Cullen on decision to leave West Ham and link up with Man City icon at Anderlecht

Most have ended up in Germany, while some have earned moves to clubs in Italy and Spain, but not Josh Cullen.

He made the unconventional move of swapping east London for Belgium and he's loving every minute of it.

The Republic of Ireland international made the difficult decision to leave boyhood club West Ham last year after 15 years on their books and penned a three-year deal with Anderlecht, who are the most successful team in Belgium with 34 league titles to their name.

It was a move many didn't see coming, given that Cullen had only ever made nine appearances in all competitions for West Ham and played most of his football out on loan with the likes of Charlton Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and Bradford City.

However, the 25-year-old has made quite the impression over in Belgium and has impressed Anderlecht manager Vincent Kompany so much that he was given the captain's armband for the first time in January.

Cullen is now one of the first names on the team-sheet for Kompany and is relishing his new experience in Belgium's top-flight with Anderlecht.

Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, Cullen said: "I'm loving it to be honest. It's been a really enjoyable last year or so. Thanks to everyone at the club and everyone in Belgium that I've come across for making me feel so welcome in my first year at the club.

"It's been a good year and I'm just looking to try to build on the progress I think we've made as a team and personally in my own game and just looking forward to the future and carrying on what we've started.

"It felt like the right time to move on and I only look back on my time at West Ham with fond memories. I'm just grateful to everyone at the club. I was there for 15 years [and came] through the academy and I could sit here all day and list names and thank so many people for making me into the player and person I am today.

"Coming through the academy at West Ham [and being] surrounded by good people and then stepping into the first-team environment and learning off of top players and top managers was a period in my life I will never forget. I only look back on my time there with good memories.

"It's never easy [to leave West Ham] but the decision was made a bit easier when you have a club the size of Anderlecht come knocking.

"When you have a club the size of Anderlecht - with the history it has and the ambition the club has for the future and you see the players that have come through the club and the Belgium League - it was an opportunity that I was really excited by and one that, to be honest, was probably too good to turn down in my own head. It really excited me and got the juices flowing and I really fancied the challenge."

The 25-year-old made just three Premier League appearances, all as a substitute, during his time at West Ham and one of the main draws of making the switch to Anderlecht will have undoubtedly been the opportunity to work with Kompany.

Kompany is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs to have ever graced the Premier League following his trophy laden spell with Manchester City during his playing career, where he was an inspirational figure both on and off the pitch.

The former Belgium international took his first step into management on a full-time basis when he was appointed as Anderlecht's head coach in August 2020 and led the club to a third place finish last season.

Unsurprisingly, learning from one of the Premier League's all-time greats has had a huge impact on Cullen's development over in Belgium.

"The amount I feel like I've learnt about my game and the game of football in general over the last year has been huge," Cullen says.

"I look forward to coming in to training and learning off of him every day. He's a great guy and a great manager and we want to give everything we can for him and I know the dressing room feels the same.

"He's very hands on. I've had managers in the past that maybe like to take a bit more of a back seat. He's involved daily on the training pitch, stepping into training and giving us pointers and advice as players and as individuals and as a team that is making us better constantly.

"He's very in-depth with his gameplans and the amount of detail he goes into with the other coaches he has around him to prepare us for games on the opposition and what we're doing well as a team and what we need to improve is second to none."

Cullen is also a key player at international level for Republic of Ireland and manager Stephen Kenny, who has been under increasing pressure after winning just one of his 16 games in charge of the national team.

There were, however, signs of promise after Republic of Ireland earned a 1-1 draw with Serbia as part of their World Cup qualifying campaign in September and Cullen insists that the squad are fully behind Kenny.

"There's no doubt that us as players are fully behind the manager," he finished.

"We believe in the process. Of course, we haven't got the results we want and need, it's as simple as that and there's no hiding that. That can't just rest on the manager's shoulders. As players, we have to take responsibility as well.

"I think we are definitely moving in the right direction. I've said before that football is a results based business [so] we can't keep saying that we are improving. So, of course, we have to start winning games.

"We are fully behind the manager, there's no doubt about that. We're looking forward to the next international break coming up and hopefully, getting a couple of positive results."