In July 2018, he was promoted to the first team and signed his first professional contract alongside fellow youth prospect Robbe Decostere.
[2] On 14 May 2019, caretaker manager José Jeunechamps[3] gave Vanhoutte his debut in the Europa League play-offs loss to Royal Excel Mouscron.
[1] On 1 September 2019, Vanhoutte was sent on loan to Tubize together with teammate Robbe Decostere on a one-year deal.
[5] Vanhoutte played regularly, but was unable to prevent the club from suffering relegation to the Belgian Division 2.
After his loan spell, Vanhoutte became a permanent starter at Cercle Brugge, where he signed a contract extension until June 2023 in December 2020, just like fellow academy players Decostere and Thibo Somers.