Following their tremendous start to the season, Fiorentina are looking to add to their squad over the winter transfer window and have identified the young Anderlecht midfielder, Dennis Praet, as a potential transfer target. They will, however, likely face competition from other European teams, with Juventus, Ajax and Arsenal also purported to be monitoring the 21 year old’s availability.
Praet has been a key figure for the Jupiler Pro League outfit over the past few years, and attracted interest from several Premier League clubs in the recent summer transfer window, including Everton, Southampton and Aston Villa. Since making his Anderlecht debut, at the age of 17, in the Belgian Cup in September 2011, Praet has made 142 appearances for Anderlecht scoring 23 goals and providing 31 assists. His performances at domestic level were rewarded with an international debut in a friendly match against Iceland in November 2014, but the recent success of the Belgium national team has seen him return to the Under-21 team where, as captain, he has played a key role in maintaining their position as the leaders of Group 1 of the UEFA Under-21 European Championship qualification stage.
Praet came through the same Genk academy that helped develop the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Christian Benteke, and caught the eye of the national team set-up at junior level from an early age, gaining recognition from Under-15 to Under-21 level before moving to Anderlecht in 2011. His all-round development has been best-served by staying with Anderlecht when offers from bigger clubs threatened to turn his head, particularly after his performances for the Anderlecht Youth Team in the 2011 AEGON Future Cup in Amsterdam, where he received the award for player of the tournament.
Praet is certainly regarded highly amongst young European players. He has excellent technical ability, and can probably be classed as an attacking midfielder or playmaker, and is also blessed with good physical attributes that complement his agility and vision. Going forward, he may have to “bulk up” should he move to a more physically demanding league, although it is crucial that this does not compromise his agility and technical skills. His creative abilities have seen him become the linchpin of the Anderlecht central midfield, and is probably a reason why he declined the lure of clubs in more established leagues where, often, younger players tend to face more pressure to perform and end up being shoe-horned into wide positions to accommodate higher profile, more established, players.
At the start of this season, expectations were high that Praet would push for a place in Belgium’s 23 man squad that would go to Euro 2016. However, his recent performances have been less influential, and it is likely that he will remain with the Under-21 team to further his development under the tutelage of Enzo Scifo, rather than gain promotion to the full Belgium squad. It is however, not without possibility that Praet might look to press his claims for inclusion in Belgium’s Euro 2016 squad and, if he feels that this is best served away from Anderlecht, the winter transfer window might provide him with the opportunity to do so, particularly to a club such as Fiorentina and a progressive coach like Paulo Sousa.
The post Fiorentina purportedly target Anderlecht’s Dennis Praet appeared first on IFD.
from IFD http://ift.tt/1k4Lw0j
via IFTTT berita selengkapnya Follow @jadwalliga
