Emile Doucouré has completed a permanent transfer from Beerschot VA to KRC Genk in a deal worth €1.00m, moving from the Challenger Pro League to the Jupiler Pro League. The 18‑year‑old goalkeeper joins the Belgian top-flight side with a contract that runs from 2026-02-02 to 2029-06-30, confirming his long‑term future in Genk after leaving the Antwerp club.
The move represents a significant step up for Doucouré, who arrives in Limburg with a current market value of €300k, meaning Genk have invested well above his latest valuation to secure his services. The transfer ends his spell at Beerschot VA, where he had recently graduated from the club’s youth and U18 ranks to the senior squad in the Challenger Pro League, Belgium’s second tier.
Doucouré’s switch also consolidates his development path entirely within Belgian football. Born on 28 Sep 2007, the Mali‑Belgium dual national has progressed through several domestic academies rather than starting his career in Mali. Before breaking into Beerschot’s first team, he came through the youth setups at Berchem Sport Youth, KV Mechelen Youth and Beerschot VA Youth, then Beerschot VA U18, underlining a steady rise through Belgium’s youth structure.
A specialist goalkeeper, Doucouré’s move to Genk positions him in a club known for nurturing young talent and providing pathways to major European leagues. From the Challenger Pro League with Beerschot, he now links up with a side competing in the Jupiler Pro League, where the level of opposition and visibility are considerably higher. The transfer also means Beerschot lose a young asset whose estimated market value had remained at €300k during his time there, with valuations recorded while he was still on their books.
His transfer history charts a clear and continuous climb: from Berchem Sport Youth to KV Mechelen Youth in 2019, on to Beerschot VA Youth in 2021, then into Beerschot VA U18 in early 2023, before stepping up to the Beerschot VA senior squad in 2024 and now making the leap to Genk in 2026. Each move has kept him inside Belgian football, but this is his first transfer into a top‑flight club.
With the contract now in force from 2026-02-02, Doucouré is tied to Genk until 2029-06-30, giving both club and player time to plan a long‑term trajectory. The length of the deal suggests Genk view him as a project signing with potential to grow beyond his current €300k value, while Beerschot secure a substantial fee relative to his latest market assessment. The transfer is fully confirmed, leaving no immediate prospect of the keeper entering free‑agent status, and marks the latest step in a career that has so far advanced methodically through Belgium’s club system toward the upper reaches of the domestic game.
