006–2007 season he did not play in a single first team game, and in January 2007 he moved to Lierse S.K. on loan. He made his debut in professional football on 10 February 2007 against FC Brussels. Kums played 14 games during his loan spell, scoring one goal. Lierse were relegated, and Kums returned to Anderlecht. He was hoping to finally get a chance to play for Anderlecht's first team, but ended up playing for the second team every week. In January 2008 he joined Second Division team K.V. Kortrijk on loan. There, Kums played 16 games, scoring 5 goals, helping KVK win the title and secure promotion to the Belgian Pro League. In June 2008 Kortrijk signed him to a permanent deal. In March 2011 sc Heerenveen announced that Kums would join their team for the 2011–12 season, the transfer fee was rumoured to be around €500.000. Kums played his first match in the Eredivisie on 6 August 2011 against NEC.

After 2 relatively successful seasons with Heerenveen, Kums returned to Belgium, signing a 3-season deal with SV Zulte Waregem. In one season for essevee, he played 41 games, scoring 5 goals. The team finished 4th, and Kums' performances didn't go unnoticed. On 1 July 2014 KAA Gent announced that Kums would join their squad that summer, signing a four-year contract. Kums played a great season in Ghent, and for the first time in club history they became the Belgian Champions.

Kums signed to Premier League side Watford on 29 August 2016 for a fee rumoured around £8.5million but went straight out on a season-long loan deal with Udinese.

International

On 5 September 2008 Kums made his debut for the Belgium national under-21 football team against Slovakia.

On 2 October 2015 Belgium national football team coach Marc Wilmots announced that he would call up Kums, along with teammates Matz Sels and Laurent Depoitre, for the international games against Andorra and Israel.

Honours

Club

Gent

• Belgian Pro League: 2014–15
• Belgian Super Cup : 2015

Individual

• UEFA Champions League Team of the Group Stage: 2015
• Belgian Golden Shoe: 2015

Personal Life

His father Ludo Kums is youth coach at his former club R.S.C. Anderlecht.