With Felice Mazzù, Sardella will have her second chance

Anderlecht no longer needs reinforcements in central defense. An arrival is not excluded in the event of a good opportunity but it is in no way an obligation. The RSCA sees Killian Sardella as one of their backline pieces for the coming season.

There is currently no longer any question of a departure. The player dreams of making his mark in his training club and Anderlecht sees it with the same eye.

Heal and revive

The young Molenbeekois finished the season in the infirmary. Relegated to the background by Vincent Kompany, he took advantage of the end of the playoffs to treat compartment syndrome (a recurring injury to the calves).

He recovered perfectly and was able to return to work at the start of the season. He left a good impression during the first training sessions. Against Roda JC this weekend, he showed a lot of control.

Well in his head

The reason for his good start to the preseason is to be found in his head. Sardella is only 20 years old and yet has already lived several lives in Anderlecht. Kompany first used him for a long time to make up for the lack of full-backs.

A long, slow descent into hell followed. He lost his starting spot and had to sit in the stands for a long time last season. He sometimes received his chance but never took it. Each match served as a test. If he didn’t play well, he was dropped from the team.

He no longer felt Kompany’s confidence at all. He would have liked his coach to let him go in the winter so that he would have more playing time. Sardella had to stay at Anderlecht, without being able to obtain more than one start and two appearances after the winter break.

The arrival of Felice Mazzù has redistributed the cards. The new coach is renowned for his human approach. She obviously pleases the young defender.

More comfortable with three behind

Like his system. With the three-man defense established since the change of coach, Sardella finds himself in a position that suits him much better. With a height under 1.80 meters, he lacks the power to play in the axis of a two-man defense. He also seemed to get lost in his positioning at the back, a position he discovered when he made his professional debut.

He was tested at the rightmost position in defense and is doing well there. He can use his speed to offset the flank player’s climbs. He understands how a full-back works from his experience at the post.

It will certainly take the defection of one of the three holders – Debast-Hoedt-Delcroix – so that he can chain the meetings in the shoes of a holder. But unlike last season, he will be the first to be called in to help out.