Sitting at our table, Brian Riemer stares us straight in the eye. Anderlecht’s 2024 playoffs will begin in a few days and all eyes are on the low point that Yari Verschaeren is experiencing and his coach’s stubbornness in fielding him. The Dane changes the conversation. Number 10 is his favorite in whom he sees a future element of the Premier League. But the player he believes in the most is Mario Stroeykens. In the playoffs, “Super Mario” plays everything except for one last match which no longer really counts.
The lights are green for the 2024-25 financial year, preparation is going well. The kid from Zellik, however, does not seem to have the favor of his coach. He alternates between the field and the bench. Between a midfielder and center forward position.
77 minutes on the bench with Anderlecht and coveted by Fiorentina: we should not disappoint Super (sub) Mario Stroeykens too much
Anderlecht wanted more than fifteen million
Brian Riemer’s behavior towards him is surprising. Why doesn’t he give him more responsibilities? From the start of the summer, Jesper Fredberg was clear about number 29: it must be his season. He must explode in the eyes of the football world.
Those in the know already know who he is. Many clubs (including Fiorentina) have contacted the club and its entourage, particularly with a concrete interest from Ajax. The project would have been tempting for the player. Two great talents from the RSCA moved there recently – Rayane Bounida and Ethan Butera – and the echoes of their working conditions are positive. Mika Godts’ breakthrough with the A team also gave prospects of success.
Sporting has decided not to give a gift to Amsterdam’s big brother. The Lancers inquired during the summer. Anderlecht made it clear that it was demanding fifteen million for its prodigy. Too much. Ajax preferred not to make an offer. In the midst of rebuilding after failed transfer windows, they no longer have the money they had two years ago.
“I wonder if it’s not betterasks Johan Walem, former number 10 and coach of RSCA hopefuls. In any case, it is a coherent choice by all parties. Anderlecht had to keep him. Verschaeren is not at his best level, Hazard is injured, Stroeykens is the last element with this profile. For the player, I find there is a certain intelligence. He is only twenty years old and being patient for one more year is always better than a premature transfer which can negatively impact one’s career.”
gullAnderlecht had to keep Mario.
Since September 19, this is even more true. Ten days before celebrating his twentieth birthday, Stroeykens received a gift from the sky whose impact he did not appreciate at the time. Riemer buiten. The dismissal of the Danish coach was an unexpected liberation for him. He appreciated his former T1 who had the audacity to give him more and more importance and taught him the rigor of defensive work but who perhaps had not grasped the full palette of Brabançon. Hubert understood well. “I played with David (Hubert), he said. I knew his personality. I knew he was going to bring us something positive when he arrived in the locker room.”
Anderlecht: this is why Stroeykens does not have a sponsor on the jersey
He plays twenty meters higher
First double decision: Mario Stroeykens will start (he has gone from 61 minutes to 81 on average since the coach’s arrival) and if a player has to be moved to the side, it will not be him. Tedesco says he wants “make your players play at their best.” Hubert does it. “The goal is for me to be close to Kasper (Dolberg), confides Stroeykens. I have fun in this position. I am higher, I create more danger offensively. The big difference is that I have more energy to do my job offensively. I am someone who always thinks about attacking; so, it makes me happy to be more forward-looking.”
He plays on average twenty minutes more ‘under Hubert’.
Its activity map is the best proof of this repositioning. He plays twenty meters higher and more in the center of the field. Hubert relieved him of some of his defensive tasks by asking more pressing work from the two wingers around him. Under Riemer, he had to come and close one of the sides to press the opposing side. A loss of energy which took him away from the goal.
“Hubert was smart in letting him concentrate on his offensive tasks, lance Walem. He’s more comfortable higher up. This replacement is a sign of confidence from his coach. We feel that the new coach has worked with young people. He knows how to find the words to put him at ease and make him responsible. This new era is a godsend for him.”
Even Dolberg is happy about it. “I am positive about his last matches but not particularly surprised. He is a quality player. He is young but he has personality and shows it. He has the Neerpede mentality. I have played with a lot of players behind my back but never with someone like Mario. He is incomparable, unique.
So complete
The Danish striker puts his finger on a great characteristic of his teammate. He is apart. Not really a number 10, not really a striker and not really a winger. After 107 professional matches at only twenty years old, we can draw a fairly simple conclusion: he is ultra-complete. This is evidenced by his second place in the ranking of the best midfielders of the season according to Wyscout figures.
gullHe has the physique and the technique.
“It is very interesting in the sense that it combines two key aspects of the game, this Walem. It is both technical and physical. The world of football is tending more and more towards athleticism of players and even technical profiles. Stroeykens has these qualities and adds a great sense of adaptation. It is versatile. I also like his way of thinking. He is a true team player, who does not hesitate to put his qualities at the service of the collective. Among young people, he was already like that; he was important on every team he played with.”
Stroeykens even has a few extra things: huge thighs that allow him to hold onto the ball like few can. Especially for a player under 80 meters. “He couples it with an ability to read the situation in very small spaces and a quality to make the right choices, analysis Walem. Even in very uncomfortable areas he can get through it.”
Thorgan Hazard: “Stroeykens has big thighs like Eden”
He must score ten goals per season
He is still missing an important element in modern football: Stroeykens does not score enough. He has yet to shake the net under David Hubert after two goals under Riemer. “However, he has a good shot, even from a distance, this Walem. Among young people, he scored one game in two. Afterwards, he is not Messi or Ronaldo who can do everything alone. He has to rely on the players around him.”
The Red Devils? Tedesco is not yet studying his case closely.
Wanting to take the game into his own hands, he spends more time building than being in a striking position. Over the last five matches, only 0.28 expected goals have been created. “I understand his posture but in his position, to take a step forward, it’s a minimum of six to ten goals per season”pose Walem.
“Super Mario” will have desires elsewhere this summer. It is clearly announced as the next big RSCA sale. The plan is to keep him until the summer of 2025. He will have one year left on his contract and a transfer will become inevitable for the one who has “the profile to play for Bayern Munich”, said Riemer. This could involve a first selection for the Devils. According to our information, Stroeykens is not yet in Domenico Tedesco’s preselections. The coach has some good people for this position but is monitoring him. He has already spoken with the Mauve and could soon make it a surprise on his list.
