The future of Hendrik Van Crombrugge (29) at Anderlecht no longer looks so rosy. The keeper is allowed to leave the Lotto Park and sees his place between the posts taken by 20-year-old Bart Verbruggen. The Purple & White must/want to make substantial savings on the wage bill, which means that an extended stay for Trebel and Refaelov is also very uncertain.
Jürgen Geril, Thomas Standaert and Pieter-Jan Calcoen
Hendrik Van Crombrugge is normally the captain of Anderlecht. The man who addresses the team before every game and also dares to knock on the table when things go wrong. He arrived at Purple & White in 2019 at the intercession of Vincent Kompany, who then wanted a good keeper who played along. The Purple & White paid about 2.25 million euros to Eupen and Van Crombrugge turned out to be a real strongholder at RSCA, especially in his first season.
In the past year, Van Crombrugge had become less of a scorer, but he still helped Anderlecht qualify for the groups of the Conference League and also kept them straight in the group stage against Silkeborg, so that the Purple & White overwinter in Europe. Nevertheless, coach Brian Riemer now opts for 20-year-old Dutchman Bart Verbruggen in goal and that also affects Van Crombrugge’s situation. If there is an interesting offer for him (this winter), Anderlecht will cooperate in a transfer.
Coach Brian Riemer did not want to say that before the match against Union. “We have a strong team here with many good players. Bart played well in the last match. I look forward to seeing him again tonight. Hendrik is an incredible person and captain of this club, he represents the values of Anderlecht very well. But this does not mean that Hendrik will no longer play. Today Bart plays and Hendrik supports the team.”
Hoedt and Van Crombrugge: big earners who are allowed to leave. — © BELGIUM
However, the main reason for that shift seems to be the club’s financial situation. Anderlecht recently presented its annual accounts, which again showed an operating loss of 27.3 million euros. The annual wage costs had also risen from 50 to 57 million euros and the Purple & White must now reduce them. Van Crombrugge still has a contract until 2025 with a solid salary. It is now mainly a question of whether interested clubs will show up. PSV sometimes sounded out last summer, but that did not become more concrete then. Van Crombrugges’ market value is still estimated at 4 million euros.
Refaelov must surrender
The fact that Anderlecht has to make savings will also be felt in other files. It is no longer a secret that another high earner like Wesley Hoedt has to look for other places. But what about Lior Refaelov (36) and Adrien Trebel (31)? Both are out of contract in June, but would like to stay at Lotto Park. They realize that this is not possible under their current conditions, but how far can Anderlecht jump? It looks like Refaelov will have to give up quite a bit to stay on board and the question is whether there will be a new proposal at all for Trebel who now earns 2.71 million euros a year. The Frenchman also lost his starting place against Union.
