The Athletic: “One man cost Club Brugge’s arrival as the best defender”

With 16 out of 30, Club Brugge can’t exactly speak of a successful start to the competition. Defense is one reason for these mixed results. Blauw-Zwart therefore neglected to bring in additional defensive reinforcements in the summer, although this was certainly taken into account.

Last Thursday, the relief was still very high in the Bruges camp. At the Bodo/Glimt Stadium (0-1), Blau Zwart was finally able to put an end to a series of consecutive draws. And perhaps most importantly: for the first time since the beginning of August, Bruges managed to keep a clean sheet.

But on Sunday, Brugge’s defense once again failed to deliver. There may not have been much that could be done about Merville Boukadi’s opener, but Isaac Price’s winner was certainly preventable. Furthermore, chances were squandered too easily, especially in the first half, against Standard who held their own.

I followed several methods

Although the lack of efficiency on offense is certainly a concern, the defense currently remains a weakness. “I miss leadership and communication in defense at the club. When I see how Vertonghen behaves at Anderlecht and Alderweireld in Antwerp, it contrasts with the chaotic situation at the club,” analyst Mark Degressi said on Monday. latest news.

However, during the transfer summer, the board decided not to attract an additional defender despite the departures of Abacar Sylla, Clinton Mata and Jack Hendry. However, they were definitely thinking about obtaining new defense forces. Various methods have also been followed for this purpose. One of these was Pascal Strojek.

The Dutchman with Belgian roots ended up at Leeds United at the end of last season and so the club saw his chance. But in the end the 24-year-old turned out to be too expensive. According to The athlete It’s about one man.

Blatant veto

Reliable reports suggest that Struijk was originally one of the players Leeds were willing to part ways with. Until Daniel Farke was appointed to Elland Road. The German coach made it clear almost immediately that he absolutely wanted to keep Struijk on board. Since then, the defender has become an indispensable part of the starting lineup in the English Second Division. In recent matches, he wore the captain’s armband. In the short term, a move to Bruges seems completely out of the question.