The name Noah Kalonji may not be familiar to many football fans now but, for hardcore football fans and scouts who look out for the next biggest prospect in world football, it already rings a bell. Kalonji, 15, shot into fame at the age 7 in 2016 when he was playing for the kids team of Standard Liege. His video on YouTube went viral as he mesmerized Malines FC U8 opponents. Born in Belgium in 2009, to a Rwandan-Congolese father and a Belgian mother, Kalonji is the cousin of Idaho North College midfielder Lorian Aerts who is also eligible to feature for Rwanda, DR Congo and Belgium. Kalonji joined Anderlecht from Standard Liege in 2019 at the age of 10 and he has never looked back. He has been groomed into a tenacious defensive midfielder with football glued to his feet. The teenager’s progress has been steady since his arrival and his rapid rise has seen him offered a professional two-year contract by Anderlecht on September 30. Under the current deal, he will get the chance to train with the senior side during the winter break. I feel very proud to sign my first professional contract. What I do most is dictating the pace of the game. I run a lot in matches, Kalonji said after signing the deal. I also control the pace of the game and I am a very good passer of the ball. I am calm on the ball and very technical. A natural defensive midfielder, Kalonji named Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans and Anderlecht senior team player Mario Stroeykens who both graduated from the Anderlecht Academy as his role models. I like Tielemens a lot, he is an intelligent, technical player, with a good shot. But I am also a fan of Mario Stroeykens for his technique and his volume of play, he noted. Kalonji becomes the fourth player of Rwandan origin to feature for Anderlecht in the club's history. He follows the footsteps of legendary Amavubi defender Hamad Ndikumana (RIP) who played for the club from 2001-2002, Mike Tresor Ndayishimiye from 2015-2018. Hakim Sahabo, now at Standard Liege, also played for the club’s youth team in 2020. At a time Rwandan youngsters are springing all over Europe, those who are plying their trade at teams of Anderlecht’s profile should be monitored well. They should be courted at an early age and get integrated into the Rwandan youth system before the country loses them to other nations. Kalonji has Rwanda, Belgium and DR Congo to choose from when he embarks on his international football and it could be a big tussle between these countries in future. It remains unclear whether Rwanda has started to approach him.
