Vincent Kompany has shielded former Leeds United striker Kemar Roofe from criticism following his debut for Anderlecht.
Anderlecht splashed out a hefty amount of cash to snare Roofe away from Leeds during the summer transfer window, with a number of Whites fans not happy at the club selling last season's top goalscorer.
Roofe was recovering from an ankle injury since the end of last season and did not play a massive part in pre-season preparations, even when he was a Leeds player in the summer.
He only returned to full training with Anderlecht last week and played in the 3-2 win over Beerschot in a Belgian Cup game on Wednesday night.
The striker played the full 90 minutes but did not make a notable impact and many were left wondering why Anderlecht splashed out the cash on him in the summer.
But Anderlecht coach Kompany insisted that Roofe will need time to get back to his rhythm as he has not played much football since the end of last season.
The Belgian was quoted as saying by Belgian outlet Voetbal Belgie: “They were his first minutes since May.
“We must be patient with him.”
Roofe scored 14 league goals in the Championship for Leeds last season and kept Patrick Bamford, who is now leading the line for the Whites, out of the side.
