Craig Bellamy’s arrival at Anderlecht can help the Belgian club recover their status, claims their sports director Michael Verschueren.
The former Wales striker has signed a three-year deal to become the club’s under-21s coach – despite an ongoing investigation into bullying allegations at Cardiff City.
The move reunites Bellamy with his former Manchester City teammate Vincent Kompany, who left the Etihad Stadium last month to become player-manager at Anderlecht.
They have a big re-building job on their hands as Anderlecht failed to qualify for Europe last season for the first time in 56 years and their sixth-place finish was their lowest since 1973
“The appointment of Craig proves we continue our efforts to improve our youth development,” said Verschueren.
“He will be working closely together with Vincent Kompany, Simon Davies and our academy coaches to make the transition into the senior squad easier for our ‘purple talents’.”
Bellamy, 39, was previously Cardiff’s Under-18s coach but stepped down from his role in January when claims of bullying were made against him.
The former Liverpool, Newcastle and Wales forward “categorically” denied the allegations and vowed to clear his name while the club conducted its investigation into the accusations.
Despite his departure from Cardiff, the move to Belgium does not affect that investigation, which remains ongoing.
Had he returned to his role at Cardiff, it is likely he would have had to embark on an education in communication programme – something Bellamy was understood to be prepared to undertake.
“We are very happy with Craig’s arrival at RSC Anderlecht,” said youth director Jean Kindermans.
“He has a lot of experience and will be a great mentor for our youth players mentally speaking, but also in terms of football skills.
“As coach of the U21 team, his task will be to prepare our young talents for the first team.”
Bellamy was also a regular pundit on Sky Sports before the bullying allegations were made against him and the investigation launched.
But he has not worked for Sky since and the broadcaster said it would review the situation following the club’s findings.