Leeds United are reportedly battling Tottenham and Southampton in a move to lure Genk technical director Dimitri de Conde to England – and fans should be excited, when looking at his best five deals in his eight years at Genk.
De Conde, who ended a journeyman-like career in Belgian football and started coaching before he was appointed Genk’s technical director in 2015, is a man in demand. Het Nieuwsblad say all three English clubs want to lure him in.
Here is a bit of background on de Conde – his best five deals which gathered in huge profits for Genk, but also saw the players in question shine for Genk before selling them on for massive profits. Some recognisable names, too.
Leeds target de Conde best five deals as Genk director:
– 5. Mbwana Samatta (Bought from Mazembe, sold to Villa, loan return)
Bought for £700,000 (TM), Samatta starred for Genk. He played 191 times for the Belgian side – scoring 76 goals and laying on 20 assists. Villa bought him for £8.5m, a £7.8m profit. He struggled, and is now back on loan at Genk.
– 4. Joakim Maehle (Bought from Aalborg, sold to Atalanta)
Maehle would have been higher on the list but actually, Atalanta should have paid more. A top, top player. Bought for little over £1m from Aalborg in 2017, he joined Atalanta for just £8.5m. He has 36 Denmark caps to his name.
– 3. Paul Onuachu (Bought from Midtjylland, sold to Southampton)
Onuachu is a serious bit of business. In third, because he cost Genk around £5.2m initially. He scored a whopping 85 goals in 134 games for Genk, before de Conde struck a deal with Southampton in January just gone for £17.4m.
– 2. Leon Bailey (Bought from Trencin, sold to Aston Villa)
Bailey is in second because of just how incredible he was a find. Bought from Slovakian side Trencin, where he did not even make his senior debut, he only lasted 18 months at Genk before Leverkusen splashed £13m plus add-ons.
– 1. Sander Berge (Bought from Valerenga, sold to Sheffield United)
The best of the lot. De Conde’s incredible ability to scout players from tiny clubs in smaller European countries saw Genk sign Berge for £1.7m at 18 years of age. Three years later, Sheffield United bought Berge for a fee of £22m.
