SUPER EAGLES The remarkable change that Alhassan Yusuf underwent at Royal Antwerp is credited by Gerkens.

Alhassan Yusuf, a Kano native, has emerged as Royal Antwerp standout midfielder this year, leading their midfield with Gerkens and Nainggolan. Pieter Gerkens of Royal Antwerp has praised Alhassan Yusuf, a midfielder born in Nigeria, for helping him improve as a midfielder. Since the start of the 2022–23 season, Mark van Bommel of Royal Antwerp has used the first-choice midfield trio of Gerkens, Yusuf, and former Roma star Radja Nainggolan. The Van Bommel led team has a perfect record in the Belgian Pro League, having won each of their seven league games to maintain first place. Gerkens praises the collaboration with Alhassan Yusuf Yusuf and Gerkens have teamed up successfully in the middle of the field, appearing in each of those seven games.