Roberto Martinez is not one to make surprises in the announcement of its selections. Never. It is to say if the journalists jumped by hearing the name of Jason Denayer pronounced in the frenetic enumeration of the conscripts under the national flag. Without a club, without rhythm and without the slightest match played since April, Denayer saw himself however obtain an unexpected accessit to the last pre-World Cup selection. “He won’t take part in either game,” had tempered the coach, who nevertheless wanted to smell the state of mind of his player a few months before the fateful deadline. A strong signal that testifies to Martinez’s dependence on some of his lieutenants. Others will speak of poverty in numbers if the coach is forced to cling to a boy who has neglected the months of preparation prior to a World Cup, to end up in an anonymous club in the Persian Gulf.
If Martinez persists, it is because Denayer (35 caps, 1 goal) has always been a credible alternative at the heart of the defense. Reputed to be fast, it fills the gaps in speed of its companions Vertonghen and Alderweireld. His occasional lack of concentration (at the Euro, against Denmark) never exhausted his credit and the retirement of Thomas Vermaelen could have been enough to enthrone him for good as the central pillar of the Belgian defence. But the player had a tumultuous end to his story with Lyon and did not take advantage of the momentum to set himself up as the patron saint of the Devils. While we thought the train was definitely over for him, his return to the saddle in September proves that he still has a future in the Belgian jersey. It is up to him to follow the example of Carrasco and Witsel, whose physical form has remained intact despite the lower intensity in their second-tier championships.
