Alexander Hleb: The Perfect Summer Signing for Sunderland or Birmingham?
Former Arsenal star Alexander Hleb will be on the move again this summer after declaring his unhappiness at Stuttgart. The Belarusian had moved to his former club on a season long loan deal from Barcelona. However, he is not happy with the way former Tottenham manager Christian Gross is using him and the amount of times he has been substituted. Hleb’s latest comments will alert a number of English clubs to his availability. It would be no real surprise if he was to return to these shores as Hleb was highly regarded for the his performances with the Gunners and the likes of Birmingham and Sunderland are sure to be interested.
The 28-year-old reacted to being substituted for the 9th successive league game by declaring sarcastically, “My contract says I can only play 60 minutes a game.”
“But the team plays much better without me and so Gross did the right thing.
“I do not know what he expects from me, but I have a problem with him. We talked, but nothing was achieved. My chances of staying here? Zero per cent.”
The player himself is reported to be keen to return to England after unhappy spells in Spain and Germany. Hleb is likely to get a chance too with Alex McLeish aiming to spend in the summer to build on Birmingham’s excellent first season back in the Premier League. McLeish has built a strong team that his hard to beat but goal scoring has been a particular problem for the Blues. Hleb is not the most prolific of players by any means but he is extremely creative and would provide Birmingham with something very different from their efficient, combative midfield. Lee Bowyer has been a fine source of goals for the Blues but his ability to time his runs into the box would be ideal for Hleb who could always pick out a pass.
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The Belarusian would also be something of a trophy signing for Birmingham as the club looks to build on this season’s performances and the financial boost provided by Carson Yeung. Another potential suitor would be Sunderland. Steve Bruce will not be happy with how the Black Cats season has deteriorated after heavily investing in the squad during the summer. If the Wearside club can avoid relegation, Bruce is sure to be backed to continue to build on the squad and if so, the lack of creativity and composure shown in midfield will be addressed. Lee Cattermole and Lorik Cana provide a strong central midfield partnership but the addition of Hleb to the side would provide the Black Cats with a player who can quickly set attacks in motion which would enable Sunderland to be more of a threat away from the Stadium of Light.
Since returning to the Bundesliga in the summer, Hleb has made 21 league appearances (20 starts) without scoring. However, it is the number of times he has been substituted which has annoyed the Belarusian. Of those 20 league starts, Hleb has been taken off in fifteen of them. After a tough 2008/09 season struggling for football at Barcelona, this is not what the attacking midfield man wants.
Hleb started just 8 League games from his 19 appearances in his only season at the Camp Nou so the consistent substitutions have unsurprisingly riled the player. If he was to join either Sunderland or Birmingham, he is very likely to be a key player at the respective clubs which seems to be what he needs at this time in his career. If you’d have suggested Hleb could have been playing for either club a year ago, it would have been hard to believe. However, both the Black Cats and the Blues are ambitious clubs with funds available to significantly strengthen this summer and a player with the proven ability to impress in English football would be an excellent target. This season both Sunderland and Birmingham have perhaps lacked the cutting edge the quick-footed midfielder can readily provide. His versatility should also appeal as Hleb can play on either wing, through the centre or off the forward in the ‘hole’.
The Minsk born star made 89 League appearances in his 3 seasons with the Gunners scoring 7 goals before leaving for £11.8m in the summer of 2008. He made little impact at the Nou Camp as Barca were in scintillating form winning a trio of major trophies but has shown his quality this season at Stuttgart.
Hleb’s route into the Barcelona first team was blocked by some of the best attacking players in the world in the shape of Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi, so its hardly surprising that he struggled to get a game there. He will return from his loan spell this summer to exactly the same situation as before, so is highly likely to be sold.
Hleb’s return to Germany has been something of an anti-climax as he starred in his previous 5 seasons in the Bundesliga where he earned the nickname ‘Zauberlehrling’ or Wizard’s apprentice’ for his trickery. Both Sunderland and Birmingham need more guile and trickery in their respective teams and with Hleb likely to be sold at a knockdown £5m price, he would surely be a bargain. The Belarusian has not played a lot of football over the past two seasons so should arguably be fresher than he was when at Arsenal. Whether his individual qualities could be incorporated into Alex McLeish’s structured team is debatable but if the Blues are going to improve then this is type of quality they should be targeting. The same can be said of the Black Cats. However, Steve Bruce needs to improve his team in a number of areas so expect a busy summer at the Stadium of Light if they can stay up.
He has won 50 caps for his country and earned the Belarusian Player of the Year title on 6 occasions. Despite playing for a number of big clubs Hleb’s only club honour prior to last season was the Belarusian Premier League title in 1999. He had been Bundesliga runner-up in 2003, Champions League runner-up in 2006 and League Cup runner-up in 2007.
Would you like your club to sign Alexander Hleb this summer? Is this the sort of quality your team needs or do you think the Belarusian is over the hill at 28? Let’s hear your views.
Tags: Alexander Hleb, Arsenal, Birmingham, Football betting, Football Pools, Premier League, Sunderland, Super 6
March 1st, 2010 at 16:50
Obviously, you don’t know what you are talking about and i strongly believe you have never watch enough football. Helb has never been creative as a player other than a good ball control player. He cannot shoot as well, enough said.
March 1st, 2010 at 16:59
You obviously know nothing musher, Hleb is a perfect link player, can beat players and create havoc, just look at the videos and stick to knowing nothing!