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Anderlecht captain Sambi Lokonga (21) has a dream transfer to Arsenal Jupiler Pro League

Anderlecht say goodbye to a goldcrest. Albert Sambi Lokonga (21) realizes his dream transfer to the English top club Arsenal. The midfielder signed a long-term contract.

Lokonga played a total of 78 games for Anderlecht. In it he scored 3 times and gave 7 assists. Despite his young age, he already worked his way up to captain of the Purple & White.

The youth product, which ended up at Anderlecht in 2014 and made its A debut in December 2017, was called up for the Red Devils for the first time in March.

“It’s great,” Lokonga beams in his first interview. “At the Red Devils I already worked with Thierry Henry, a legend at this club. A fantastic experience. I learned a lot from him.”

Lokonga will wear the number 23 at Arsenal and will join the group once he has completed the quarantine obligations.

At Arsenal, Lokonga becomes the second Belgian ever after Thomas Vermaelen, who played football in London between 2009 and 2014. The club finished in a disappointing 8th place last season and missed European football for the first time in 25 years.

Coach Arteta: “Vincent (Kompany) praises Albert”

Coach Mikel Arteta explains the choice for Lokonga on Arsenal’s website: “Albert is a very intelligent player, who showed great maturity in his performance during his development process.”

“Albert is well coached by Vincent Kompany and his team at Anderlecht. I know Vincent very well,” said Pep Guardiola’s former assistant coach at Manchester City, who was still working with the player Kompany there.

“Vincent is full of praise for Albert and his positive impact on Anderlecht in recent seasons.”

“We are confident that Albert is ready for the next step in his development.”

4th most expensive Anderlecht player ever

According to several sources, Anderlecht will receive an amount of at least 17 million euros. That would mean that Lokonga (after Jérémy Doku (for 26 million to Rennes), Youri Tielemans (for 25 million to Monaco) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (for 18.5 million to Newcastle) is the third most expensive outgoing transfer ever from the Purple & White. .

It is an open secret that Anderlecht has to sell its young talents a little earlier than expected due to the club’s not so rosy financial situation. That was already the case with Jérémy Doku.

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