On Fire in Chicago: Hugo Cuypers lighting things up in the MLS | OneFootball

Last January, Hugo Cuypers swapped the Belgian Pro League for the MLS. The striker left Gent after two fantastic seasons, with the first seeing him score 34 goals in 56 games. He joined Chicago and had a decent season, with 10 goals in 31 games across the 2024 MLS season. This year, however, Cuypers is already half way to matching that tally and the season has only just begun.

In Chicago’s 3-1 win away to Vancouver Whitecaps, Cuypers grabbed his fifth goal in just five games. He has scored those five in the last four games, with a brace against DC United on the second game of the season. Remarkably the 28-year-old Belgian isn’t even the top scorer in the league. Israeli forward Tai Baribo of Philadelphia Union has scored six goals in the MLS this season, and it has taken him just four games.

Gent have really struggled to replace Cuypers since his departure. The forward was on 17 goals when he left in January. No one in the current Gent squad is on double figures. Max Dean is the closest with six league goals, but he has been injured for a few months now and won’t return. If Cuypers ever wanted to return to Belgian football, there would be plenty of sides interested in signing him.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson