Former Anderlecht midfielder Olivier Deschacht has claimed he was ‘surprised’ to see his old teammate Edo Kayembe secure a move to Watford.
Midfielder Kayembe joined Watford in a £4.23m deal from KAS Eupen earlier this month as Claudio Ranieri looks to bolster his squad in the January transfer window.
It is the player’s first experience outside of Belgium, where he moved to Anderlecht’s Under 21 side from Shark XI Kinshasa in 2017.
He worked his way up at the club before joining Eupen in 2020, going on to establish himself as a regular, making 45 appearances in his year and a half with them.
A tally of four goals and three assists in those games was nothing to write home about, but Watford were convinced nonetheless and moved to secure the 23-year-old’s signature as a result.
Whether the move turns out to be a smart one for both parties remains to be seen, but former teammate Deschacht is surprised Watford came calling at all.
“He’s a good midfielder, but for me, he just didn’t have the level for Anderlecht”, Voetbal Primeur report him saying to Play Sports.
“He got his chance under Vincent Kompany, but that was no success. He went to Eupen, and I didn’t think he stood out there either.
“I’m certainly not going to break him down and say he’s a bad player. So I was surprised that he could go to the Premier League, but I wish him every success.”
