Josh Cullen at RSC Anderlecht 2021/22: the Belgian giants’ underrated star – scout report

Josh Cullen’s time at West Ham United was a long, but not so memorable one. The Republic of Ireland international joined the Hammers youth setup in 2010, working his way up through the academy system before making his senior debut for West Ham in 2015. However, what possibly looked like a promising career at times in East London never panned out. He only made three senior Premier League appearances for West Ham but had plenty of first-team football through loan spells at Bradford (twice), Bolton, and Charlton Athletic (twice).

Then in the summer of 2020, RSC Anderlecht came calling, with West Ham selling Cullen to the Belgian giants for a fee of just over half a million euros. His time in Belgium under former Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany has been spectacular, with Cullen being arguably the most reliable RSC Anderlecht player in his two-plus seasons in Brussels.

This tactical analysis and scout report piece will take a look at some strengths in Cullen’s game, and analyse them in detail.

Overview and role in Anderlecht’s side 

As Josh Cullen’s heat map from this season is able to illustrate, he has played a vital role in Vincent Kompany’s Anderlecht side. Cullen has played essentially every single minute for Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League this season, barring only a few when he was subbed off during a 7-0 drubbing of Beerschot.

Cullen plays in a deep-lying distributor role for Anderlecht, with him not being involved virtually at all in the attacking third of the pitch. His role is similar to the one that Jorginho has played at both Napoli and Chelsea. Cullen is the link player between the defence and the attack, with his well above-average passing statistics, as well as his strong defending capabilities, making him a player that Kompany has been able to rely on to rarely make any mistakes.