Axel WitselCB#28

Nice·Ligue 1·Midfield - Defensive Midfield

37 years(12/01/1989)1,86mrightBelgium, MartiniqueContract until 30/06/2027

6.78Rating37 matches in 12 months

€1.20mMarket value#21 in Nice · #341 in Ligue 1

Last 5rating per match

LaLiga08.116.9

World Cup Qu18.116.7

LaLiga23.116.6

LaLiga30.116.9

LaLiga07.126.3

Form, 12 monthsaverage rating per month

6.80Nov

6.80Dec

6.70Jan

6.70Feb

6.90Mar

6.90Apr

6.80May

6.70Jun

6.40Jul

6.50Aug

6.50Sep

6.90Oct

Club matchesNice

Team page →

Recent results

23 Oct · 19:45Ligue 1A

Stade Brestois 290:0Prediction 18 Oct · 19:45Ligue 1A

LyonL1:2Prediction 11 Oct · 14:00Ligue 1H

Strasbourg0:0Prediction 20 Sept · 16:15Ligue 1H

Lille—Prediction 12 Sept · 19:45Ligue 1A

Auxerre—Prediction

Key statsLigue 1

Goals019 of 52Rank

xG0.460.28 / 9013 of 51Rank

Assists021 of 52Rank

xA0.040.02 / 9046 of 52Rank

Shots71.10 / 9022 of 51Rank

Shots on target229%21 of 51Rank

Key passes30.47 / 9042 of 52Rank

Pass accuracy94.6%

xG — expected goals: the quality of the chances taken; xA — expected assists: the quality of the chances created. Values per 90 minutes are shown under the totals. Rank: place among midfielders — Ligue 1, season 26/27. What xG, npxG, xA and xGChain mean

Player profileattributes and traits

Player Position average

Attacking45

Technique47

Tactical54

Defending50

Creativity50

Strengths

Discipline

Weaknesses

No outstanding weaknesses

Player positions: DC · MC · DM

Positions on the pitch

Percentiles per 90per 90 minutes vs positional peers of the league

AttackingPer 90 · Percentile

Goals0.0032%

xG0.1568%

Shots1.1042%

Shots on target0.3246%

Conversion %032%

Big chances missed0.1637%

Dribbles0.3220%

Fouls won1.4269%

Offsides0.00100%

PlaymakingPer 90 · Percentile

Assists0.0030%

xA0.026%

Key passes0.4712%

Big chances created0.0021%

Accurate passes46.6576%

Pass accuracy %94.6100%

Final third passes8.5139%

Long balls1.5841%

Crosses0.0012%

DefendingPer 90 · Percentile

Tackles0.470%

Interceptions1.2665%

Clearances1.1040%

Blocks0.6390%

Aerial duels won0.6351%

Duels won2.8412%

Recoveries4.4137%

Dribbled past0.1698%

Fouls0.32100%

Errors leading to goal0.0054%

What a percentile means

The percentile shows what share of players of the same position in this league the player beats on a per-90-minute metric. 90% — better than nine out of ten peers; 50% — the league median. Per 90 minutes removes the effect of playing time.

For fouls, offsides, being dribbled past and goals conceded the scale is inverted: a higher percentile means fewer of them.

vs 51 midfielders · Ligue 1 · season 26/27 · min 270′ · player 571′

Similar playersLigue 1 · midfielders · season 26/27

81%

Denis ZakariaMonaco · Midfield - Defensive Midfield6.81Rating0G0A29age 80%

Djibril CoulibalyNice · Midfield - Central Midfield6.53Rating0G0A17age 80%

Mouhamed DiopTroyes · Midfield - Central Midfield6.57Rating0G0A25age 80%

Arthur PiedfortAJ Auxerre · Midfield - Defensive Midfield6.56Rating0G0A21age 79%

Junior MwangaLe Havre AC · Midfield - Defensive Midfield6.57Rating0G0A23age 78%

Noah CadiouFC Lorient · Midfield - Central Midfield7.00Rating1G0A27age

Profile match = 100 − mean gap of per-90 percentiles across 28 metrics of this position; players of the same league, position group and season with at least 270 minutes.

Availability

StatusInjuredsince 09.01.2026

Missed matches1last 12 months

National teamBelgium140 caps · 12 goals

Contract until30/06/2027

Market value€1.20mHighest: €40.00m (18/12/2018)

Season statsSeason 26/27

Competition	Team	Season	Apps	Min	Rating	G	A	G+A	YC	RC
Ligue 1	Nice	26/27	7	571	6.70	—	—	0	—	—

Transfers10

Date	Season	From	To	Fee	Market value
18/08/2026	26/27	Girona	Nice	free transfer	€1.20m
12/08/2025	25/26	Atlético	Girona	free transfer	€2.00m
06/07/2022	22/23	Dortmund	Atlético	free transfer	€4.00m
06/08/2018	18/19	TJ Tianhai	Dortmund	€20.00m	€20.00m
03/01/2017	16/17	Zenit S-Pb	TJ Quanjian	€20.00m	€20.00m
03/09/2012	12/13	Benfica	Zenit S-Pb	€40.00m	€20.00m
13/07/2011	11/12	Standard Liège	Benfica	€9.00m	€10.00m
01/07/2006	06/07	Standard U19	Standard Liège	-	-
01/07/2005	05/06	Standard U17	Standard U19	-	-
01/07/2004	04/05	Standard Yth	Standard U17	-	-

Market value

€1.20m Current€40.00m Highest · 18/12/201805/06/2026 Last change

24.09.200605.06.2026

#154 Belgium#614 Defensive Midfield#341 Ligue 1#21 Nice#7.005 Worldwide#8 Year 1989

Value history

Date	Age	Club	Value
24/09/2006	17	Standard Liège	€400k
07/08/2007	18	Standard Liège	€1.50m
31/03/2008	19	Standard Liège	€2.50m
15/07/2008	19	Standard Liège	€3.00m
22/10/2008	19	Standard Liège	€4.00m
25/11/2008	19	Standard Liège	€8.00m
22/05/2009	20	Standard Liège	€8.50m
04/09/2009	20	Standard Liège	€7.50m
28/07/2010	21	Standard Liège	€8.50m
28/12/2010	21	Standard Liège	€8.50m
24/05/2011	22	Standard Liège	€10.00m
21/09/2011	22	SL Benfica	€11.00m
02/02/2012	23	SL Benfica	€14.00m
07/07/2012	23	SL Benfica	€20.00m
04/09/2012	23	Zenit St. Petersburg	€25.00m
09/09/2012	23	Zenit St. Petersburg	€30.00m
13/01/2013	24	Zenit St. Petersburg	€30.00m
19/06/2013	24	Zenit St. Petersburg	€32.00m
03/03/2014	25	Zenit St. Petersburg	€35.00m
31/07/2014	25	Zenit St. Petersburg	€35.00m
23/02/2015	26	Zenit St. Petersburg	€28.00m
18/06/2015	26	Zenit St. Petersburg	€28.00m
06/01/2016	26	Zenit St. Petersburg	€28.00m
01/06/2016	27	Zenit St. Petersburg	€23.00m
27/12/2016	27	Zenit St. Petersburg	€20.00m
05/03/2017	28	Tianjin Quanjian	€15.00m
19/06/2017	28	Tianjin Quanjian	€15.00m
01/12/2017	28	Tianjin Quanjian	€17.00m
05/06/2018	29	Tianjin Quanjian	€18.00m
16/07/2018	29	Tianjin Tianhai (-2019)	€20.00m
22/08/2018	29	Borussia Dortmund	€25.00m
22/10/2018	29	Borussia Dortmund	€30.00m
18/12/2018	29	Borussia Dortmund	€40.00m
05/06/2019	30	Borussia Dortmund	€32.00m
17/12/2019	30	Borussia Dortmund	€27.00m
08/04/2020	31	Borussia Dortmund	€21.50m
16/09/2020	31	Borussia Dortmund	€17.00m
10/02/2021	32	Borussia Dortmund	€12.00m
26/05/2021	32	Borussia Dortmund	€9.00m
22/12/2021	32	Borussia Dortmund	€6.00m
24/03/2022	33	Borussia Dortmund	€4.00m
09/06/2022	33	Borussia Dortmund	€4.00m
23/09/2022	33	Atlético de Madrid	€5.00m
07/11/2022	33	Atlético de Madrid	€5.00m
13/06/2023	34	Atlético de Madrid	€5.00m
22/12/2023	34	Atlético de Madrid	€5.00m
21/03/2024	35	Atlético de Madrid	€4.00m
07/06/2024	35	Atlético de Madrid	€3.50m
27/12/2024	35	Atlético de Madrid	€2.50m
09/06/2025	36	Atlético de Madrid	€2.00m
02/10/2025	36	Girona FC	€1.50m
12/12/2025	36	Girona FC	€1.40m
05/06/2026	37	Girona FC	€1.20m

xG Statisticsall seasons

Season	League	Club	Apps	Min	G	xG	npxG	A	xA	Sh	KP	xGChain
2026	Ligue 1	Nice	2	150	0	0.46	0.46	0	0.04	2	1	0.27

What xG, npxG, xA and xGChain mean

xG Expected goals: How many goals an average finisher would score from the same shots. A 0.30 xG shot goes in about 3 times in 10. Goals above xG mean efficient finishing; below — a cold streak or poor finishing.
npxG Non-penalty xG: The same xG without penalties. A penalty alone is worth about 0.76 xG, so npxG is a cleaner view of open-play and set-piece chances.
xA Expected assists: The xG of the shots that followed the player's passes. High xA with few assists means teammates missed good chances.
xGChain xG chain: Team xG from every possession the player touched. It shows involvement in build-up, not only the shot or the final pass, so a deep midfielder can rank high without scoring.
KP Key passes: Passes that led directly to a shot — the volume behind xA.

Teammatessame club

Ali AbdiDefender - Left-Back32age€2.00mvalue

Antoine MendyDefender - Centre-Back22age€10.00mvalue

Djibril CoulibalyMidfield - Central Midfield17age€1.00mvalue

Elye WahiAttack - Centre-Forward23age€18.00mvalue

EvertonMidfield - Defensive Midfield19age€2.00mvalue

Gauthier HeinAttack - Right Winger30age€5.00mvalue

Hamza KoutouneDefender - Right-Back19age€150kvalue

Hicham BoudaouiMidfield - Central Midfield26age€12.00mvalue