From the king of Beerschot to the forgotten man: OH Leuven release Raphael Holzhauser | OneFootball

OH Leuven have announced that Raphael Holzhauser and the club have agreed a mutual termination of his contract. The Austrian attacking midfielder joined the side from Beerschot in 2022 as a free agent, but managed to make just 18 appearances for the side, scoring once and providing four assists. Last season he spent half of the campaign on loan in the German third tier with 1860 Munich.

Its quite a fall from grace for Holzhauser, who prior to joining OHL had been a start with Beerschot. During the sides entertaining 2020/2021 campaign he finished runner up in the Golden Shoe award for best player of the year, having scored 16 goals and provided 16 assists. The side had been built around his ability to create for teammates such as Tarik Tissoudali, with the Austrian being given a free role to roam around and pick out passes.

However, that role was never on offer at OH Leuven, and the now 30-year-old struggled to find a way to fit into the system. It remains to be seen whether he will return to Austria or find a new club in Belgium, as there may well be suitors. His old side Beerschot, now in the Challenger Pro League, came up in the summer, but no deal was done between the clubs.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson