Former Belgium Coach: Bissouma left because players must be 18 to sign professional contracts

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona will officially announce the signing of Belgian youngster Jasse Byisbow this week. The transfer fee is approximately 8.5 million euros, plus a 20% future transfer share.

Former Belgian coach Georges Leekens revealed the key reason for Byisbow's departure in an interview with Eremnews: "The problem is that Club Brugge could not reach an agreement with the player on a professional contract, due to Belgian legal regulations. Players cannot be forced to sign a contract. In Belgium, players must be 18 years old to sign an important professional contract, which is the main reason they had to let him go. I don't think they wanted to lose him; on the contrary, they originally planned to promote him to the first team."

He stated: "I think if he had stayed, he would have joined the first team this season and become a part of the squad. Perhaps by the end of the season, he would have become a regular starter or a key player." Leekens also described Byisbow as "very young and incredibly talented."

Finally, Leekens said: "Byisbow can succeed at Barcelona because Barcelona has a clear development plan, but he should have played in Club Brugge's first team for a while before moving to a big club, because career development is very important, as shown by previous examples such as De Bruyne and Trossard."

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