Matz Sels is currently on a season long loan with Anderlecht.
Not Rafael Benitez’s first choice, and with a difficult period at Newcastle United since his move there, Sels returned to Belgium to be sure of minutes and potentially play his way into Roberto Martinez’s World Cup squad.
It’s not quite going as perfectly as Sels will have hoped, with him sharing Anderlecht’s goalkeeping duties with Frank Boeckx.
Sooner or later, especially as the club become involved in less competitions, the manager is going to have to pick one, and Sels will be desperate for it to be him.
But even the current situation is better than what he reckons would have happened at Newcastle United. Speaking to Belgian magazine Humo, Sels explained: “I played fifteen matches at Newcastle. That’s not much. I could have stayed and competed, but I estimated my playing opportunities at Anderlecht higher.
“For the time being I’m not worried, there will be enough matches. But it’s true that I wanted to keep my World Cup opportunities good by coming here. That was what Roberto Martínez told me: that I definitely had to play, and that he didn’t see that happening at Newcastle.
“Now, even if I play at Anderlecht, it doesn’t give me the certainty that I will be there. But by staying with Newcastle and sitting on the bench again, I didn’t stand a chance.”
Sels would of course be third choice for Belgium behind both Thibaut Courtois and Simon Mignolet, but going to Russia clearly means a lot to the player, and that’s why he insisted on leaving Newcastle for the season.
