After their disappointing end to the season, in which they missed out on play-off football, Anderlecht have been searching for answers. Just days after the final game, club sporting director Jesper Fredberg released a 12 minute interview for the club website looking back at the campaign. Much of the interview focused on how the club was now ready to refresh the squad, as Fredburg went into depth about how they were not happy with the quality of the squad as a whole. Fredburg said ‘We do not have a squad that is capable of competing for the top positions’.
Recruitment was the key message here, with the new sporting director stating that they have had enough time to evaluate the players within the squad to make a decision. It appears, taking his interview at face value, that a number of players will be moved on during the summer window. This, as Fredberg states, will help bring in some of the talented academy players but also hopefully free up funds to improve the squad. One area that they want to focus on is the attack, as this was an area of weakness that the sporting director mentioned in his interview.
One fear of Anderlecht fans is that some of these will be key, highly talented players such as Bart Verbruggen and Zeno Debast. Both have been linked with Premier League clubs and its likely that without European football they will look to move on. Both players should command a fee that could help bring greater quality into the squad, however it will be painful for Anderlecht fans to see the two youngsters leave so early in their careers.
Fredberg certainly has a big job on his hands this summer, which hasn’t been helped by the success that the fans have seen Burnley enjoy under Vincent Kompany. Many will be wondering what might have been had the club legend been allowed to continue the work he had started last season.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
