Ibrahim Afellay has had a rough past since joining Barcelona in 2011. After playing 217 games at PSV Eindhoven, he went on to play only 35 games for the Blaugrana, spending time out on loan at Schalke and Olympiacos. Due to injury, his potential ability was severely hindered. Nonetheless, he has been signed by Stoke City and is expected to feature heavily for the team in the upcoming season. How will he cope in arguably the best league in the world, recovering from a few below par seasons?
Afellay has won countless trophies at Barcelona, including the Champions League but can he adjust to the fact that Stoke City will not be world beaters? The explosive winger has immense ability, however, he has had world class players to help him develop. Now that Afellay is 29 and away from a club with the status of Barca, he must stand up and become a leader for his new team.
This is the perfect time to sign for Stoke City due to the fact that they are lacking in wide-midfielders. Marco Arnautovic, Mame Diouf, Peter Odemwingie and Johnathan Walters are the only players that can play as a winger. While Afellay may not be as good as the first two on the list, the latter are aging and will benefit from a rest once in a while. If he can perform early in the season he is in line for a position in the starting XI. However, if Afellay cannot make his mark early, then he can contribute off-the-bench with the plethora of positions that he is able to fill.
Allefay should not have trouble adapting to the new surroundings, as Mark Hughes has deployed some Barcelona-like tactics for a while now. Their new style will also help him score more goals, as he only recorded six goals in 27 games at Olympiacos. The winger likes to cut into the box and needs to find the net, or play a part in the scoring of goals this season. He will certainly have a few options to link up with going forward, as Afellay is joined by fellow Dutch nationals Erik Pieters and loanee Marco van Ginkel. Although he may be trying to forget his past experiences at Barcelona, he is also joined by former teammates Bojan, Marc Muniesa and Moha El Ouriachi.
Even though Afellay has been playing for Kokkinoi in the Greek Superleague, he was chosen to play for the national team two times this season. This shows that the boss Danny Blind sees his ability, as did Mark Hughes when the Stoke City boss convinced the Dutch man to pen a two-year deal.
Club CEO Tony Scholes stated that “he’s clearly excited about the prospect of playing in the Premier League, and the fact that he knows so many players who are already at the Club will no doubt help him settle into his new surroundings.”
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Meanwhile, Stoke City has arrived in Evian for their training camp ahead of the Colonia Cup which features FC Porto, Valencia and FC Koln playing against the Potters. Afellay is expected to appear in the competition in front of over 10,000 travelling fans. Although he is not expected to thrive in red and white yet, look for the winger to shake-off the stigma that comes with his name. Hopefully then he can get what is left of his career on track and focus on the future.
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