Stoke City made their eighth signing of the summer yesterday afternoon, snapping up Dutch winger Ibrahim Afellay. The 29-year-old arrives on a two-year deal after his contract at Barcelona expired over the close season, becoming the fourth former player from the La Liga club to make the move to the Britannia.
Discussing the deal yesterday afternoon, the Potters’ assistant boss Mark Bowen revealed that Afellay has been on Mark Hughes’ radar for a number of years:
“He’s obviously got a fantastic pedigree. He’s been unlucky over the years with injuries and two or three really bad injuries have made his career stutter a bit. Realistically, that’s one of the reasons Stoke have been able to acquire him. When we were at Man City, Mark tried to bring him in then, so we’ve finally got our man and we know the qualities he will bring. It’s just a case of keeping him fit and well, but last year he played 29 times for Olympiacos and so he proved he can manage his fitness.”
The History
Brought up in Utrecht, Netherlands, Afellay started out at local club VSK, before joining USV Elinkwijk one year later. From 1996, he spent seven years cutting his teeth at PSV Eindhoven’s youth academy, making his senior debut in a Dutch cup fixture at the age of 17.
After recording two appearances in the 2003/04 Eredivisie campaign, Afellay enjoyed an increased role the next term but was restricted to just seven outings (two goals and a pair of assists) because of a broken toe. The 2005/06 season saw the Netherlands international installed as a regular starter, with Afellay managing two goals and an assist in 23 league outings.
Over the next five seasons, the Utrecht-born wide man evolved into a key player for the Peasants, tallying 32 goals and 16 assists in 127 appearances. Barcelona then came calling, snapping up Afellay in the 2011 January transfer window.
Afellay got a run out in all but six of the Catalan giant’s remaining La Liga ties that term, notching one goal in 16 outings. He required surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament rupture in September the following year, limiting him to four appearances. Informed by Barca boss Tito Villanova that he’d struggle to earn pitch time during the 2012/13 season, Afellay chose to team up with Schalke on a season-long loan deal.
A solid start with the Bundesliga outfit – which harvested two goals in 10 outings – was soon curtailed as injury struck again: Afellay sustained successive muscle tears that ruled him out for the remainder of the season. More surgery sidelined him for the first half of the 2013/14 La Liga campaign, with the fleet-footed Dutchman clocking up just four minutes upon his return to the Barca set-up. Afellay then spent last term on loan to Olympiacos, where he bagged four goals and three assists across 19 appearances.
Notwithstanding his pockmarked injury record, Afellay has chalked up an impressive 50 caps for Oranje, netting six goals in the process. He wasn’t involved in the 23-man squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup but has made five starts for Netherlands since that tournament.
The Prospects
A left winger by trade, Afellay will be hoping to fill the void left upon the expiry of Victor Moses’ loan deal. Certainly, the fact that Jose Mourinho has been willing to afford the Nigerian international significant minutes in pre-season suggests that he’s looking to incorporate him into the Blues’ squad next term, ruling out a return to the Britannia.
Assuming Hughes retains his favoured 4-2-3-1 set-up when the new season gets underway, Afellay is likely to challenge Marko Arnautovic for starts on the left flank. There’s certainly no guarantee that the Potters’ newest recruit will triumph in that internal contest, however, given that Arnautovic has excelled during the close season, netting once in two outings and generally injecting a touch of class into Stoke’s offensive repertoire.
A more likely scenario will find Arnautovic – as the most versatile of the pair – shifted out to the right flank, with Afellay hugging the left touchline and Bojan Krkic operating at the number ten berth. As a consequence, Jonathan Walters – who’s missed just 14 league ties during his five years at the Staffordshire club – can no longer boast security of starts, lessening his appeal as a mid-priced asset.
This scenario, of course, would require the Dutchman to remain injury free for the upcoming campaign – given that the last time he tallied 20 or more appearances in a season was back in 2009/10 with PSV, it’s fair to say that there has to be question marks over his ability to steer clear of the treatment table. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that reports today in the Ukrainain press indicate the Potters are still chasing the £14m-rated Andriy Yarmolenko from Dynamo Kiev. The winger has already talked positively over a potential move to the Britannia and, should he also arrive, would surely leap up the pecking order, given the substantial outlay.
In terms of pricing, Afellay looks likely to come in around 6.0 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, putting him on a par with the rest of Stoke’s main midfielders such as Arnautovic, Walters and Charlie Adam.
Looking at the fixtures, Stoke’s opening run (LIV, tot, nor, WBA, ars,) is likely to temper any major interest in Hughes’ main assets until the schedule smiles kindly from Gameweek 6 onwards. By then, we should get a better idea of whether the Dutchman can make his mark in Hughes’ first XI or whether the Potters boss will court caution with his fitness over the first few months in order to avoid any further injury setbacks.
Further Reference
Ibrahim Afellay Wikipedia Page
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