Between a change of role and the bench, Vandeputte has not yet taken flight in Cremona

Despite being one of the big moves of the summer, not only at Cremonese, for Jari Vandeputy the start of his experience with the grey-red shirt was more mixed than one might have imagined. After two superlative seasons with the Catanzaro shirt, the Belgian was paid 3.3 million euros by the Lombards in the summer, who also snatched him from some Serie A clubs, but in total he has played just 141′ out of 450 available in these first five games and against Spezia he remained on the bench for the entire match after the handful of seconds played at the end of the match against Sassuolo before the break.

A poor use that brings back the summer doubts when many wondered where the Belgian would play in the 3-5-2, an untouchable formation, of the coach. John Stroppa. Not as a winger like in the Giallorossi shirt, given that Vandeputte has different, more offensive, characteristics compared to a player who has to cover the entire left lane, but as a mezzala. This is a role to which he must adapt by changing those movements and characteristics that had made him elected as the best full-back of the whole of last Serie B.. A position that does not convince the fans, who would like to enjoy the qualities of the class of ’96 shown in recent years, but on which Stroppa is counting a lot to give unpredictability to his team’s offensive maneuver.

In the next round, Cremonese will be playing in Catanzaro and the match against his former teammates could be the right opportunity for Vandeputte to take flight and demonstrate that, even in a different role, he can give the grigiorossi that contribution of assists and goals that made him a protagonist in the last Serie B season.