JOSH CULLEN HAS earned the praise of manager Vincent Kompany after establishing himself as a regular member of the starting line-up at Anderlecht.
With Cullen in line to make his 13th appearance since his October transfer from West Ham United, Belgium’s most successful club will move back into third place in the Jupiler Pro League with a win this evening at home to Waasland-Beveren.
The defensive midfielder was involved in an accidental clash of heads with Carlos Cuesta during a 1-0 win over Genk last month, which forced him to sit out the following game against Oostende. With that exception, he hasn’t missed a minute for his club since November.
Capped four times by the Republic of Ireland at senior level, Cullen delighted Kompany with his display in Tuesday night’s 3-0 victory against Charleroi.
“He never wins the man-of-the-match award but he’s one of the most popular guys in the squad,” the former Manchester City captain told Belgian newspaper La Dernière Heure when asked about the Essex-born 24-year-old.
“His team-mates are the ones who admire him the most because he only has one thing on his mind: the team. If the team wins, it’s because he did a lot of the jobs that the others cannot.
“Against Genk, he injured his head and they put a bandage on him. As I know he’s of Irish descent and tough as iron, I slapped him on his bandage and said with a laugh: ‘Are you okay? Come on, run then, stop making excuses.’
“It was the same against Charleroi: he took a big tackle on the ankle but I knew he’d continue, even if his leg was cut in half.”
Cullen, who captained Ireland at U21 level, will be keen to add to his tally of senior caps when Stephen Kenny’s side begin their qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup with games against Serbia and Luxembourg in March.
“I just have to keep working away here at Anderlecht and hopefully I’ll get more chances,” he told The42 in an interview in December.
“When we meet up again in March, we have to look to kick on for a big campaign for the World Cup qualifiers.”
