Anderlecht sporting director Antoine Sibierski has played a role in convincing Rangers‘ Thelo Aasgaard to leave Ibrox and join his side.
On September 2nd, the Belgian club signed the 24-year-old on loan with an option to buy.
A day later, Sport Witness covered a report from Belgium explaining the details of the deal agreed with Rangers.
Anderlecht are paying €1m in loan fee to Derek McInnes’ side and secured a purchase clause of just under €6m.
How Rangers exit took shape
Friday’s edition of Het Nieuwsblad has published a detailed interview with Antoine Sibierski to discuss Anderlecht’s summer transfer business.
The newspaper were curious to know how he took the Rangers midfielder away from Derek McInnes’ side.
When responding to that, the official explained the Ibrox club’s failure to qualify for the UEFA Conference League group stage made it possible for them to sign Thelo Aasgaard. Rangers lost the qualifier to Czech side Jablonec on penalties in August.
“I’ve known Aasgaard for a while. He trained at Wigan in England, where I played myself. Last summer, he scored against France at the World Cup,” he said.
“As long as Rangers were in contention for a European group stage, a transfer was impossible, but when they also failed to survive the Conference League qualifiers, the door opened.”
“Aasgaard still had three years left on his contract there, but I explained to him where he could play, who his competitors were, and what the objectives are…”
What Rangers player can offer
Towards the end of the window, the Jupiler Pro League side signed the Rangers midfielder, Romeo Amane, and Ilias Koutsoupias.
Unlike the Norway international, the other two joined them via permanent transfers.
Het Nieuwsblad put it to Antoine Sibierski that three midfielders joined the club late in the window.
When responding to that, the director talked about what led the Belgian club to sign the trio.
“It’s also a matter of learning as we go. In the league matches at Beveren (1-0 loss) and at Union (3-0 loss), I realised we were still lacking muscle power,” Sibierski explained.
“Amane can provide that. He’s clinical and tough in the challenges. Aasgaard is also big and strong, and Koutsoupias is like a Swiss Army Knife: versatile. He covers a lot of ground, helps out in defence, is technically skilled and pops up in the box. A reliable player.”
“I feel that the squad is now well-balanced. I had long chats with each new signing, either face to face or via video call, to get to know their personalities. They’ll make this squad more competitive.”
