Footballer Nicolae Stanciu (Steaua Bucharest) has signed a give-year contract with the Belgium side Anderlecht Brussels, digi.24.ro informs, quoting the Twitter account of the team.
“Welcome, Nicolae Stanciu,” is the message placed together with the Romanian footballer’s photo.
The transfer fee is allegedly EUR 9.8 million. Last year Alexandru Chipciu, also from Steaua, was transferred to Anderlecht.
Nicolae “Nicușor” Claudiu Stanciu was born on May 7, 1993.
Stanciu made his senior international debut for Romania in March 2016, after having previously represented it at under-19 and under-21 levels.
Stanciu was born in the village of Craiva from Cricău, Alba County. He was raised mainly by his grandmother, who died in 2007 when he was only 14 years old. He dedicated his first senior national team goal to her.
He played for Unirea Alba Iulia, FC Vaslui and Steaua Bucharest (since 2013).
On August 3, 2016, Stanciu scored two goals against Sparta Prague in the Champions League third qualifying round’s second leg, after having also netted in the first match. His team won 3-1 on aggregate and progressed further to face Manchester City in the play-off round (defeated by 5-0 and 1-0 respectively).
Stanciu was selected in Romania’s squad for the 2011 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. In the tournament opener, he featured the full 90 minutes against the Czech Republic, scoring in a 1–3 loss in an eventual group stage exit.
Stanciu gained his first cap for the full side on March 23, 2016, playing the second half of a friendly with Lithuania and netting the game’s only goal at the Marin Anastasovici Stadium. On May 17, he was picked by the then coach of the national team Anghel Iordănescu for his preliminary 28-man UEFA Euro 2016 squad, and eventually made it to the final list after scoring four goals in only five friendly games. He was awarded the number 10 shirt at the tournament in France, and started in the opener against the hosts, gaining a second-half penalty in an eventual 1–2 loss.