VfL Wolfsburg midfielder Junior Malanda died in a car accident on Saturday as the team were preparing to leave for a training camp in South Africa, German media reported.

The 20-year-old Belgian was a passenger in a car that crashed on a motorway in North Rhine Westphalia, according to the Bild newspaper and SID news agency.

Club officials could not immediately confirm the reports.

Malanda, who did not win a senior cap for Belgium, joined Wolfsburg in 2013 and had a spell on loan at Zulte Waregem.

He played a total of 17 league games for Wolfsburg, ten this season, scoring two goals.