Nolhan Courtens opens up on breakthrough year in exclusive BTL interview
It has been nothing short of a sensational 2026 for Nolhan Allan Courtens Mabeneyshi.
After starting off with Royal Léopold FC in the Brussels enclave of Uccle, Courtens joined Belgian heavyweights RSC Anderlecht but struggled to adapt due to a knee injury, eventually dropping down to second-tier AFC Tubize. Brief spells with Union Saint-Gilloise and KV Mechelen would follow before Courtens joined Royal Antwerp in 2021, who were in the process of earning promotion to the top flight.
It was here at the Bosuilstadion where Courtens went from a boy to a man, signing his first professional contract with Antwerp's reserves and starting in all six UEFA Youth League matches vs. Barcelona, Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk. Courtens effectively polished his skills in the Belgian third tier, making 22 appearances apiece in 2023/24 and 2024/25, before eventually deciding to head abroad in the summer of 2025.
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Courtens penned a two-year contract with Dutch outfit Heerenveen with the option for an additional year, and after initially cutting his teeth with the reserves, he made his senior debut on February 4 in a KNVB Cup match vs. PSV Eindhoven. He came off the bench in five Eredivisie matches vs. PSV, Telstar, NEC, Volendam and NAC Breda, but he was an unused substitute as they fell to Utrecht in the UEFA Conference League playoff semifinal.
This season, however, Courtens has flipped a switch and emerged as a vital cog in central midfield under manager Robin Veldman, earning praise from the likes of Thomas Hitzlsperger for his performances. After coming off the bench in the season opener vs. Twente, Courtens rode the bench for two matches in a row before making his full senior debut against Willem II, and he's remained in the starting XI ever since.
The 19-year-old has started to hit his stride at the Abe Lenstra Stadion, scoring the equalizing goal against league leaders and current KNVB Beker champions AZ Alkmaar, before delivering another impressive display vs. Telstar. And after opening the scoring in a 4-0 win vs. Sparta Rotterdam, he'll be looking to add to his goal tally at PSV, who are eyeing a fourth straight league title.
Courtens is eligible to represent both Belgium and DR Congo, having played for the Red Devils at the U-16 and U-17 level. He nearly played for DR Congo's U-20s on two occasions only to miss out due to injury, and sooner or later, he'll have to make a decision on his international future. Right now, though, he's fully focused on his career at Heerenveen, who sit 10th in the table, seven points behind third-placed PSV.
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We spoke to Courtens in an exclusive Breaking The Lines interview about:
Good morning, Nolhan, it's a pleasure to speak with you. Unlike last season, when you were mainly playing for the reserves, you're a full-fledged member of Heerenveen's first team. Has it dawned on you that you're already starting for this team, and what do you think you can provide them?
Yeah, I hope so. I'm still developing my qualities, but every time I play, I have to bring something. I'm someone who's expected to attack and create something, but my role could also be keeping composure and calmness on the ball. What constitutes a successful year is a season where I played a lot, as many minutes as I can, and hopefully scored more goals and gave more assists.
You had the chance to develop at some of the best academies in Belgium with some of the best players in the nation...were there any teammates of yours who particularly stood out as special talents?
I played with Julien Duranville at Anderlecht; he's since gone to Borussia Dortmund and Basel and is now at Lyon, and Rayane Bounida, who's at Ajax right now. I played against quite a few talented players like Kaye Furo, who's now at Brentford.
You also were able to play with Noah Sadiki at Anderlecht, who's now at Sunderland. Like yourself, he had to choose between Belgium and DR Congo...did you sense he was going to be a top player already?
Of course, because he's at Sunderland, I think he's a very good player. I was also with him at Anderlecht, even though he's 2 years older, so we know each other, but he's a player I can learn from, for sure. He was not the most special player at Anderlecht, but he was always a really hard worker. It paid off for sure.
What was it like making your debut against the best team in the Netherlands in the Philips Stadion?
That was a special feeling, especially the first time that I came in. It felt like a dream: in the first minutes, I wasn’t really thinking about the game; I was just admiring the stadium.
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What was the moment that you realized that you could actually establish yourself in Heerenveen's first team?
It would be difficult to remember a specific date, but when I started training a lot more with the senior team in November 2025, I felt, 'Okay, I can take my place in this team.'
How important has Robin Veldman been in your development, and overall, has he been able to give you the confidence to unlock your potential?
He's someone who's given me the space that I needed in order to develop myself. He doesn't talk a lot, but he gives me some good advice whenever it's needed, and he gave me the opportunity to be on the first team.
Are there any particular players who you're currently studying or trying to model your game after, either current or retired?
I'm always curious about other players and trying to learn from them, so it's never been an issue for me, but I would say now, on the biggest stage of football, maybe a player like Ryan Gravenberch at Liverpool and his way of turning.
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Last but not least, if we have another conversation in three years, what do you hope will be different about your trajectory? Are there any particular objectives that you'd be looking to achieve during that timeframe?
I hope that I would have been able to make a good transfer to a good club, and that I would have made a couple of steps forward in my way of play and maturity...I'd hope to be a lot higher than I am right now. If we're talking about a dream destination, I would say Real Madrid, but I also really like the Premier League. The Premier League is a league that has always been attractive to me ever since I was young.