Thursday, 25th October, 2012
Axel Witsel has backed 18-year-old midfielder Dennis Praet to continue improving, after taking a look at the player at close quarters when Zenit St. Petersburg met Anderlecht last night.
Zenit put the Belgian champions to the sword in Russia, courtesy of a 72nd minute penalty, converted by Aleksandr Kerzhakov.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Belgians, who competed well with Zenit throughout the game and looked dangerous themselves.
Witsel was happy to taste victory over his countrymen, but could not help to be impressed by Praet, a promising midfielder who has attracted attention from English giants Liverpool recently.
"Dennis Praet is a good player", the midfielder told Het Laatste Nieuws.
"He has good technique and can easily go past an opponent.
relatedNewsStory"In my opinion, he has plenty of room for improvement."
Anderlecht rate Praet extremely highly and the club’s sporting director Herman Van Holsbeeck recently remarked that he believes the midfielder will become one of the club’s mainstays within the next few years.
However, Anderlecht may have a fight on their hands to keep hold of the 18-year-old, who is already on the radar of a number of Europe’s biggest clubs.
