Hoffenheim have confirmed the signing of Nathan De Cat from Anderlecht, with the Belgian defensive midfielder completing his move to the Bundesliga club on 10 July. The fee is reported at around €17m, with add-ons and a sell-on clause included in the deal, while some reports in Belgium put the total package closer to €20m plus bonuses. Whichever figure proves accurate, it ranks among the biggest sales in Anderlecht's history. De Cat has signed a long-term contract at his new club, tying him to Hoffenheim until 2031.
The move caps a remarkable rise for a player who only made his first-team debut for Anderlecht in July 2025, days after turning 17. Hoffenheim saw off competition from Manchester City, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig to get the deal done, a measure of how highly rated De Cat has become across Europe in the space of a single season.
Standing 6ft 3in, De Cat started out as a orthodox defensive midfielder but has increasingly played a more advanced, progressive role for Anderlecht, using his size and close control to carry the ball through midfield and link defence to attack. Hoffenheim's sporting director Andreas Schicker called the signing 'an outstanding confirmation of the path we have chosen', pointing to the club's long-standing strategy of recruiting promising young players and developing them for the first team. De Cat is expected to get game time this season with Hoffenheim also involved in the Europa League.
For Anderlecht, this is a significant loss. De Cat was in the final year of his contract and had shown no intention of signing an extension, which left the Belgian club with little leverage in negotiations even though they had hoped to keep him for at least another season. He was named both the Jupiler Pro League's Young Player of the Year and Anderlecht's own Player of the Year after his breakout 2025/26 campaign, and the fee received is among the largest in the club's history — reward for producing a player they had brought through their academy since the age of 10.
De Cat's numbers last season back up the hype. He made 46 appearances across all competitions for Anderlecht, scoring three goals and setting up another five, and was particularly influential between February and March 2026, when he was directly involved in four goals in three games. That form earned him a first call-up to the Belgium senior squad, and he made his international debut as a substitute in a 5-2 friendly win over the United States in March.
At Hoffenheim, De Cat joins a club with a strong track record of giving young players a route into regular first-team football before selling them on for a profit further down the line. Comparisons have already been drawn with Bayern Munich's Leon Goretzka for his ability to drift beyond opposition midfielders, though De Cat is not yet at that level physically. His versatility, since he can sit as the deepest midfielder or push higher up the pitch, should give his new manager options, and with Europa League football on the calendar this season he won't be short of opportunities to prove himself quickly.