Official: Bakkali signs for four years

WEDNESDAY, 4 JULY 2018, 11:13 - lajoya
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TRANSFERS Anderlecht have officially announced the arrival of Zakaria Bakkali. The 22-year-old Belgian comes from Valencia and signs a contract for four seasons. Last season, Valencia lent him to Deportivo La Coruna.


Bakkali is part of the highly-regarded generation of 1996. He started playing at Club Liege and after two years at Standard he went to PSV Eindhoven at the age of 12. In the summer of 2013, he made a dazzling debut as a 17-year old in the preliminary rounds for the Champions League against Zulte Waregem. In October he made his debut for the Red Devils, out of fear of losing him to Morocco.

In his debut season at PSV, Bakkali came to seven places in the starting eleven and substituted nine time in the Dutch first division. He scored three times. Because he did not want to extend his contract that was ending in 2015, PSV refused to use him in the following season.

In the summer of 2015, Bakkali got a transfer to Valencia. He started with four places in the starting eleven in La Liga and Marc Wilmots called him again for the Red Devils. After this beautiful beginning Bakkali, due to injuries, ended up at the bench. He would collect twelve more substitutions in the 2015-2016 season. He scored once.

The season was also rough. The winger was a fixed value on the substitute bench, but was allowed to enter seventeen times. Once he got a starting place and he also scored once. To get him some time to play, Valencia sent him on loan to Deportivo last season. Ten times he was allowed to start a game in La Liga and thirteen times he came into action as a substitute. He did not score.

After last season it became clear that Bakkali, who had one year contract with Valencia, had no future in the Spanish team. For a long time he seemed on his way to Standard, but it is Anderlecht that attracts the still only 22-year old Belgian and hopes that he finally explodes.



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