AFTER having a three-year stint with Belgium's KRC Genk, Tanzanian striker Kelvin John recently secured another chance to redeem himself after sealing a move to Danish side, Aalborg, which has recently made its way back to Denmark's top-flight football.

John arrived at KRC Genk with so much hope as Tanzania's soccer fans hoped he would prosper for the Belgian club, as was the case for the outfit’s former striker and Taifa Stars’ captain Mbwana Samatta- who now plies his trade in Greece with Greek Premier League champion PAOK Thessaloniki.

Per KRC Genk history, many players have used the team as a platform for a move to one of the other Europe's top leagues.

Samatta is a vivid example - given he moved to England's Premier League club, Aston Villa, after impressing in Belgium's Jupiler League and UEFA Champions League with the Belgian outfit.

After Samatta, it means if John had met the expectations of KRC Genk, the Belgian outfit would have exhaustively monitored many players in the Tanzania football scene but, after John failed to impress, eventually the club would not trust our country’s soccer players.

KRC Genk’s trust in Tanzania's footballers was in John’s hands, I am not sure if the youthful striker knew he was in Europe for that reason, if he knew this reason, he would have had an extra push to strive for greatness.

In Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, Mali, and Nigeria players might not get this push because there are many players in Europe, and every player can be replaced, unlike Tanzania which has extremely few players in Europe.

Tanzania's soccer enthusiasts might have questions to ask, one of which is, is this a huge move for John or a step back for him?

When one looks at his age, he still has many years ahead of him to excel, now that he is 20. He can grow and become a top player.

In analytics, John's career has gone backward and the youngster knows it. His soccer role model, Samatta, elevated his game and went on to ply his trade in England's Premier League, he did not move to any of the European lower leagues.

Aalborg might be one of the oldest teams in Denmark but the outfit's development in terms of players and battling it out in top levels is questionable.

Denmark has top teams including FC Copenhagen, which keeps battling it out in the UEFA Champions League. For that matter, signing for Aalborg is somehow not a bad move but is, to a great extent, a challenge for John.

KRC Genk is a good sign of team development in Belgium. The European country's other clubs like Gent, Royal Antwerp, Anderlecht, and Standard Liege have also become a bridge for players from various parts of the world to secure a move to Europe's top five leagues.

Belgium is behind Spain, England, France, Italy, and Germany in European countries with top leagues where most of Belgium's players go.

KRC Genk believed it would cash in some good money from selling John when the club signed him as a youthful player from Tanzania, a fee of around 12-16 million euros was reasonable for KRC Genk to sell John.

They had signed a young footballing ace from Tanzania who had proved his worth in national team ranks through his extraordinary talent. He was nicknamed 'Mbappe' because many soccer followers believed he had what it takes to play at the top level of European football.

KRC Genk was the only club that had confidence in John to become a top player in Europe because Samatta had already opened doors and proved that there are Tanzania players that can generate profit.

However, John could not live up to the expectations of KRC Genk and Tanzanians. Once he arrived in Europe at the right age with the ability to score goals, they were qualities that were enough to convince everyone that he was a top player in the country at his age.

Many believed he was the next Samatta, if not better than Samatta, what Tanzanians saw in John is exactly what Genk saw in the youthful striker.

His development has though gone backward since he arrived at KRC Genk, many also saw him play when he was called up for the senior national team. At KRC Genk, he was sent to the club's junior team, Jong Genk, to improve his performance.

 The striker should also be careful with disciplinary issues. In the senior national team, he was said to have fallen out with the then-head coach, Belgo-Algerian Adel Amrouche, due to misconduct the forward committed. The misconduct is yet to be disclosed, which is good for the player when preserving his image.

With the nature of Tanzania football fans, such misconduct should remain a secret, given the majority of them do not know how to forgive and forget once a player does something wrong.

What is painful to many fans about John's move to Denmark is that Tanzania has few players in Europe and Asia and, when it comes to Europe's top leagues, the country has no player in such leagues.

Tanzania needs the prowess of players like John in the senior national team, which has seen local players dominate in call-ups due to a lack of top players abroad.

 His experience would be vital in the senior national team, especially in high-profile continental competitions like the Africa Cup of Nations.

Tanzania, moreover, needs foreign-based players' community development initiatives like what Samatta has continued to do with this foundation, which is focused on changing people's lives.

The East African country needs players that will make the next generation believe football is a reliable source of income and wealth so that more players can be used as a case study, the country needs many of its players to excel in Europe.

It is not a surprise that the country is still relying on Samatta, despite the player slowly inching closer to the twilight of his career, because many believed John would excel and what is happening to him is not something that Tanzanians are happy with.

Many wanted to see him light up the UEFA Champions League with one of the outfits in Europe's top five leagues. A move to Denmark's Aalborg is a chance for John to review his three-year stint with KRC Genk and know what went wrong for him during his stint in Belgium.

One of the best ways an individual can develop is by realizing where it all went wrong for either him or her. If he/she does that, there is room for him/her to bounce back, many players have done that after being left by their clubs at either a young age or mature stage and flourished in other clubs.

With John now aged 20, I believe Denmark can be a place where he can build his confidence with less pressure and expectations since there is a sense of being written off by fans. A change in attitude and focus on the game will elevate the youthful forward's game.

Football is on his legs, if he plays for his country, he will develop into a top player the way Samatta did - putting the country's interest first- because he knew the merits of such an attitude.