"Selling players will always be strategy of the club"

INTERVIEWS In his talk, CEO Sports Jesper Fredberg also announced that there will be changesin Brian Riemer's staff. Furthermore, he also mentioned that players who are ready for a step up can make that step. You can read part two of his interview on the club channels here.


"We are also looking at Brian Riemer's staff. How are we going to strengthen it? Because in recent years there has been a lot of turnover. People came and left. We now have to create a team around the team that is strong enough to get results. So that also means there will be changes coming to the staff."

"That's positive. Because we want to strengthen compared to now. But we also know that with our DNA of training talent and people becoming better than when they arrived, it's crucial to have the jusite people around them. That's important to us."

"Happy when youngsters continue to grow"

"Developing talents is crucial for us. It's in the DNA of the club and was important in its history. So for me as a person and as a CEO, it is also important. Talent drives us. It makes us happy to see when young players grow through from almost no playing time last season to now being an important player for us. Not only in the physically tough Jupiler Pro League, but who also attract interest from clubs from the top five leagues and even big clubs from those top five leagues."

"When that doesn't motivate you as a young player in Neerpede, I can't imagine what would motivate them. Because that's what we want to do. We want to create a path to success for those talents. Strategically that's important to us and so that's what we want to continue to do. If they are good enough, then they are also old enough for nos and play."

"If players do really well, then they arouse attention from other clubs. That doesn't make me sad, it motivates me. Because in the long run, we also want to sell our players. After all, we play in a league that is a training league for the top five leagues. That's just the way it is. However, that doesn't mean we can't be ambitious. That we can't play European and be competitive there too. But it will always be a strategy of the club to sell players."

"Bart and Zeno as examples"

"Anderlecht is a place where talent flourishes. That's a big part of our DNA. We've seen that now with Bart and Zeno. They grew through and made huge strides in a short period of time. That shows that the academy has the quality to take them to that level. For us, it's important to be able to create that path. And that also means that at some point they will be so attractive that they will leave the club." 

"Then we have to bring new, up-and-coming players. We are then curious about that, every time. Is that Stroeykens, Kana, ... who are already showing themselves? It's up to us to chart a path and give them the opportunities. But finally, it's up to the players to seize the opportunities. That's also what we need: the hunger of the players coming up. Bart and Zeno have shown that perfectly this season."

"Optimize transition from youth to A-team"

"Youth training is crucial for a club like ours with our ambitions. During the last game we played with seven boys from the academy in the starting eleven. You can look at that from two ways: is the glass half full or half empty? On the one hand, it is very impressive. On the other hand, it can also mean that we have too high demands and that the academy has to produce too much talent, which is really difficult. If we have an academy that can give us one or two base players every season, that's great for me."

"With and academy and a first team being under one roof, it's important that we are 100 percent on the same page. How do we make sure they make the step from talent to top player? That's not an easy step. It is perhaps the most difficult step as a professional footballer. The introduction of the Futures team is an important step in that."

"We and the club have to learn to use that in the best possible way. Because the step from being a top talent to performing in an A team, that's not an easy one. We are now evaluating that transition phase. How can we make it even better and align it even more. So that we no longer talk about academy, Futures and A team, but about a club that is completely aligned with the same philosophy. And that we make the transition phase from our side as easy as possible. That is a big ambition of ours. Also for the coming years."

Source: © Internal source