Chancel Mbemba is in such huge demand he is set to become the best paid player in Belgium, according to La Dernière Heure.
The Belgian newspaper claim the country’s three major clubs Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liege are locked in a battle to land the defender, 23, this summer.
La Derniere Heure report that Mbemba has contract offers from the three clubs as well as other unnamed teams across the globe and is in line to surpass £34,000-a-week Lukasz Teodorczyk as the best-paid player in the Jupiler Pro League in Belgium.
OPINION
From the Newcastle fringes to the top of the financial tree in Belgium. That is the journey Mbemba is facing as he prepares to end his three-year spell at St James’ Park with a move back to the country where he made his name. The centre-back is in huge demand even though he did not play a single match in the second half of the recently completed English season. Indeed, with Jamaal Lascelles, Florian Lejeuene and Ciaran Clark ahead of him in the pecking order, the 42-times Congo international did not even make a matchday squad in 2018. Yet, clubs in Belgium recall his immense promise after breaking into the Anderlecht side in his late teens. They will also recall how well he settled at Newcastle in his first season before also playing a crucial role in the promotion-winning campaign. Mbemba has suffered in the face of intense competition in Rafael Benitez’s side and the fact others have developed at a faster rate. He could still be a star again in Belgium.
