Rafael Van der Vaart: Is the £13M Dazzling Dutchman the Answer for Liverpool?

Rafael van der Vaart has confirmed he will be leaving Real Madrid and has this week launched a ‘come and get me’ plea to big clubs in the top four leagues in Europe after rejecting old club Ajax. Real Madrid are reportedly looking to recoup the amount they paid for the creative star which is a figure of roughly £13m which is not much in relation to some of the highly expensive moves so far this season.

Van der Vaart confirmed reports he had rejected a move back to Amsterdam when he revealed to De Telegraaf, , “In principle I find it too early (to return) and I say no.”

“I do not know if I will stay at Real Madrid, but there are other options.”

Ajax manager Martin Jol has openly courted the club’s former star and declared to Sport1, “I hope he (Van der Vaart) comes.”

“With him we would have the best midfield in Holland.”

Unfortunately for Jol, the Dutch midfielder has targeted moves to the big four European leagues. He said, “My dream is to play in a major championship, namely England, Spain, Italy or Germany. Other proposals from abroad do not interest me.”

The player’s stock has definitely fallen since his move to La Liga but the Dutchman would surely be the ideal man to fill the gap left by the departure of current team-mate Xabi Alonso at Liverpool while he would be a massive statement of intent for teams chasing the big four such as Tottenham, Man City, Everton and Aston Villa.

Liverpool have missed the slick passing of Alonso this season as the Premier League’s runners-up have looked devoid of ideas at times this season to help free both Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Alberto Aquliani has been brought in to provide a similar service but he is struggling through injury and his track record is not good. If Liverpool are to close the gap on their rivals, at least to grab a top 4 spot, another creative player is needed.

The multi-million pound arrivals of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul Albiol and Karim Benzema has led to Real needing to recoup some of their incredible outlay by selling a number of fringe players. Van der Vaart is one of those which suggests a deal would not be too difficult to negotiate.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Van der Vaart began his Real career with 4 goals in his first 4 games including a goal on his debut against Numancia and a hat-trick against Sporting Gijon. However, since then the Dutch playmaker failed to struggled to establish himself and has been increasingly relegated to substitute appearances. The €13 million summer signing has played in 38 league games for the Spanish champions but only started 16.

Apart from starting the two final league games of the season, he has only played a full 90 minutes in two Copa Del Rey matches and his last full game in La Liga was way back in September2008, hence his frustration. After all, in 3 seasons for Hamburg he started 72 of his 74 league appearances and scored 29 goals.

Prior to leaving Hamburg his manager Martin Jol had this to say about his star player, “He is one of the best five play-makers in Europe and he dictates the rhythm of Hamburg.”

That’s high praise indeed but the 26-year-old had proven to be a huge hit both in his homeland with Ajax and in the Bundesliga with Hamburg.

The 2007/08 season was the Dutchman’s most prolific campaign in 3 seasons in Germany. He scored a total of 12 goals in 29 League appearances taking his overall League tally for Hamburg to an impressive 29 goals in 74 appearances. Not bad for a playmaking attacking midfielder. This is a similar scoring rate to the one he enjoyed with Ajax where Van der Vaart scored a total of 52 goals in 117 League appearances. This record includes the 2002/03 season when the Dutch international scored a staggering 18 goals in 21 League appearances. The diminutive playmaker has also got a decent scoring record at international level for Holland after netting 15 goals in 72 games. This includes a goal in the 2-2 draw with England in Amsterdam back in August when the midfielder played the first half with Holland winning 2-0.

This season the Dutchman has made 6 league appearances but only started once.That’s just 142 minutes of league football which surely suggests his time at the Bernabeu is up. His only full 90 minutes came in the recent embarrassing 4-0 humbling by lowly Alcorcon in the Copa Del Rey which hardly improved his chances of breaking into the first team on a regular basis.

The Dutch star certainly has all the attributes to be a major hit in the Premier League and at a mere £13m would surely be an absolute bargain for Liverpool who look in desperate need for more reinforcements. An added bonus is that he can play centrally, on either wing or as 2nd striker. Therefore, Steven Gerrard could drop back into Alonso’s old role and the Dutchman could play in the hole or on the flank depending on the fitness of Aquilani.

For £13m would you like your club to sign him? Let’s hear your views.

Tags: Ajax, Hamburg, Holland, Liverpool, Rafael Van der Vaart, Real Madrid, Tottenham

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 18:42 and is filed under Blog, Home Blogs, Transfer News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.