Dennis Praet (born 14 May 1994) is a Belgian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League.
Club career
Praet spent most of his youth career with Genk, where he quickly made an impression. Within Genk he was part of a strong generation and scouts considered him one of the top talents. He became part of Belgium's youth teams and attracted the interest of clubs like Arsenal, Barcelona, Ajax and Lille. In May 2010 he transferred from Genk to Anderlecht.
At first he started out there with the under-19 group, where he also impressed. In 2011, Praet received the prize for best player during the AEGON Future Cup in Amsterdam, a youth tournament in which teams like Ajax and Bayern Munich also competed.
RSC Anderlecht
Praet debuted in Anderlecht's main team on 21 September 2011; in the Belgian Cup he started in the line-up against Lommel United, a game in which he offered two assists. In the next round of the Belgian Cup he scored his first official goal for Anderlecht, against Rupel Boom FC. Not long after, on 30 October, he also made his debut in the Belgian Pro League as a substitute for Fernando Canesin while playing against Lierse SK. In March 2012, Praet signed a new contract until 2015. A two-year contract extension was agreed in early 2014 to take him through to the summer of 2017.
Praet scored the third goal in Anderlecht's 3-1 Jupiler Pro League Playoff win over Lokeren on 25 May 2014 to seal Anderlect's 33rd league title. He made his 100th competitive appearance for the club in the league match at Club Brugge on 31 August 2014. On 16 September, he scored away to Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League group stage to put Anderlecht in front, but the Turkish club equalised in added time.
His first league goal of the 2014-15 season came in the 2-2 draw at home to Club Brugge when he scored Anderlecht's opening goal to equalise midway through the first-half. Like his strike against Galatasaray in the Champions League, it went in off the post. He scored in four consecutive games for Anderlecht between 14 and 26 December, with the league wins over KV Oostende, Waasland Beveren and KVC Westerlo and the Belgian Cup win against SV Zulte Waregem.
This rich of form at the end of the year was rewarded at a ceremony on 14 January 2015 where Praet won the Belgian Golden Shoe polling five points (250) ahead of Víctor Vázquez of Club Brugge (245), the annual award given to the best player in the Jupiler Pro League for the previous calendar year.
International career
Belgium
On 6 November 2014, Praet received his first call up to the senior Belgian squad for the friendly at home to Iceland on 12 November, and the Euro 2016 Qualifier against Wales on 16 November. He made his senior international début coming on as a 76th-minute substitute for Christian Benteke after all four goals had been scored in the 3-1 friendly win over Iceland in Brussels.
