Euroscene: At first glance, 18-year-old Belgian Vincent Kompany hardly looks a footballer likely to figure in one of the big money transfers of 2005. After all, the Anderlecht central defender has just concluded a Champions League group phase in which his side lost all six matches, conceding 17 goals.
Furthermore, when asked about his future, Kompany has repeatedly told reporters this autumn that he wanted to first finish school and pick up his high school diploma and then think about moving out of Belgium football. Asked recently by an Italian reporter if he would be moving to Inter Milan during the January transfer window, Kompany jokingly replied: "Sure, I'm going to Italy very soon, but on my holidays."
Yet, notwithstanding his obvious youth, modesty and inexperience, Kompany has already attracted the attention of at least two of Europe's biggest clubs, Inter and Premiership leaders Chelsea.
Last March, Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon travelled to Brussels to open the bidding on Kompany, being told then the young defender would be available only at the end of this season and the asking price was 12-13 million.
Speaking at the time, Anderlecht assistant general manager Robert de Pot said: "We told them (Chelsea) that we wanted the player to remain at Anderlecht for one more season. That is also the wish of the player himself, as he does not want to go abroad yet."
Having watched Kompany and Anderlecht struggle to contain Inter's star strikers Brazilian Adriano and Nigerian Obafemi Martins in two Champions League ties this autumn, it was not immediately obvious why clubs like Inter and Chelsea (and, allegedly, there are others) have shown such an interest in Kompany.
To be fair to Kompany, however, he and 16-year-old right-back Anthony Vanden Borre were probably thrown in at the deep end in a situation in which it would have been difficult for any youngster to prosper and flourish. What is clear about Kompany is he is a player of serious physical stature, comfortable on the ball, well balanced, with an easy, long stride and deceptive pace.
It is clear, too, just why almost from the day he joined Anderlecht as a six-year-old, he was considered a player with serious potential. A winner of the Belgian title last season with Anderlecht and Belgium's second youngest international when making his debut against France last February, Kompany's power, pace, passing ability and self-confidence make him a player for the future.
In the pre-Bosman days, Kompany would probably have spent two or three more seasons at Anderlecht, learning his craft, gaining experience and growing in strength as he prepared himself for a move up to the Formula One of European football, i.e., to a club in England, Italy or Spain. Given player power and the fact that, in any case, Anderlecht need the cash, Kompany is likely to be on the move in 2005, maybe even during the January transfer window.
Perhaps the move will come too soon. That remains to be seen. Certainly, Kompany acts and talks like a young man in no hurry, recently telling Gazzetta Dello Sport: "I try to pay no attention to all of that (media attention). Anyway, I don't always want to talk. I don't read the papers much, what they say about me. But I do get upset when I see exclamation marks attached to things I have said, because I always talk calmly."
A Belgian citizen of Congolese origins, Kompany, not surprisingly, has a strong desire to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to trace his roots: "I have been invited to travel to Kinshasa for a charity involved in education. But, if and when I go, I want to stay there for a few weeks, not days. I have to find a part of myself there, my origins. My grandfather is a tribal chief and that's a title that will be passed on to my father and then one day on to me," he explained.
In the meantime, however, he has some footballing to do.
