Will top clubs regret allowing Nathan De Cat to join Hoffenheim? | OneFootball

Hoffenheim have won the race to sign Anderlecht’s hugely talented teenager Nathan De Cat. It is easy to overhype young players, but the fact that De Cat was yet to turn 18 and was a key player for Anderlecht last season is testament to how good the player was. De Cat looks destined for the very top, but for now, he will be swapping the Belgian Pro League for the Bundesliga and Hoffenheim.

On paper, this is a great move for De Cat. Instead of leaving Belgium for a top tier club where he will likely be loaned out, he joins a side where he is likely to get first team football on a regular basis. He is certainly good enough, and has the ability to play a physical style of football that will suit the Bundesliga. Give it a few years, and top clubs will regret not paying the relatively reasonable fee Hoffenheim agreed with Anderlecht. If De Cat reaches his potential, or appears to be trending in that direction during his time with Hoffenheim, expect that valuation to double or even triple.

De Cat surely has seen how many young Belgian talents have left the Pro League to join top clubs and struggled. Arthur Vermeeren, a hugely talented player at Antwerp and also a midfielder, struggled to have an impact at Atletico Madrid. He has since joined RB Leipzig and struggled there, with a loan spell at Marseille that also did not amount to much. Charles De Ketelaere joined AC Milan for big money from Club Brugge. He also struggled before finding a home in Atalanta, a move that has really benefited the forward.

In joining Hoffenheim, De Cat appears to have skipped the struggle of the top club like Atletico and AC Milan. Instead, he joins a club like Atalanta, a club without the pressure of a huge price tag and one where he can benefit from playing at a higher level. Give it a few seasons and expect to see the Hoffeheim cash register filling up as they cash in on De Cat. The 17-year-old appears to have made the right move, all that is left is for him to develop into the star midfielder many predict he will become.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson