# Zinho Vanheusden

Zinho Vanheusden (born 29 July 1999) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Belgian Pro League club KV Mechelen, on loan from Serie A club Inter Milan, and the Belgium national team.

## Club career
### Inter Milan

In mid-2015, Vanheusden joined Inter Milan's youth academy after seven seasons in the Standard Liège youth system. He was promoted to the first team in the last few matches of 2016–17 Serie A; he also appeared as an unused bench for a few matches at the start of 2017–18 Serie A. He also played for the under-19 team as the starting defender, winning 2016–17 Campionato Nazionale Primavera. On 27 September 2017, Vanheusden injured his cruciate ligament in a UEFA Youth League match against Dynamo Kyiv, which kept him out of action for four months. On 26 January 2018, Vanheusden extended his contract with Inter until June 2022.

#### Loan to Standard Liège

On 30 January 2018, Vanheusden joined Standard Liège until 30 June 2018, with an option to extend for one more year. Vanheusden made his professional debut in a 1–0 Belgian First Division A playoff win over Gent on 14 April 2018.

### Standard Liège

On 28 June 2019, Standard Liège signed Vanheusden in a permanent deal for a reported €12.5 million fee, which surpassed Nicolae Stanciu's record as the most expensive purchase by a Belgium club.

### Return to Inter Milan

On 13 July 2021, he returned to Inter Milan.

#### Loan to Genoa

On 20 July, he was sent on loan to Genoa. He made his Serie A debut on 21 August against Inter away, at the Giuseppe Meazza in a 4–0 loss to his team.

#### Loan to AZ

On 25 July 2022, Vanheusden was loaned by AZ in the Netherlands, with an option to buy.

#### Loan to Standard Liège

On 8 July 2023, he returned to Standard Liège for the upcoming season.

#### Loan to KV Mechelen

On 25 July 2024, he joined KV Mechelen for a season-long loan, with an option to buy.

## International career

Vanheusden debuted with the Belgium national team in a 1–1 friendly draw with Ivory Coast on 8 October 2020.

## Personal life

Vanheusden is named after the Brazilian footballer, Zinho after his performance at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 24 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Standard Liège (loan) | 2017–18 | Belgian Pro League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| Standard Liège (loan) | 2018–19 | Belgian Pro League | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 2 |
| Standard Liège | 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 28 | 2 |
| Standard Liège | 2020–21 | Belgian Pro League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Standard Liège | Total | Total | 55 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 76 | 4 |
| Genoa (loan) | 2021–22 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 16 | 0 |
| AZ (loan) | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 |
| Standard Liège (loan) | 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| KV Mechelen (loan) | 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 3 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 99 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 127 | 4 |
* 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Europa League
* 1 2 Appearances in Belgian Pro League European play-offs
* ↑ Appearance in UEFA Europa Conference League