It’s always sad to see an exciting player failing to live up to the potential in his career. That’s how the career of Ibrahim Afellay has panned out.
The exciting Dutchman was considered as one of the biggest prospects in world football when he signed for Barcelona from PSV back in 2010. Ibrahim Afellay appeared 28 times for Barcelona in his debut season but was sent out the following season on loan to Bundesliga side Schalke 04.
Failing to make a mark on loan at Schalke and Olympiakos, he signed for Stoke City in 2015 after being released by Barcelona. Afellay’s injury-hit, frustrating three-and-a-half-years with Stoke came to an end in January when the club decided to terminate his contract.
Now available as a free agent, where will the 32-year-old end up next? Here are two Premier League clubs that should make an attempt to sign Ibrahim Afellay to help their cause for the rest of the season.
Cardiff City have struggled this season since their promotion and are currently placed 18th. The Bluebirds have lacked goals this season, whilst being badly open at the back.
Neil Warnock’s side have only scored 22 times this season and if they are to stay in the Premier League, they need someone to create and finish chances. Emiliano Sala’s tragedy left Cardiff with no time to bring in a replacement and the club needs to find a way to keep themselves in the top flight.
Ibrahim Affelay could be their answer. The Dutchman will come in for free and bring a much-needed spark in attack for the Bluebirds. His creativity can feed the likes of Bobby Reid, Kenneth Zahore and January signing Oumar Niasse, giving Cardiff a much-needed cutting edge to their attack they have lacked all this season.
Huddersfield Town have been awful this season and look all set to go down. With just 11 points in 25 games and 11 points off safety, Jan Siewert’s man will have to pull off something special to stay in the league.
The Terriers have scored just 13 goals this season, with Mathias Jorgensen their top scorer with 3 goals. With all of the top 6 bar Chelsea still to play, any help they can get from now and until the end of the season will be accepted with both hands.
Signing Afellay could be Huddersfield’s last throw of the dice as they attempt to avoid relegation. The former Barcelona attacker’s ability to create chances as well as come up with goals is exactly what Huddersfield need at the moment. With the Dutchman available on a free transfer, the move is a no-brainer.
