New Anderlecht player-manager Vincent Kompany has turned to the Democratic Republic of Congo for reinforcements as he tries to make the Brussels giants a force in Belgian football again.
Anderlecht, who finished a distant fourth in the league last season and missed out on European club competition, are to sign Meschak Elia and Arsene Zola from TP Mazembe. The pair were regulars for the Lubumbashi-based club, with Elia also competing for DR Congo at the Africa Cup of Nations.
TP Mazembe have confirmed the sale — without offering any details of the deal — but Anderlecht not yet announced anything, preferring to focus on the five-year deal handed to Dutch midfielder Michel Vlap from SC Heerenveen.
22-year-old Elia, who plays on the flank, has previously been to Belgium for trials at Standard Liege and also had unsuccessful tests at Turkish club Bursaspor.
He will go straight from Cairo to Brussels once DR Congo’s campaign at the Cup of Nations is concluded. They are in the last 16, up against Madagascar in Alexandria tomorrow.
