Club Brugge head coach Nicky Hayen has revealed why he included South African youngster Shandre Campbell in his latest UEFA Champions League squad.
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After failing to make the matchday squads for the Black and Blues' playoff knockout stage encounters against Atalanta, Hayen decided to finally include the Johannesburg native in his squad ahead of the first-leg Round of 16 matchup against Aston Villa.
Despite levelling matters through Maxim De Cuyper in the first half after a Leon Bailey opener, the Jupiler Pro League side succumbed to two late goals—an own goal from Brandon Mechele and a Youri Tielemans penalty—as they lost 3-1 on the night.
Campbell was subsequently unable to make his debut in Europe's premier competition. After the defeat, Hayen was quizzed on whether he believed the former SuperSport United winger was ready to compete in the first team but responded by saying that Campbell may need to be patient before contributing to the team.
"Coming back to your question about Shandre, he is now training with the team," the Belgian tactician told members of the media in his post-match press conference.
"He showed with (Club) NXT that he has potential, and this is how we work, where players with high potential, we give them the next step by training with the first team and give them minutes where it is possible.
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"When they deserve it, they will get minutes."
