AXL Agency / E&L Consulting
Belgian Talent Specialists

Belgium

€25mm

Key Facts

Also known as:
AXL Agency; Team AXL; E&L Consulting

Founded:
Not publicly disclosed (agency active at least since 2023 based on public transfers and media posts)

Headquarters:
Huldenberg, Belgium (operational base of founder Axel Vergeylen; exact registered address not publicly highlighted)

Players:
20+ (1st tier: 4) – Total market value: approx. €25mm

FIFA/FA registration:
FIFA Football Agent ID 202405-6058; Royal Belgian FA (KBVB) intermediary licence INTERMED-BEL-00415; historically listed in English FA intermediary register under FARA1702

Languages:
English; Dutch; French

Regions covered:
Belgium, Netherlands, UK (Premier League), Germany (3. Liga), Hungary (NB I)

Email:
info@axl-agency.be

Social Media:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/axelvergeylen
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/axel.vergeylen
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/axel-vergeylen-93b3b2102/

About

AXL Agency is a Belgian boutique football agency focused on guiding domestic talent from academy level into professional football in Belgium and across Europe. Built around founder Axel Vergeylen’s background as a former player and scout, the group combines FIFA-licensed representation with a wide in-house player-care and scouting team. Their portfolio is heavily concentrated in the Belgian system (Jupiler Pro League, Challenger Pro League and national divisions), but now includes a flagship Premier League client through Brighton & Hove Albion’s Maxim De Cuyper.

AXL’s differentiator is a “family-style” approach – long-term planning for a relatively small roster, heavy presence at youth national-team level, and a focus on building pathways from Belgian academies to top-5 leagues rather than fast, speculative moves.

Key People

• CEO/Founder:

  • Axel Vergeylen – CEO & FIFA Agent, founder of AXL Agency and lead negotiator on senior deals (including Maxim De Cuyper’s move from Club Brugge to Brighton).

• Managing Director / Head of Football:

  • Role effectively led by Axel Vergeylen as day-to-day head of football operations and strategy, supported by a small management and player-care unit.

• Licensed agents:

  • Axel Vergeylen – FIFA Football Agent ID 202405-6058; KBVB Intermediary INTERMED-BEL-00415; appears in FA intermediary documentation as FARA1702.

  • Vally Bossu – FIFA Agent (listed on AXL team page as FIFA Agent, supporting representation and recruitment).

• Key support staff (player-care & scouting):

  • Caroline Dewaele – Management assistant

  • Stefan Heremans – Player care services & scouting

  • Nana Kofi Gyimako – Player care services & scouting

  • Dimitry Delmotte – Player care services & scouting

  • Nick Peeters – Player care services & scouting

  • David Herion – Player care services & scouting

  • Milan Taildeman – Player care services & scouting (also an AXL-represented player)

Client Roster

(Selection – first 20–30 players and key young talents from public E&L Consulting / AXL listings.)

Top players (current):

• Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton & Hove Albion) – 22 December 2000

• Geoffry Hairemans (Royal Antwerp FC) – 21 October 1991

• Simion Michez (Sigma Olomouc) – 9 February 2002

• Yohan Croizet-Kollár (Diósgyőri VTK) – 15 February 1992

• Nick Gillekens (RFC Seraing) – 5 July 1995

• Jordy Gillekens (SV Wehen Wiesbaden) – 18 February 2000

• Jarno Vervaque (KSC Lokeren) – 26 September 2000

• Nico Binst (KFC Merelbeke) – 20 May 1992

Rising talents / U23:

• Gerard Vandeplas (Young Reds) – 30 March 2006

• Lilian Vergeylen (Young Reds) – 9 March 2004

• Christ Souanga (RSCA Futures) – 16 December 2004

• Nassim Azaouzi (OH Leuven) – 3 June 2004

• Matteo Heremans (Jong KV Mechelen) – 17 August 2004

• Amadou Diallo (OH Leuven U23) – 29 October 2004

• Matteo Godfroid (Standard Liège) – 27 December 2007

• Jules Van Bost (Young Reds) – 6 February 2004

• Tibe Vanhaeren (Sporting Hasselt) – 6 January 2004

Established professionals / depth players:

• Milan Taildeman (Free agent – last club OH Leuven) – 27 June 2001

• Amîr Lemti (FC Rupel Boom) – 26 October 2000

• Jasper Van Oudenhove (Francs Borains) – 3 November 1998

• Frédéric Duplus (Retired – last club SL16 FC) – 7 April 1990

Notable former clients:
Public information currently focuses on the active E&L / AXL roster; no clear, well-documented list of former AXL clients is published.

Coaches/Staff represented (if any):
No head coaches or technical staff are clearly listed as AXL clients in major databases; the group’s current public focus is on players.

Notable Deals

• 2025 – Maxim De Cuyper – Club Brugge → Brighton & Hove Albion (Premier League)
  Permanent transfer from Belgian champions Club Brugge to Brighton for a fee reported around £17–17.5m (approx. €20m), with a five-year contract running to June 2030; the deal elevated AXL into the Premier League market and delivered Brighton a starting left-back who is now a regular Belgium international.

• 2025 – Geoffry Hairemans – to Royal Antwerp FC (Belgian Pro League)
  Experienced winger and fan favourite signs a two-year contract with Royal Antwerp FC through 2027, returning to a title-contending Jupiler Pro League environment; fee reported as undisclosed.

• 2025 – Yohan Croizet-Kollár – to Diósgyőri VTK (Hungary NB I)
  Attack-minded French playmaker joins Hungarian top-flight club Diósgyőri VTK on a permanent transfer with contract until June 2027, re-establishing himself in European first divisions after spells in MLS and other leagues.

• 2025 – Jordy Gillekens – to SV Wehen Wiesbaden (Germany 3. Liga)
  Belgian centre-back secures a three-year deal with SV Wehen Wiesbaden (contract to June 2028), opening a pathway from Belgian football into the German system; fee not disclosed publicly.

• 2025 – Nick Gillekens – to RFC Seraing (Belgium Challenger Pro League)
  Goalkeeper Nick Gillekens signs with RFC Seraing on a one-year contract plus club option, stabilising the club’s goalkeeping situation in the Belgian second tier.

• 2024 – Jarno Vervaque – to KSC Lokeren (Belgium 1B Pro League)
  Right-back moves to ambitious 1B side KSC Lokeren on a two-year deal until 2026, positioning himself for a push towards top-flight football.

• 2024 – Amîr Lemti – contract extension with FC Rupel Boom (Belgium 2de Nationale)
  Winger/full-back Amîr Lemti signs an extension through 2026, reflecting strong performances and trust from club and agency; extension officially logged in April 2025.

• 2024 – Matteo Godfroid – first professional contract at Standard Liège (Belgium)
  Highly rated young goalkeeper signs his first pro deal at Standard Liège, highlighted by AXL and the club as a key long-term development project.

Services

• Career planning and long-term pathway design (academy → reserves → senior football → top-5 leagues)

• Contract negotiation and re-negotiation (first pro deals, extensions, performance-linked structures)

• Transfers and loans across Belgium, the wider Benelux region, Germany, Hungary and the UK

• Player-care services: daily support, logistics, off-pitch mentoring and wellbeing coordination (run by a multi-person player-care & scouting team)

• Scouting and talent ID, including close monitoring of youth national-team levels and Belgian academy football

• Assistance with sponsorship introductions and basic commercial opportunities (boots, bonuses, local partnerships)

• Support around relocations (housing, schooling and integration for cross-border moves)

Partner Network

• Clubs and academies:
  Strong day-to-day links across Belgian clubs (OH Leuven, Standard Liège, Young Reds, RSCA Futures, Sporting Hasselt, KV Mechelen, FC Rupel Boom, RFC Seraing, Francs Borains, Merelbeke), plus relationships via deals in England (Brighton & Hove Albion), Germany (SV Wehen Wiesbaden) and Hungary (Diósgyőri VTK).

• Scouts and performance staff:
  In-house scouting unit (Heremans, Gyimako, Delmotte, Peeters, Herion, Taildeman) with local networks across Belgian youth and senior leagues.

• Specialist partners:
  External physios, fitness coaches, legal/accounting and mental-coaching partners are used on a case-by-case basis rather than through a single branded partner.

Track Record (last 3 seasons)

• Total transfers completed:
  At least 10–15 publicly documented deals and contract renewals across Belgian and European clubs since 2023, including cross-border moves to England, Germany and Hungary.

• Deals ≥ €10m:
  1 – Maxim De Cuyper’s transfer from Club Brugge to Brighton & Hove Albion (approx. £17–17.5m / €20m).

• Clients in top-5 leagues:
  1–2 currently, led by De Cuyper at Brighton (Premier League).

• National team clients:
  1 senior Belgium international (De Cuyper) plus multiple Belgium youth internationals within the AXL roster.

• Renewal/extension deals:
  Several, including Amîr Lemti’s renewal at FC Rupel Boom and contract updates for other semi-pro and pro clients in Belgium’s lower professional divisions.

Approach & Philosophy

AXL presents itself as a boutique, relationship-driven agency built around Belgian talent. The core philosophy is to “guard the career” so that the player can “own the game”, focusing on measured steps (academy → Challenger Pro League → abroad) instead of over-aggressive moves.

Scouting is grounded in live match attendance and close links with Belgian academies, complemented by video analysis and modern data where it adds value, rather than driving decisions on its own. Negotiations prioritise long-term fit – clear sporting projects and pathway to minutes – which is reflected in De Cuyper choosing Brighton’s development model ahead of potentially bigger immediate paydays elsewhere.

Fees & Transparency

AXL does not publish a formal fee schedule, but works within the typical European football-agency range where success-based commissions on player earnings and transfer fees are standard (often in the low-single-digit to mid-single-digit percentage range, depending on mandate and jurisdiction).

The agency publicly emphasises trust and long-term collaboration, and there is no sign of routine dual-representation in high-profile deals – the Brighton–De Cuyper agreement, for example, is consistently referenced as player-side representation, with the club represented through its own structures. Where commercial or ancillary services are involved (sponsorships, housing, tax/accounting), costs are generally separated from core commission and handled via third-party providers.

Compliance & Reputation

• Disciplinary actions / sanctions:
  No public record of FIFA, KBVB or other association sanctions against AXL Agency or its licensed agents as of November 2025.

• Litigation / disputes:
  No significant, well-documented civil disputes or lawsuits involving AXL/E&L Consulting in major football or legal databases.

• Media sentiment:
  Largely positive to date – local and specialist coverage frames the agency as a rising Belgian boutique that successfully brokered a major Premier League move for De Cuyper and continues to place domestic talent across Europe. Social-media commentary around the Brighton deal is notably supportive from industry peers.

Awards/recognition

• No major formal awards listed yet (e.g. Globe Soccer, national agent awards), but AXL’s role in Maxim De Cuyper’s high-profile transfer to Brighton has significantly raised its profile within Belgian and Premier League circles.

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