One of the hottest European prospects is to be unleashed onto Liverpool when they play PSV Eindhoven in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.
The player in question is Ibrahim Afellay, a Dutchman of Moroccan descent who has been with the Dutch champions for the past five seasons.
The young attacking midfielder is considered to be one of the finest of his generation and has already received praise from some of the most well respected people in the game.
Arsenal have been known admirers of the 22-year-old for the last couple of years, and PSV claim that the Gunners sent a scout to watch Afellay play 15 times last season.
Ronald Koeman, the former Dutch centre back, commented, “Ibrahim has certain things in his style that can be compared to Johan Cruyff's game.
“He can speed up with the ball, he can whizz past players as if they are puppets. He has qualities as an attacker which we hardly see these days in football.”
Manchester City were close to signing him on transfer deadline day, but the young Dutchman preferred to stay at PSV as he did not want to rush into a move abroad.
He has a £12m buy-out clause in his contract, and City have said they are willing to out bid anyone to secure his signature.
The first to spot Afellay’s talents outside Holland was Arsene Wenger, who was more than impressed with the impact Afellay made when coming on against Arsenal as a substitute 17 months ago.
The Arsenal boss has been an admirer ever since, and has been monitoring the 22-year-old’s situation carefully.
Liverpool will face a tough test when they come up against him on Wednesday, and it will be up to the player to see if he can triumph over the likes of Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel.
The player in question is Ibrahim Afellay, a Dutchman of Moroccan descent who has been with the Dutch champions for the past five seasons.
The young attacking midfielder is considered to be one of the finest of his generation and has already received praise from some of the most well respected people in the game.
Arsenal have been known admirers of the 22-year-old for the last couple of years, and PSV claim that the Gunners sent a scout to watch Afellay play 15 times last season.
Ronald Koeman, the former Dutch centre back, commented, “Ibrahim has certain things in his style that can be compared to Johan Cruyff's game.
“He can speed up with the ball, he can whizz past players as if they are puppets. He has qualities as an attacker which we hardly see these days in football.”
Manchester City were close to signing him on transfer deadline day, but the young Dutchman preferred to stay at PSV as he did not want to rush into a move abroad.
He has a £12m buy-out clause in his contract, and City have said they are willing to out bid anyone to secure his signature.
The first to spot Afellay’s talents outside Holland was Arsene Wenger, who was more than impressed with the impact Afellay made when coming on against Arsenal as a substitute 17 months ago.
The Arsenal boss has been an admirer ever since, and has been monitoring the 22-year-old’s situation carefully.
Liverpool will face a tough test when they come up against him on Wednesday, and it will be up to the player to see if he can triumph over the likes of Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel.
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