Former KV Mechelen player leaves Anderlecht for Portugal
Samuel Ntanda, a former player of KV Mechelen, is leaving Anderlecht for União de Leiria in Portugal. The 21-year-old forward signed a three-year contract with the Portuguese club. Ntanda, trained by Anderlecht until his 14th year, has had a tumultuous career: youth years at KV Mechelen and Sint-Truiden, followed by a breakthrough at Sampdoria with ten appearances in the first team and even a substitute appearance in Serie A before the club was relegated. Anderlecht paid around €700,000 to bring Ntanda back and placed him in the RSCA Futures. The first few months were promising: four goals and an assist in two months raised hopes, and a move to the first team seemed possible-thanks in part to the advice of Besnik Hasi.
Ntanda joins Portugal
However, that progress stalled. In the second half of the season, Ntanda did not start a single match in D1B and gradually disappeared from view in the first team. “I still feel close. But I have to learn and prove a lot more,” he said last winter himself, a realistic approach that ultimately proved difficult to put into practice due to a lack of playing time. Yesterday, Ntanda signed a three-year contract with União de Leiria, which plays in the Portuguese second division. It's a definitive transfer: the young forward is leaving Neerpede to collect minutes in a new competition and complete his development.
KV Mechelen in the Jupiler Pro League
Currently, KV Mechelen is in 6th place in the Jupiler Pro League, with 24 points and a recent form of LDLWL. The club has scored 40 goals and conceded 39 goals this season, with a goal difference of +1. KV Mechelen is 15 points behind the leaders of the competition, Union St. Gilloise. The next match of KV Mechelen is on 13 February 2027 against Anderlecht, where they will play away.
