"My first choice was Ronaldo, second Messi and third Bolasie

INTERVIEWS Yannick Bolasie is the third and last winter transfer of Anderlecht. No deep striker, but more a winger. "We were mainly looking for a person with return," says coach Fred Rutten and sports director Frank Arnesen. A deep striker was not specifically sought.


"I am very satisfied with Bolasie," Arnesen said at the press conference. "We were looking for a player that would be profitable, why would I buy a 9 if we usually play 4-3-3? Then two of our strikers would not play, or Rutten would have to play a different system, which is why Bolasie is a great solution. Only two days ago he fell from the sky, I want to thank Michael Verschueren and his team for this, and also Romelu Lukaku. "

Fred Rutten is also delighted with Bolasie. "My first choice was Cristiano Ronaldo, my second Messi and my third is standing there, now it's only hope that he can handle the pressure", laughs Rutten, pointing to Bolasie. "We were looking for a type that would bring immediate results, score goals, deliver assists, etc. We were also looking for someone who is ready, which is the case with Bolasie."

"If I did not prefer a deep striker? You never heard me or Arnesen call for a number 9. We want return. Dimata and Santini both have 12 goals behind their names (Dimata even 13, ed.) If they continue like this , they both come to 24. We never called for a nine, that was what the outside world did. "

"First Play-off 1, then we see further"

Anderlecht closed the transfer period with Kara Mbodj, Peter Zulj and Yannick Bolasie. Enough reinforcement for Rutten? "We live from match to match, and once we reach Play-off 1, we see how we stand for it, and with the current core we must be able to achieve the first step, reaching Play-off 1," the coach concludes.