Club Brugge’s Shandre Campbell: the South African starlet shining in Belgium | OneFootball

Breaking out and moving from the Gauteng Development League to Europe is no mean feat in any capacity. However, for 19-year-old Shandre Campbell, this meteoric rise has almost looked routine.

In the last year and a half, the left winger has steadily proven himself to be one of South Africa’s finest young prospects, with his ascent back home seeing him move from SuperSport United to Club Brugge. With fine personal form and the support system of the 19-time Belgian champions behind him, many back home on the continent are dreaming of a future Bafana Bafana star.

Therefore, it only seems right to speak to someone who can provide a little more context on this exciting player. South African football specialist Sahil Ebrahim made time for GBeNeFN and lifted the lid on the starlet, while providing broad insight into the footballing landscape of his country.

Early days with the Matsatsantsa hinted at great promise

Shandre Campbell emerged at SuperSport in the 2023-24 season following electric showings with the Pretoria club’s development side. From his first outing at the Lucas Moripe Stadium, the teen’s ability transferred to men’s senior football with great ease. Ebrahim, area manager of Transfermarkt South Africa, begins our interview by telling us of the first time he saw Campbell play:

“My first experience of Shandre Campbell was when I saw him with the senior team of SuperSport United. He had an incredible first season. My first impression was that he had what I’d call an “educated left foot”. He’s someone who would take on players at the right time, he’d know when to release the ball. He showed a lot of maturity, a lot of football maturity.”

So evident was Campbell’s sheer ability, that the youngster received his first start earlier than his age peers at other clubs. SuperSport saw something in him, and this show of confidence was rewarded by a fine debut performance in August 2023 as his side beat Richards Bay 2-0. Just three months later, Campbell continued to impress, scoring twice and registering an assist as the Trendsetters turned over Orlando Pirates 3-1.

“I think he was introduced at 17 and then turned 18 during the season, whereas with other players they only get game time at like 20, 21, 22. I was pleasantly surprised to see SuperSport give him so much time at a young age.

“A lot of people who follow our youth football were very excited to see him. He did quite well, I think he got five goals in his opening season and six assists – so his goal contributions in total were quite good for a debut season at the senior level. I somehow knew this boy was going to get snapped up. I didn’t know if he was going to a European club but I knew he’d get snapped up by at least a bigger club in our country.

“SuperSport are generally seen as like a feeder team to the Mamelodi Sundowns, so I thought ‘Ok, that’s the route’, so it was nice to see him get that immediate transition into Europe.”

Campbell a standout in a solid core of up-and-comers

What makes Campbell’s rise even more impressive is that he arrives as the frontrunner of a young group looking to change the attitude in South Africa. Sometimes, as Ebrahim admits, the country’s top tier isn’t always the best place for emerging talent. However, with Campbell’s involvement, a steady shift beckons, especially after he helped South Africa win the U20 AFCON back in October (pictured).

“Opportunities in the Betway Premiership are very rare. I do a lot of these stats, and one of them that I put out said something like: when Shandre Campbell was here, he was the U18 player with the most minutes in the league. If you saw the jump after Campbell, it was very minimal with the other young players and the amount of minutes they got. I’m pleased to see that it’s actually improved this season so far.

“There’s a core set of players coming through. We’ve got Relebohile Mofokeng at Orlando Pirates. There’s really a lot of focus on him. Even though he’s a local player, you can see the quality. He is ready to play at some of the better teams like in Belgium, for example. He’s definitely capable of doing that.”

“The formula for certain players may not always be the same. It’s better if some players move a little later than others just so that they can mature a bit. To answer your question in terms of exposure that young players are getting, it’s not much but we are seeing an improvement. Like Mohau Nkota at Orlando Pirates too, he’s almost like a first-team player and a full-time starter. We’re seeing a lot more of that happening, like Puso Dithejane at TS Galaxy.

“Still, to me, the age at which those players are coming through is still slightly later than you’ll see happening in Europe. In Europe, it’ll happen at like 17, whereas here it’s happening at a 19-20 age category. There’s an improvement, but still room for more improvement. The change started a while back and I think it’s reflecting well on our national team as well. You’ll see there’s been a bit of a resurgence. That’s partly because of coaching methodology, but also that core set of players coming through.

“Not only now, but it started a few years ago and we’re seeing the benefits of it. Maybe the 2026 World Cup is a bit too close for us, but a bit beyond that, we might see South Africa doing really well. We’ve done well on a continental level. At AFCON, we finished third, so I think that’s going to be a feature we see more in the following years.”

So, can Campbell step up and become a leading figure for Bafana Bafana?

Well, it’s a broad question. It’s also still early, and not a sentiment intended to add any pressure. However, it is clear that the Club Brugge man has all the tools available to have an impact. Ebrahim expands on the prospect’s nature and potential.

“I think he’s definitely on the route to do that. He’s well-grounded. So, I follow him on social media, right? He’s well-grounded for a 19-year-old. It initially came across my mind that, at this age, a lot of young South African players have gone overseas before and they just haven’t done well. They can’t translate that goal-scoring or assisting. You know, that form they have locally, it never quite translates across Europe, especially as well as it has done for Shandre.”

“Going to the Club NXT team at Club Brugge, was perfect, actually. He’s been incredible there. He’s got, what, eight goals now (in 17 games)? I think to see that transition… It’s almost seamless because what he was doing here at SuperSport, he’s doing at Club NXT. In terms of the national team, I think he’ll certainly be a key figure.

“I’m not sure about him moving to a leadership role but I can see a team being built around him and the other set core of youth players we have there. It’d be a strong team. What’s funny to me, and you know I mentioned Relebohile Mofokeng, he and Campbell both play in the same position. So that’s our two strongest young players in the same position, so it’s going to be interesting to see what the national team coach actually decides. The route is there for him to succeed at a national level. Barring anything like injuries, he’ll be set for a national team role very soon.”

Keeping on the straight and narrow

While fielding that earlier weighty narrative of a national role, it’s also important to intertwine this with player welfare. Of course, there should be pride around the starlet’s achievements already, yet the expectation should be a secondary, underlying theme. Of course, the football should do the talking.

Ebrahim concurs, as we broach the topic of South Africans of yesteryear (like of Rivaldo Coetzee, Phakamani Mahlambi and Tashreeq Matthews) who for whatever reason, haven’t quite lived up to their potential.

“I think the difficulty lies more for players when things go pear-shaped. Of course, here, you have your whole support structure. For young players, especially, going abroad, you lose that. Yes, a lot of clubs do provide mentoring and coaching, and it comes with that whole kind of transfer package, but perhaps it’s just that. When things go wrong, some players may not have that resilience to push through.

“In Campbell’s case, he’s been in good form since he joined. A lot of people here in South Africa expected that if there was going to be any change or any movement from Club NXT to another team, or to Club Brugge, we were only really expecting it to happen in June or July 2025. We weren’t expecting anything right now, but he’s been that brilliant that we’ve actually seen Club Brugge say, ‘you know what, let’s promote him to the senior team’. After what, it’s been six months?”

“So that’s something that’s different to what we’ve seen with the other or past (aforementioned) cases, and he’s only been in good form, so we’re yet to see him go through a poor spell where he’s maybe not contributing to the team. We’ll have to judge how he comes out of that.

“But look, I mean, I can’t judge him because I don’t really know the lad that well, but from what I’ve seen, he should have the resilience to get through. Obviously, I have that bias, but it does seem different to me in this case because his transition has been so seamless. I haven’t seen it before, that quickly, where he’s just up and running, scoring goals, getting assists, you know – blending in with the team.

“Like you say, Belgium is a developmental league, but he could be at Brugge for a good couple of seasons. They’re already playing in the Champions League and he’s at a club, where, if he became a permanent fixture – you’d say it’s not a bad team to be at for even three or four years. He’s got his work cut out because they’ve got Chemsdine Talbi and Christos Tzolis, who are both doing really well. Talbi, especially, has just got a Champions League MOTM. So, he’s got his work cut out, but I think he should rise to the occasion.”

Campbell – the start of a new wave of South Africans abroad?

As with many football fans of South African heritage abroad, this writer likes to see who is doing what, where, and how well. So when Campbell flew onto the radar in Europe, it was an exciting time. Concluding with an intriguing segment, Ebrahim discussed the mobility of South African footballers and whether Club Brugge’s Matsatsantsa import may encourage other youngsters to follow suit.

“I think we saw three transfers to Northern African clubs in the last summer window. We had a few players move, but then we also had a player, Cassius Mailula, move from Toronto FC to Wydad Casablanca in Morocco. There is a bit of movement to North African teams. In terms of whether that’s financially motivated, I’m not so sure. Yes, there may be some improvement in earnings, but the reason I mentioned North Africa is that I think a lot of players see that as a stepping stone to Europe. Also, I think a lot of our players are realising that a move to Europe doesn’t necessarily signify an improvement.

“They need to know specifics and that education is actually happening now. Players are realising that ‘certain countries in Europe would actually be an improvement for me, but maybe staying and moving to a club locally (or on the continent) might just be better for my development.’

“We have our Mamelodi Sundowns, our Orlando Pirates and our Kaizer Chiefs. These teams can actually offer salaries that are competitive when compared to some of the lower tiers in European countries. The reason I say that is that Mamelodi Sundowns actually signed a player from the Belgian second division, Lucas Ribeiro.

“He signed from Beveren. There’s actually movement coming in the opposite direction. So that may be an indication for players or young players to think, ‘listen, why do I need to go to a second division team in Belgium when our clubs are actually buying players from there? Shouldn’t I just move here and stay for a year or two? Then improve my development, improve my football and then get an offer of a better role in Europe, maybe in a better league?’ Saying that, I think Shandre Campbell has obviously seen his football development (in Belgium with Brugge) more important than immediate financial benefit, and so, that’s what probably triggered him to move overseas.

“That helps our other young players. They see that, they see this 18-year-old move to Belgium and think ‘oh ok, maybe that’s actually better for me’, so he’s actually being a good role model. Other young players reacted to his move on social media, and it has been that kind of theme. So, the more those moves that happen, that will definitely trigger more of our players wanting to go abroad (and off the continent).”

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield | Sahil Ebrahim