There may be no trophies at Anderlecht lately, but there is a lot of talent to sell. The latest product that brought the club good money is the Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen (20).Brighton confirmed yesterday that they bought the young goalkeeper from a club from Brussels for 20,000,000 euros. It is the third most expensive sale in Anderlecht’s history and the most expensive goalkeeper of all time in Belgium.Verbruggen grew up in Breda, from where he arrived at Anderlecht as an 18-year-old. And already as a teenager he got a chance at the end of his debut season to stand in the goal of the famous club under the baton of the then coach Vincent Kompany. In the second season, he sat on the bench, and in the third, he won the starting position and drew the attention of bigger clubs to him. Given that Anderlecht have been recording poor results for years and are not in the Champions League, the sale of young players is necessary. Before Verbruggen, Albert Sambi Lokonga went to Arsenal (17,500,000), Sergio Gomez to Manchester City (13,000,000) and Julien Duranville to Dortmund (8,500,000) in the last two years.##NAJAVA_MECA_7353136##Verbruggen was first wanted by Vincent Kompany at Burnley, but Brighton were more persistent and generous. In previous years, the club from the south of England profiled itself as a great environment for the development of young talents and did not miss the opportunity to exploit the Belgian market.Verbruggen has a good chance ahead of him at the AMEX Stadium because during the last season, the standard goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was pushed out from the goal in favor of the experienced Jason Steele, who plays better with his feet. But even he, at 32 years old, is not the final solution. Coach Roberto De Zerbi insists on a goalkeeper who is good at running out and passing, and those are some of Verbruggen’s greatest qualities.75.3% – @OfficialBHAFC signing Bart Verbruggen was the goalkeeper with the highest save percentage (75.3%), the third-most goals prevented (+2.9) and the second-highest clean sheet rate (47.1%) last @ProLeagueBE campaign. Signed. pic.twitter.com/GiAG3NXNcZ— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) July 3, 2023 Sanchez is expected to leave Brighton after he refused to sit on the bench when De Zerbi dropped him from the starting line-up. Steele and Verbruggen should initially fight for the position between the sticks, and the Dutchman will become the undisputed starter in the future. There is also the Dutch goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen, who returned from his loan from Vitesse, but he will most likely go somewhere again where he will play more minutes. Verbruggen is Brighton’s future in goal, and probably in terms of potential transfer earnings as well. He could follow in the footsteps of Marc Cucurella, Ben White, Alexis Mac Allister, Yves Bissouma, Leandro Trossard and others who moved to big clubs for big money. Or they are yet to move on like Moises Caicedo, Facundo Buonanote or Evan Ferguson.OFFICIAL: Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen joins Brighton on a five-year deal ✍️📸: @OfficialBHAFC #UEL pic.twitter.com/m5f9Z26xkH— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) July 3, 2023
