What will Jan Vertonghen be doing this summer? Everyone in Anderlecht is asking the question, and the record holder for caps in the national team is not yet sure himself of what awaits him. He spoke of this reflection and this real dilemma.
Jan Vertonghen is a hesitant person. This is not something obvious at first glance but those who know it well will tell you. And the last few months have not made the 37-year-old veteran’s task any easier: while he was having a lot of fun on the pitch, Vertonghen also received signals from his body.
So, was this groin tear that cost him a premature end to the season a simple coincidence… or a sign that age had caught up with “Sterke Jan”? When the Anderlecht doctor told him that his season was over, it was in any case a hard blow. “Fuck… for the same price, I had just played my last with Anderlecht,” says Jan Vertonghen. “I know that when I’m injured, it’s never for 3-4 days.”
A real heartbreak, because Vertonghen was enjoying his time this season, after a disastrous 2022-2023 season. “Last season, everything that could go wrong went wrong. I even wondered if I had made the right decision in coming here,” he confesses. “Then the summer camp arrived… and the sky cleared up.”
Vertonghen not happy with the schedule
We then saw a very high level Jan Vertonghen. “I think I had one of my best recent seasons. I also found pleasure again. I have already been in very united groups, but this one was really a pleasure. I have a superb relationship with the young people from the core, they are very funny and this good atmosphere influenced my mood, of course.
Now we will have to make a decision. We recently saw Jan complaining about the overloaded schedule that awaits the players, and that could be important. Only a week’s vacation in winter? It’s not enough. “My family has just gone on vacation alone. It doesn’t make people happy,” he admits.
In short: while the Red Devils will soon go to the Euro, Jan Vertonghen does not yet know whether or not he will hang up after the competition. “I have no idea,” he sighs. “I really like how things are going so far, but this is a very difficult decision for me.”
I know I’m getting old and not getting better
“You know, last season, after the match against AZ, I had already more or less decided to stop. I saw it as the last European match of my career. Mentally and physically, I was at my lowest point. “, confesses the captain of the RSCA. “Today I feel much better… but it could be different tomorrow. And I want to be a player worthy of Anderlecht. I know that I am getting older, that I am no longer improving; as captain, you always have to be able to bring something on and off the field.”
This is not the first time that Jan Vertonghen has considered quitting, even before Anderlecht. “I’ve already said that at several clubs. The fact that I’m hesitant proves how attached I am to Anderlecht. But the decisive question will be whether I can still bring something to the club.
The end of the season, with the injury to Thorgan Hazard which affected him enormously and this defeat against Bruges, was also difficult to live with. “The atmosphere was very difficult in the locker room. We then see what Anderlecht represents for guys like Leoni or Debast. They were in tears.”
One thing is certain: Jan Vertonghen does not want his hesitations to cost the RSCA dearly. “I know Jesper Fredberg has a deadline. If we haven’t made a decision by then, he has to recruit one or two defenders,” he concludes. In any case, it will be wait and see concerning the captain of Sporting…
