The Belgian football parade makes its way to England

Half Malian-half Belgian, Mousa Dembele was born in Belgium after his father immigrated to the country. Dembele spent his youth at Germinal Beerschot and broke into their first team in 2004. Dembele spent the next two years in Belgium with one season at Willem II before moving to AZ where he played under the current Dutch national team manager, Louis van Gaal.

In 2010, Fulham bought Dembele for a fee of 5 million pounds on a three year deal. Dembele established himself in the first team, racking up a total of 62 appearances in the two years he spent at the London club before shifting clubs to a different London based club, Spurs, after they managed to activate his release clause of 15 million pounds. Although not as decorated as his fellow Belgian counterparts cited here, Dembele has a lot to offer with his defensive contribution and ability to hold the ball with his eye catching dribbles.

Next in line, a product of the Standard Liege youth team, Kevin Mirallas moved to France where he played for Lille for 4 years and Saint-Etienne for two years after which he left for a Greek outfit in the form of Olympiakos. Mirallas wrapped up three titles in Greece: two Super League titles and the Greek Football Cup and was also the Super League’s top scorer in the 2011-12 campaign.

In August 2012, the Premier League found yet another Belgian coming their way, when Everton decided to bring in Mirallas for a fee of 6 million pounds. Managing 27 league appearances in his first season in England, Mirallas’ true potential is yet to be seen as injuries have restricted him from time to time. Capable of key passes and long shots, Mirallas likes to often cut in when playing out wide. Signs of personal brilliance have been seen from the man with Spanish descent but next season will be able to answer questions on his consistency.

Keeping the trend going, next in this Belgian invasion is Romelu Lukaku. Aged 20, towering at 6 foot 3 inches, and weighing almost 100 kg, Romelu Lukaku is everything you don’t want to face as a defender. Born in Antwerp, Lukaku took after his father, who was a capped footballer for the Zaire national team. Lukaku was a part of three youth teams, Rupel Boom, Lierse and lastly Anderlecht where he broke into the first team in 2008. He made his professional debut for the club at the age of 16 and went on to make 73 league appearances between the years 2008 and 2011, scoring 33 goals. He was the top scorer in 2009-10 campaign when Anderlecht won the Belgian League and won the Ebony Shoe in 2011.

His talent was spotted by many but it was Chelsea who was able to beat any other competitors for his signature. In 2011, he was brought to London for a fee of 10 million pounds (excluding add-ons). Lukaku hasn’t featured much for Chelsea and was loaned out to West Brom for the 2012-13 campaign where he has shown what he is capable of. His physique is largely intimidating, a threat from set pieces, good dribbling skills and is capable of a good finish. Lukaku may be young but if what we have seen of him is anything to go by, you would definitely want him in your team.

Last of this wave of black, yellow and red is Christian Benteke. There’s been a lot of talk about Benteke over the season. Young, strong both physically and mentally, Benteke’s strengths are quite ideal for a striker. Although actually born in Zaire, his family shifted base to Belgium where he adopted citizenship. Benteke spent most of his youth at JS Pierreuse along with a couple of years at Standard Liege and a year at Genk. In 2007, he broke into the Genk senior squad where he played for two years and moved to Standard Liege. There, he faced two loan spells after which he was back at Genk for another term.

In August 2012, Premier League’s Aston Villa came by and took Benteke on a four year deal valued around 7 million pounds. Benteke managed a total of 34 league appearances in which he scored 19 goals, almost 40% of Villa’s league tally, making him the 4^th top scorer in the league. Very strong in the air, capable of good finishing and vital passes, Benteke has hit the Premier League running and has stirred a number of big clubs to go after him.

This Belgian flood doesn’t stop here. Chelsea have some excellent talent in the form of Thibaut Courtis and Kevin de Bruyne out on loan, Manchester United have their young Adnan Januzaj and Marnick Vermijl, Swansea with Roland Lamah (on loan from Osasuna), etc.

The Premier League now seems a large pool of immensely talented Belgian players who, if put together into one squad, would give most teams a tough time. The standards of the Pro League doesn’t seem to meet the hunger of these players anymore, so at a domestic level, this doesn’t spell well for Belgian football. Although Belgium have failed to make a significant mark at the international stage, one can suggest, at least on paper, that it’s only a matter of time before they are taken even more seriously.