Ibrahim Afellay: £9M Dazzling Dutchman on Rafa’s Liverpool Hitlist
Press reports suggest a number of Serie A’s biggest clubs are vying for the signature of PSV’s attacking midfielder Ibrahim Afellay this summer alongside Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool.
The talented 23-year-old has also been linked to a number of Premier League clubs in the past with Arsenal thought to be very keen although the arrival of Andrey Arshavin seems to have ended that interest. There are a number of English clubs looking to add more width to their teams and Afellay could prove to be an excellent signing for those clubs.
The PSV star was born in Utrecht but is of Moroccan descent and came through the ranks at his present club. Afellay made his PSV debut in the 2003/04 season as a 17-year-old but has since become one of the stars of the Dutch giants. In fact, apart from his debut season, the young star has played his part in 4 successive Dutch title wins but hopes of a 5th ended when AZ finished top.
Despite his superb winning record, a poor season for PSV seems destined to result in the sale of at least one of their star players as the club languished in 4th place, a staggering 15 points behind newly crowned champions AZ. PSV may have struggled but Afellay certainly didn’t. Last season he enjoyed his most productive season yet with an impressive 13 goals in 28 league appearances (27 starts).
Despite his age, Afellay has now made 111 League appearances for the club and scored 25 goals. Only 7 players have scored more league goals than the youngster this season which has prompted the attention of a number of Italian clubs. These reports were recently highlighted by FIFA agent and expert on the Dutch transfer market, Alberto Faccini, who revealed in an interview with ilsussidiario.net, “Regarding Afellay to Inter or Lazio I don’t know anything, only what I’ve read in the news”
“For him, Fiorentina is a likely option in the event he were to arrive in Italy. He’s a very good player, but not cheap.”
“He is an interesting option for team who are looking for this type of player.”
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The PSV midfielder demonstrated his quality in the 2007/08 season when he played a starring role in his side’s 1-0 Uefa Cup 1st leg win over Spurs at White Hart Lane. His ability to beat his marker on the outside or inside was perfectly illustrated in this match as he gave Pascal Chimbonda a torrid time.
Afellay has also won 16 caps for his country which is impressive in itself when you consider the amount of midfield talent the Dutch boast. He was given the opportunity of playing for either Holland or Morocco but opted for his resident country. He won his first cap under Marco Van Basten in against Slovenia in March 2007 and has since become a permanent fixture in the squad including 3 appearances at Euro 2008.
Chelsea have been crying out for more width and Guus Hiddink had reportedly informed Roman Abramovich of his fellow countryman’s talents but whether Carlo Ancelotti would be interested remains to be seen. Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has missed out on a number of reported transfer targets with Croatian Danijel Pranjic heading to Bayern Munich and Brazilian Keirrison set to move to Barcelona, so he will be determined to make sure Afellay joins Glen Johnson at Anfield. The fact that Afellay can play on either flank or as a 2nd striker makes him the perfect addition for Liverpool.
Have you seen much of Ibrahim Afellay? Do you think the Dutch playmaker would be a good acquisition for the club? Let’s hear your views.
Tags: Arsenal, Chelsea, Holland, Ibrahim Afellay, Liverpool, PSV, Tottenham
June 30th, 2009 at 18:00
He must come to Liverpool. I saw him play at Anfield, he was excellent. He would make a great signing - he is young and hungry.
June 30th, 2009 at 18:33
Buy him and Federico and let mascherano and alonso leave.If someone dont want to play for lfc, better let him go.
June 30th, 2009 at 19:35
Da lad is a tip top gem.. Posseses sum raw strength nd pace.. Tidy nd com4table driblin with both feet.. Has visionful mature Kaka-like final ball nd occasionally chips in with some amazin long range hard knocks.. Considerin his occasional injuries, for anythin les than £12m, guess he’d b a r3al steal.. Ba i prefer da signin of da Tevez-like Eizquel Lavezzi!
July 1st, 2009 at 11:33
hes a cheaper player but would be a great player for the kop .
Rafa knows what he is doing mascherano is going nowhere still three years left
and alonso every kop fan would want to stay 100%.but he only has one year left and the smart thing is if no contract extention we must sell 35mil
July 1st, 2009 at 13:37
no way ever banega much better midfielder
July 2nd, 2009 at 13:40
Hello i am a great fan of PSV Eindhoven.
He will playing not on the bench. Afellay is the favourite player of the public. He is young and fast on the running. Afellay = the best player in the Netherlands competition. Afellay: £ 15 please sorry!
July 3rd, 2009 at 12:44
He is an awesome player and has major possibilty to become a great star but there is absolutely no way he is leaving for the cheap.
Liverpool needs to cough uo at least over 15M (Contract deal sweeties)
July 3rd, 2009 at 18:04
PSV played Liverpool 6 times in CL in recent years. 4 or 5 times PSV played without Afelley those games, mainly because of injury. But last year Afellay improved his own strengh and level of pain and became a more mature player.
Could be an improvement for Lfc and probably a big name for the future (quality Van Persie and Robben)