Matz Sels

Club career

Lierse

Sels started his youth career at Kontich, and transferred to Lierse at the age of seven. Over there, he made his first-team debut in 2010. After the departure of Eiji Kawashima to Standard Liège in the summer of 2012, Sels became the first choice keeper. In his first game in the First Division, on 29 July 2012 against Gent, he saved a penalty. At the start of the 2013–14 season, when he refused to sign a new contract, he was demoted to the second team.

Gent

On 31 December 2013, it was announced that Sels would complete a transfer to Gent once the transfer window opened. He would become the number one goalkeeper as Frank Boeckx's contract was due to expire at the end of the season. Sels made his debut for Gent on 14 January 2014 against K.V. Kortrijk, in the quarter-finals of the Belgian Cup. He helped Gent qualify for the next round after penalties; with the game ending 1–1 on aggregate.

Sels played a key role in helping Gent become champions of the 2014–15 Belgian Pro League, the first national championship in the club's history. This triumph allowed Gent to qualify for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League.

On his Champions League debut Sels dramatically saved an Alexandre Lacazette penalty to help his side secure a 1–1 draw with Lyon. On 13 January 2016 he was voted Best Goalkeeper of Belgium 2015.

Newcastle United

On 29 June 2016, Sels completed a transfer to Premier League club Newcastle United on a five-year contract for a reported transfer fee of £6.5 million. Sels made his Newcastle debut in the Championship on 5 August against Fulham. Sels kept a run of four clean sheets spanning 20 August to 13 September. Sels came under considerable fire from Newcastle fans for allowing a late equaliser from Aaron Tshibola at Aston Villa on 24 September. Despite receiving endorsement from manager Rafa Benítez during the week, Sels lost his place in the line-up to Karl Darlow against Norwich City on 28 September. His displacement from the line-up also received notable media coverage in his native Belgium. When Newcastle's next League Cup tilt came up, it was Sels who got the start, enjoying a clean sheet in a 6–0 victory over Preston North End on 25 October. On 22 June 2017, Sels signed for Anderlecht on a season-long loan.

Strasbourg

On 27 July 2018, Sels moved to Ligue 1 side Strasbourg for £3.5 million. In his first season at the club, he was awarded Strasbourg's player of the Season.

Nottingham Forest

On 1 February 2024, Sels moved to Nottingham Forest. He made his Premier League debut for Forest 3 days later, in a 1–1 draw away to Bournemouth. On 2 March, Sels made a point-blank save in a match against Liverpool that earned him the Premier League Save of the Month award. By achieving that honour, he became the first ever Nottingham Forest player to win a Premier League monthly award.

Following the 2024–25 season, Sels was the first Nottingham Forest goalkeeper awarded the Premier League Golden Glove, shared with Arsenal's David Raya, after achieving 13 clean sheets.

International career

Sels was called up to the Belgium squad in October 2015 for UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers against Andorra and Israel. He was named in the Roberto Martinez Belgian squad for the friendly against Saudi Arabia in Brussels on 27 March.

In May 2018 he was named in Belgium's preliminary squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. However, he did not make the final 23.

In May 2021, Sels was named in Belgium's provisional squad for the rescheduled UEFA Euro 2020.

He made his debut on 3 June 2021 in a friendly against Greece, coming on as a substitute for Simon Mignolet in the 90th minute.

Career statistics

Club

!colspan="2"|League cup !colspan="2"|Europe !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals||Apps||Goals |- |2010–11 |Belgian Pro League |0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||0||0 |- |2011–12 |Belgian Pro League |0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||0||0 |- |2012–13 |Belgian Pro League |30||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||31||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !30||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||31||0 |- |2013–14 |Belgian Pro League |9||0||3||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||6Appearances in Belgian Pro League play-offs||0||18||0 |- |2014–15 |Belgian Pro League |30||0||6||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||9||0||45||0 |- |2015–16 |Belgian Pro League |30||0||4||0||colspan="2"|—||8||0||11||0||53||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !69||0||13||0||colspan="2"|—||8||0||26||0||116||0 |- |Newcastle United |2016–17 |Championship |9||0||3||0||2||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||14||0 |- |Anderlecht (loan) |2017–18 |Belgian Pro League |22||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||3||0||11||0||37||0 |- |2018–19 |Ligue 1 |37||0||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||38||0 |- |2019–20 |Ligue 1 |27||0||2||0||0||0||6||0||colspan="2"|—||35||0 |- |2020–21 |Ligue 1 |6||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||6||0 |- |2021–22 |Ligue 1 |37||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||38||0 |- |2022–23 |Ligue 1 |38||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||39||0 |- |2023–24 |Ligue 1 |20||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||20||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !165||0||5||0||0||0||6||0||colspan="2"|—||176||0 |- |2023–24 |Premier League |16||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||16||0 |- |2024–25 |Premier League |37||0||4||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||41||0 |- |2025–26 |Premier League |19||0||1||0||0||0||5||0||colspan="2"|—||25||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !72!!0!!5!!0!!0!!0!!5!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!82!!0 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !367||0||28||0||2||0||22||0||37||0||456||0 |}

International

Honours

Gent

• Belgian Pro League: 2014–15
• Belgian Super Cup: 2015{{cite news |access-date=23 March 2022}}

Newcastle United

• EFL Championship: 2016–17

Anderlecht

• Belgian Super Cup: 2017

Strasbourg

• Coupe de la Ligue: 2018–19

Individual

• Belgian Professional Goalkeeper of the Season: 2015–16
• Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Season: 2021–22
• Premier League Save of the Month: March 2024
• Premier League Golden Glove: 2024–25 (shared)
• EA Sports FC Premier League Team of the Season: 2024–25
• Premier League Fan Team of the Season: 2024–25
• The Athletic Premier League Team of the Season: 2024–25
• PFA Team of the Year: 2024–25 Premier League

References

References

1. (8 February 2024). "Latest updated Premier League squad lists for 2023/24". Premier League.
2. "Matz Sels: Overview". Premier League.
3. (16 September 2015). "Nine-man Gent claim heroic 1–1 draw with Lyon in Group H". The Guardian.
4. (13 January 2016). "Matz Sels weer trapje hoger: Beste doelman van 2015". HLN.
5. Starforth, Miles. (5 August 2016). "Matz Sels starts in goal for Newcastle at Fulham". The Shields Gazette.
6. Robertson, Jim. (24 September 2016). "The case of Matz Sels is a strange one".
7. Banerjee, Rohan. (25 September 2016). "Newcastle United goalkeeper Matz Sels deletes Twitter account after abuse from angry supporters". Daily Mirror.
8. (27 September 2016). "Rafa Benitez backs goalkeeper Matz Sels after error". Sky Sports.
9. Wilson, Scott. (28 September 2016). "Newcastle boss drops Matz Sels for Norwich game". The Northern Echo.
10. Douglas, Mark. (4 October 2016). "Matz Sels is down, but not out – how Newcastle goalkeeper plans to revive his United career". Evening Chronicle.
11. (26 October 2016). "Coach én fans lovend voor herboren Matz Sels: "Alles positief aan zijn match"". Het Nieuwsblad.
12. Easterby, Tom. (22 June 2017). "Sels makes Anderlecht loan move". Newcastle United F.C..
13. (26 July 2018). "Newcastle confirm departure of Matz Sels to Strasbourg". Sky Sports.
14. (16 June 2019). "MATZ SELS ÉLU MEILLEUR JOUEUR DE LA SAISON 18/19".
15. (1 February 2024). "FOREST COMPLETE MATZ SELS SIGNING". Nottingham Forest F.C..
16. (4 February 2024). "Bournemouth 1–1 Nottingham Forest: Justin Kluivert and Callum Hudson-Odoi score in draw".
17. (12 April 2024). "Sels makes history with Castrol Save of the Month award". Premier League.
18. (25 May 2025). "Raya and Sels share Premier League Golden Glove award". Premier League.
19. (2 October 2015). "Belgium make sweeping changes for Euro 2016 double-header". Sky Sports.
20. (16 March 2018). "Limbombe gets first Belgium call, Nainggolan back in the squad".
21. (21 May 2018). "Belgium World Cup squad: Radja Nainggolan left out of initial 28-man squad for Russia 2018". The Independent.
22. (4 June 2018). "World Cup 2018: Belgium include Vincent Kompany but Christian Benteke misses out". BBC Sport.
23. (18 May 2021). "Euro 2020 Rosters: France Recalls Karim Benzema". The New York Times.
24. (3 June 2021). "Belgium v Greece game report". [[ESPN]].
25. "Matz Sels » Club matches".
26. {{soccerway. matz-sels/89739
27. "Matz Sels".
28. (31 March 2019). "Le Strasbourg de Matz Sels remporte la Coupe de la Ligue pour la 3e fois de son histoire". RTL Sport.
29. "Matz Sels (Strasbourg) meilleur gardien de la saison en L1 pour les entraîneurs des gardiens".
30. (12 April 2024). "Sels makes history with Castrol Save of the Month award". Premier League.
31. Arts, Electronic. (10 April 2025). "Premier League Team of the Season – EA SPORTS FC™ 25 Ultimate Team™ – EA SPORTS Official". Electronic Arts Inc..
32. "REVEALED: 2024/25 Fan Team of the Season". Premier League.
33. (28 May 2025). "The Athletic's end-of-season awards, 2024–25: Men's football".
34. (19 August 2025). "Salah and Rogers scoop PFA player of the year awards".