One West Ham United fan with a unique perspective on Thursday's UEFA Europa Conference League Group B tie with RSC Anderlecht is Josh Cullen.
The Essex-born midfielder came through the ranks at the Academy of Football before making ten first-team appearances in Claret and Blue, including three in UEFA Europa League qualifying back in the summer of 2016.
In 2020, after 15 years with the Hammers, Cullen took the decision to continue his career elsewhere, in the Belgian capital Brussels with Anderlecht, to be precise
There, the Republic of Ireland international thrived under the guidance of manager Vincent Kompany, having been recommended to the former Manchester City captain by two ex-Hammers, Craig Bellamy and Lee Bowyer, played 80 times and helped the Mauve and Whites twice qualify for Europe and reach last season’s Belgian Cup final.
During his two seasons at Lotto Park, Cullen not only enhanced his own reputation for being a technically-gifted deep-lying midfielder with a strong work ethic and outstanding football brain, but he did so as part of a young, vibrant and talented Anderlecht squad, many of whom will be on show at London Stadium this evening.
When Kompany, himself a product of Anderlecht’s famous academy, departed for EFL Championship club Burnley this past summer, one of his first major signings was that of Cullen. Now a regular starter for Ireland, the 26-year-old has played every minute of the Clarets’ season so far and, with just one defeat in 13 Championship matches, an immediate return to the Premier League could be on the cards for the Lancashire club.
For 90 minutes on Thursday evening, though, Burnley’s promotion challenge will go to the back of Cullen’s mind as he sits down at home to watch the two clubs he loves do battle in the Europa Conference League at London Stadium on television.
Ahead of the game, he spoke to whufc.com…
Josh, thank you for talking to us. How are you getting on?
“Yeah, really good. I’m enjoying it at Burnley. Of course, having worked under Vincent Kompany before at Anderlecht, it’s been pretty straightforward because he’s implementing the same style of play and the training sessions and philosophy are similar, so it’s been easy to settle in. We’ve got a great group of players up here, too, so it’s been pretty seamless.”
You spent two seasons working under Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht, where you played alongside many of the players who will face West Ham on Thursday, and they’re all so young!?
“Anderlecht is an incredible club in terms of the number of young players that its academy produces, and the opportunities that they are then given in the first team. It’s crazy, because it seems like there is a never-ending conveyor belt of talent coming through. It certainly felt like that when I was there. The youngsters who came to train with us all looked to have really bright futures and you could see that in the game last Thursday.”
We could see how good Anderlecht’s youngsters were during the game at Lotto Park, as you say, but which of them do you think are the best of the bunch?
“Zeno Debast (pictured, above) is a young centre-back who was coming through into the first-team squad when I first joined Anderlecht in 2020, and he started playing last season. He’s been a regular this season and even been called-up and made his debut for Belgium. He’s still really young (Debast does not turn 18 until 24 October), especially for a centre-back, so to be a regular for Anderlecht and debut for Belgium shows you how good he is.
“Yari Verschaeren has been on the scene for a few years, but he’s still only 21. He’s an attacking midfielder who is a really important member of the team and has also been capped by Belgium, so it’s easy to forget how young he is.
“Julien Duranville is a 16-year-old winger. He made his debut in the final game of last season at Club Brugge and in that cameo he showed that he’s got a really bright future ahead of him. So those are three of them, but there are plenty of others, too.”
While you did not win any trophies at Anderlecht, you got the feeling Vincent Kompany got everyone at the club feeling positive about its future?
“I think the manager had us trying to play the right way – the way I think football should be played, enjoyable for the fans, dominating possession and scoring goals. We would have liked to have added to the trophy cabinet in the last couple of seasons, of course, but I definitely feel Anderlecht were moving in the right direction, playing attractive football and bringing young players through, which bodes well for the future.”
Judging by the sporting celebrities who attended the game in Brussels and the pre-match celebration of the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup team who beat West Ham in the final, Anderlecht is a club Belgium wants to be proud of?
“If you go back into the past, Anderlecht is the most successful club in the country’s football history, and the Cup Winners’ Cup final from 1976 was a famous game in that history, as it is in West Ham’s history, and those players being at the stadium definitely added to the atmosphere last week.
“The club missed out on European football in the last few seasons so to be back in the group stage and be drawn against a Premier League club like West Ham is great. I’m sure this campaign will be beneficial for the club and its young players and they can look to push on from here.”
Looking back, then, it was a bit of a gamble to join Anderlecht, but it has really worked out well for you and your career?
“It was a risk at the time, but it felt like the time was right to make a move and it’s a move I’m so glad I made. Sometimes you have a gut feeling and mine was that going abroad was the right thing to do. It’s totally different, but I decided I would totally immerse myself in the club and the community and give it my all and I got on well with everyone.
“Anderlecht is a fantastic club and everyone there, the players, the staff and the fans, made it so easy for me to have a good time. There are so many people to thank for that and I’m so proud and happy that I spent part of my life and career there.”
So, who will you be supporting on Thursday?
“Ha! I’d love to have come down to the stadium, but we’ve got a game at home to Swansea on Saturday to prepare for and it’s a long way down to London and back for training on Friday, so unfortunately I can’t make it, but I’ll be sitting down in the warm in my living room and watching on TV, that’s for sure!”
