EIGHT MONTHS LATER, it still jumps off the page as you scroll through the Ireland squad list – Josh Cullen, Anderlecht.
It’s rare an Ireland international ventures outside the Irish, English and Scottish leagues, but Cullen’s step into the unknown shows the value in looking beyond the tried and tested. He signed for Anderlecht last October and has quickly established himself as an important part of Vincent Kompany’s squad, wearing the number eight in the club’s famous purple and white strip.
A busy season saw Cullen line out for the club 31 times, and while they fell short in the league play-offs, it’s noticeable that on a busy day of media activity from the Ireland squad’s training base in Girona, he’s the only player talking about pushing for league titles and Champions League football.
“Sometimes we can get a bit too focused on the UK leagues and people don’t look further afield,” Cullen says. “I don’t know the answer why more people don’t do it, whether the opportunities aren’t there, I’m not sure.
But once the opportunity came calling for me from a club the size of Anderlecht with the history it has, the tradition and the ambition moving forward, and the prospect of being able to compete in top international competitions in the future, I think it was a no-brainer for me in the end, really.
“I would never discourage any other young Irish players to look further afield and go and experience a different league, a different culture and really look to develop their game in a different league as well.”
The move has offered Cullen a fresh start and some stability after years of dragging his suitcase around England. The Essex-born midfielder was on the books at West Ham since the age of nine, working his way through the Hammers’ Academy before a first-team debut against Andorra’s Lusitanos in 2015 in the Europa League qualifiers. Two months later he was a Premier League footballer, coming off the bench in a 3-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield.
The next couple of seasons then saw Cullen head out on loan to Bradford, Bolton and Charlton, before Anderlecht came calling.
“I had a few loan spells away from what I knew, I suppose, to Bradford and Bolton where I grew up a lot as a person, I believe,” he explains.
“I think that benefits you on the pitch, and especially moving to another country was an even bigger step. My girlfriend came with me, which obviously made it easier off the pitch to have people there to support me, so a massive thank you to her, because especially with the way the world is at the minute with Covid, travel wasn’t easy.
“I literally haven’t been back home since I signed, the start of this week was the first time to get home before I met up with the squad. So yeah, definitely I’ve grown up off the pitch and I definitely believe that that stands me in good stead to perform well on the pitch and become a leader on the pitch as well, because you become more independent away from your friends and family.”
Cullen highlights the role his new boss, former Manchester City captain Kompany, has played in his development this season.
As a manager I think he’s been brilliant, to be honest. To work with him every day, the amount of depth he goes into with preparation, not only for games but for training sessions and how clear he is to us as players about the role he wants to us to take up within the team system, it’s fantastic.
“Every day he’s hands on in training, his coaching is brilliant, and that comes from his knowledge of the game, the teams he has played in, the managers he’s worked under as well.
“As a manager, for me, the first year working under him has been really good, a great guy away from the pitch as well, someone who knows how to manage his players on a personal level as well.”
He admits one of the driving factors in making the move was to make himself a more attractive option for Ireland boss Stephen Kenny. Cullen spent five games on the bench before Mick McCarthy handed him an international debut against Bulgaria in September 2019, and has added six caps since.
With his club future now secure, he’s aiming to become a key player for Ireland.
I’ve said all along that’s what I want to push for. Obviously, leaving West Ham and the move to Anderlecht, part of that was to play regularly to be in a good rhythm, show the manager here what I can do, and improve my game as well. I feel like I’ve ticked the boxes with what I wanted to achieve in terms of progressing with the national team as well. My main aim is to become a regular mainstay in the Irish midfield.”
The games against Andorra and Hungary in this window provide an opportunity to build some positive momentum following a miserable season for Kenny’s team.
“We have a new group, first and foremost, with some new faces. Over the last year there’s been a lot of new faces into the group and I think this time will give us a good period to learn about ourselves and players and as people.
“Obviously, individually I want to feature in the two games and play as minutes as I can and impress the manager, and of course as a team we want to come away with two victories – that’s what we’re desperate for as a group and as a nation.
“So that’s at the top of our list, to put in good performances but make sure we turn those performances into positive results as well.”
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