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US Men’s National Team midfielder Kenny Saief will have a permanent home in the Belgian First Division Jupiler Pro League. His club RSC Anderlecht announced that his loan from KAA Gent would be made permanent for the 2018-2019 season.
De aankoopoptie van Kenny Saief wordt gelicht, bekijk zijn boodschap voor de fans op de RSCA Official-app!
— RSC Anderlecht (@rscanderlecht) May 23, 2018
L’option d’achat de Kenny Saief est désormais levée, découvrez son message sur l’app officielle du #RSCA!
Happy that you stay with us, Kenny! pic.twitter.com/wVD9IB9Nn1
Saief broke through in the league with Gent, playing 81 matches with 13 goals from 2014-2018. However, he was sidelined with injuries dating back to last summer when he was sent home before the 2017 Gold Cup due to a hernia that required surgery. The result was that he only managed to make four appearances with Gent in the 2017 season and was loaned to Anderlecht in January.
The move re-united him with former Gent manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck. The results speak for themselves with Saief rewarding Vanhaezebrouck’s faith in him with 17 appearances and a goal for the club. The midfielder also made an appearance with the USMNT in the 1-0 friendly victory over Paraguay in March. Saief was not named to the roster for the upcoming friendly against Bolivia, but with American Manager Dave Sarachan expected to make changes to the squad ahead of the matches with France and Ireland, the Panama City native could be making another appearance with the Stars and Stripes sooner rather than later.