Verbeke: "This has to be the year of these ten youngsters".

INTERVIEWS Peter Verbeke looks forward to the new football season with healthy confidence. In an interview with De Morgen, he indicates that other clubs spent much more money on the transfer market, but he also mentions the names of ten young players of whom he expects a lot this year.
 


Two purchases, two rented strikers and one returned renter: those are the incoming transfers of Anderlecht this summer. No big, expensive purchases, but young players with a lot of potential. That's no coincidence: Anderlecht still can't afford to spend big on the transfer market.

"Since I work for Anderlecht, we spent 16 million euro on transfers. Club Brugge spent 45 million in the same period, Genk 35 million, Gent and Antwerp both almost 30 million", Verbeke told De Morgen on Saturday. These are the figures until the end of 2021, the past winter transfer period is not included yet.

A transfer like the one of Toby Alderweireld to Antwerp, we should not expect from Anderlecht. Because Anderlecht also wants to slim down their wage bill. "Contrary to the other clubs', Verbeke remarks. "In our business plan for the next five years, we have to be very careful with every euro."

"Transitioning to youth"

With Magallan and Cullen, two experienced players left this summer. The newcomers are young. Verbeke says he is looking for a good mix between youth and experience. "But this season it could well lean towards the youth," he says.

"This should be the year of Zeno Debast, Hannes Delcroix, Marco Kana, Kristian Arnstad, Mario Stroeykens, Sergio Gomez, Francis Amuzu, Noah Sadiki, Julien Duranville and Nilson Angulo. These are ten guys in whom I believe very strongly," said the CEO. "But almost all of them are also under 20. It's only natural that they will still make mistakes."