Anderlecht sports director Luc Devroe has confirmed that there was an agreement in place with Newcastle United defender Chancel Mbemba to wrap up a return to the Belgian club and finally end his St James’ Park nightmare.
Mbemba, 23, was a fringe player for the Magpies last season, appearing just 11 times across all competitions and has failed to appear in a single matchday squad in the Premier League in 2018.
And it appears that he was close to joining Anderlecht this summer with an agreement being reached with his agent.
However it seems as though the move may have hit the skids due to interest from another club, which Voetbal Krant claims is Porto.
“We were already very far in the negotiations, we were really sure he would come back,” Devroe told Belgian news outlet Voetbal Krant.
“There was already an agreement with his broker… But it is the player who still has to sign, that did not happen when another club showed up.”
OPINION
It seems as though Mbemba’s return to Anderlecht may be off then due to this interest from another club. The DR Congo international is surely going to be moving away from St James’ Park this summer after falling way down Rafa Benitez’s pecking order in the last six months. Given that he is only 23-years-old, has Premier League experience and is a fully fledged international, there shouldn’t be a shortage of interest in the defender. A return to Anderlecht would have been a good move for Mbemba, but with reported interest from Porto, there’s a good chance that he would rather go to what is seen as a more reputable league that also gives him more of chance of doing well in European football. The Portuguese giants would surely also be able to offer Mbemba more money, so it’s no shock that he has stalled on a move to Anderlecht in light of their interest. It doesn’t matter too much to Newcastle though as long as they are going to get a decent fee.