Favorite transfer # 10: Dedryck Boyata

WEBSITE Although Anderlecht already had an army of new players this summer, a lot of transfer activities are still expected in the coming weeks. We already propose your ten favorite transfers.


Some of your favorites have already moved to another club and are no longer on this list. Landry Dimata and Ognjen Vranjes were also among the first ten when they were brought in. Dimata was your number one last winter.

It happens more often with players from this list. Sometimes they turn out not to be feasible or opportune at the moment, but often they come later.
You have this time made a nice combination of well-known and lesser-known Belgian and foreign players. Thank you for voting!

Name: Dedryck Boyata
Current club: Celtic
Position: Central defender
Age: 27
Nationality: Belgian / Congolese
Market value*: € 2,000,000

History: Boyata played in the youth for the Brussels clubs RCS Saint-josse, White Star Woluwe and RWDM before he moved to Manchester City in 2006.

In the 2011-2012 season, 'The Citizens' lent him to Bolton, where he took action in the Premier League fourteen times. The following year a failed loan to FC Twente followed, where he only played five times and returned to England in the winter.

At Manchester City, the big breakthrough never happened. In the summer of 2015, Celtic took him over for two million euros. In three seasons he played 103 games for Celtic, in which he was good for fourteen goals.

At the World Championships, he played the three group matches with Belgium. Afterwards he had to give his place to ex-team mate Vincent Kompany.

Profile: Boyata is a solid defender, without any real excellence or big defaults. In recent years, he regularly scored his goal. As with the Belgians, he also played with Celtic often with three in the back. A system that Hein Vanhaezebrouck used last season.

Feasibility: Boyata has only one year contract left in Scotland and does not plan to extend it. After three titles - including two trebles - in a row, Boyata seems to want to gain experience elsewhere
Of course the market value of Boyata has increased during the World Cup. He made no mistakes, but he was not tested very often against Panama, Tunisia and the second team of England.
There will certainly be interest from the Premier League. However, it is questionable whether he wants to run the risk again to be on the bench after years on the bench at Manchester City.

If Boyata does not move to the Premier League, Anderlecht have a real chance to recruit him. Boyata was born in Brussels and played for RWDM, but never wore Anderlecht's shirt.

Priority? Anderlecht are still looking for reinforcements in the defense. Boyata may not be the most elegant defender, but a Brussels-born Red Devil is always an interesting type of player for purple-white.

Next: A Croatian youth international who does not play for Dinamo Zagreb or Hadjuk Split.