Mike Tresor: Genks prolific provider on the radar of Vincent Kompany and Burnley
This summer, The Athletic is running a series profiling 50 exciting players under the age of 25 — who they are, how they play, and why they could be attracting interest in the coming transfer windows.
So far, we have run the rule over a striker on Manchester United’s radar, Gen-Z’s answer to Sergio Busquets, and the France forward who has gone from zero to €100million in the space of a year. You can find all our profiles here.
If your idol as a kid was Ronaldinho, it would seem pretty likely you have a taste for the more flamboyant approach.
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However, with the changes in European football academies angling towards more functional players in the past decade, Mike Tresor has been brought up to be more of a modern No 10.
“I have always been a No 10 by nature,” Tresor told Transfermarkt in March. “I have always had this altruistic nature, this vision of the game, to serve my team-mates.”
Picked up by Anderlecht when he was 14 years old, the Belgium-born forward honed his skills in Anderlecht’s academy before moving to the Netherlands for three years. After that, Tresor returned to Belgium and joined Genk.
A disappointing first season in 2021-22, where he only started 12 league games and assisted seven goals, was followed by his breakthrough — last season, he scored eight times and provided 24 assists in 39 games, performances that saw him crowned as the Belgian Pro League player of the season.
Tresor sees himself as a No 10, but that didn’t stop him from racking up the goals and assists from the left wing last season. “Playing as a left-winger but still having this freedom to come inside and ask for the ball, that’s where I can bring the most to the team,” he told Eleven Sports.
Starting on the left, Tresor often roamed inside when the ball was on the other side of the pitch, looking to overload the central areas and offer himself as a passing option.

In this example against Westerlo on October 18, Tresor is initially on the left…

… before playing the ball back to the defence and moving inside as Genk circulate the ball to the right side of their attack.


Seconds later, he drops to offer Genk’s centre-backs a passing option to get the ball forward…


… and when Tresor spots Patrik Hrosovsky’s run, he thinks about playing the pass but doesn’t commit because he sees Westerlo’s centre-back, Rubin Seigers, moving as well.

Rather than playing the pass towards Hrosovsky, Tresor delays until a gap opens up in Westerlo’s defence because of Seigers’ movement, and that’s where he plays the pass…

… which puts Hrosovsky in a better goal-scoring position.

One of Tresor’s signature moves is to combine with the nearest midfielder before making a run into the space to receive the return pass — quite simply, a one-two. In this example against Oostende on February 25, Tresor plays the ball to Bilal El Khannouss and makes a forward run to offer himself as a passing option.

The Morocco international then finds Tresor’s run…

… before the latter plays the ball across goal to set up Joseph Paintsil, who scores Genk’s third goal of the day.


Tresor’s ability to spot the movement of his team-mates, as well as the weight of his passes, make him a creative force. His assists come in different forms, whether it’s down the left wing or after drifting inside to a more central position.

Tresor’s hat-trick of assists in Genk’s away win against Antwerp on October 23 couldn’t have been a better example. On the first goal, Tresor drifts inside the pitch as Genk attack down the right side…

… which allows Paul Onuachu to find him in a central position later in the attack.

From there, Tresor spots Bryan Heynen’s movement behind the defence…

… and chips the ball towards the Belgian midfielder…

… who scores an acrobatic volley to give Genk the lead.

The other two assists in that game were from set pieces. Tresor’s dead-ball delivery makes him a valuable asset for his side at a time when set pieces are more important than ever. Last season, 10 of Tresor’s 24 assists were from corners or free kicks and he showed he has a personal threat with a goal from a direct free kick against Leuven on April 2.
On corners and indirect free kicks, Tresor knows how to pick his spot with an accurate delivery. In this example against Union Saint-Gilloise on May 21, he is waiting to play the free kick with Mark McKenzie acting as a late runner.

Tresor then crosses in behind the defensive line, but not too close to the goalkeeper…

… which allows McKenzie to attack the ball freely and head it into the net.

When Tresor isn’t on the ball in the final third and Genk are attacking down their right wing, he often moves towards the edge of the box to offer himself as a cutback option.


In this example against Standard Liege on July 31 last year, Tresor doesn’t rush towards the far post. Instead, he slows down his run when he enters the penalty box. Meanwhile, Paintsil plays the ball back to El Khannouss…

… who then plays the cutback towards Tresor…

… but the forward’s shot is blocked by his own team-mate…

… before he scores from the rebound.

Off the ball, Tresor is happy to drop and help his left-back or counter-press to win the ball back in midfield. Speaking about his role in the team, Tresor acknowledges there is defensive work to do. “It’s definitely not a carte blanche,” said the Belgium forward. “There are (defensive) instructions to follow.”
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With a creative profile such as this, it’s no wonder Tresor caught the eyes outside of Belgium. He has been on Burnley’s radar this summer, with Vincent Kompany being a huge admirer. A move to the Premier League would be the perfect challenge for the Belgium international, who earned his first two caps this summer, to showcase his talent.
During Tresor’s interview with Eleven Sports last season, the host asked him about the text on his phone’s wallpaper. It read: creativity is freedom, the absence of fear.
That explains a lot.
(Top photo: Bruno Fahy/Belga/AFP via Getty Images; design: Sam Richardson)
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