OPINIONS Anderlecht has said goodbye to Anders Dreyer in relative silence. However, the Dane was decisive no less than 54 times with a goal or an assist in 87 games for Anderlecht. He continues his career with San Diego in the MLS.
While Olivier Renard is working to strengthen the selection, Dreyer is the second Dane to leave the Purple and White ship in the near future. The €5.5 million figure looks quite low as his market value is currently outlined around €10 million, which may be on the high side. But if Dreyer were to regain his efficiency from last season in the States, this has been a bargain for San Diego.
Continue reading below the article
Continue reading Anders Dreyer obviously does not belong in Anderlecht's gallery of greats, but his contribution last season should not be forgotten. He was not the most technically proficient or quick player, but he scored smoothly both inside and outside the penalty area. Dreyer also regularly scored very nice goals. One can legitimately wonder where Anderlecht would have finished last season without Dreyer's statistics. With Dreyer, Anderlecht loses the player with potentially the most dangerous distance shot in the core. Hopefully the selection will be able to accommodate his goals and assists, otherwise even more pressure will fall on Dolberg's shoulders for goal production. Hazard and newcomer Huerta should qualify for this.
We reflect on the passage at Anderlecht of last season's player.
2022-2023 Dreyer left as he came, namely in the winter. Dreyer was taken from FC Midtjylland in the winter of 2023 as Jesper Fredberg's first transfer. With Brian Riemer, Anderlecht tries to rectify a hopeless situation in the league, which ultimately will not succeed. Anderlecht ends up stranded in a historically bad tenth place.
Dreyer makes his debut as a substitute in the 2-3 loss against Zulte Waregem. At that time, Anderlecht is not even hanging far above the relegation zone. A week later, the Dane is involved with an assist in the crucial 0-1 victory in Seraing. Dreyer starts well, but sinks towards the end of the season. Still, he scores four goals in the league. His most important goal that season is a magisterial shot against Villareal in the Conference League that makes Anderlecht play 1-1 at home against the Spaniards. After the 0-1 in Spain, Anderlecht unexpectedly qualifies for the quarterfinals.
2023-2024 Anderlecht's core is shaken up considerably and given a Danish injection. Dreyer, still fairly new as a winter acquisition, gets his first minutes on match day two (1-0 win against Antwerp). The unremarkable Dreyer gets the red card in the next game against Sint-Truiden. After two days of suspension, he is back in the game against Genk.
On the following match day (mid-September), Anderlecht seems to be heading for a painful defeat in Kortrijk until Dreyer comes on in the 90th minute. The Dane equalized in extremis with a low, hard escape shot. This goal apparently gives Dreyer wings, because his productivity rises above all expectations that season. In late October, for example, he scores three times against OHL, each time with a shot from outside the penalty area. Dreyer gets a patent on clever goals from distance with his good left foot. He is also regularly dangerous by coming inside and scoring from the edge of offside or giving an assist.
On the season, Dreyer scores as many as 19 goals in the league and provides six assists. He scores four times in the Playoffs, but only a goal against Cercle Brugge leads to a points win (3-0 victory). The season eventually ends with a famous sizzle. Dreyer can rarely help Anderlecht in the decisive matches and Purple-White disappoints in the Play-offs including especially in the potentially decisive home match against Club Brugge.
Despite Purple and White's poorer end, his amazing statistics earned Dreyer a place in the Danish selection for the European Championship where, admittedly, he will not be in action. Although Dreyer is golden because of his goals, his assists and his running ability, he is not always involved in the game and there are games where he is invisible. As a flanker, he does not have the speed and passing movement to get past his direct opponent.
2024-2023 In the summer, things remain relatively quiet around a possible departure for Dreyer, although Feyenoord are apparently showing interest. The Dane remains with Purple and White although financially it would probably have been the right time to sell him. The number of goals Dreyer scored last season was exceptional for a flanker, but Anderlecht did not anticipate and did not get a competitor for Dreyer, even though there were warnings about the Dane's likely decline after his exceptionally strong season.
What was feared effectively became reality. The opponents know the qualities of Dreyer who seems only a shadow of last season's player. The team itself is not playing as well and is losing many points in the league. When Dreyer does manage to kick at goal, the ball lands just wide, he hits the ball just wrong or the leather is stranded on an opponent's leg. He did not score his first goal until early October against Standard. In the league, Dreyer is mostly a base player even though he does not score nearly as easily. In the Europa League he scored a goal against Ludogorets and in the Croky Cup he scored 0-1 from a penalty spot in Tubize. Dreyer did not score as much, but he provided six assists, including two in the 0-2 victory over STVV.
Once this season, Dreyer saved the furniture for the Mauves with a goal. He scored the winning 2-1 goal against Beerschot in extra time. Then he scored once more, in the lost home game against Dender. In 2025, Dreyer will be in action twice more, against Beerschot for the Croky Cup and at home against Club Brugge.
