Raheem Sterling and Robin van Persie both have great chances of being linked to Feyenoord – but one will be worth it.
That’s the opinion of European football expert Andy Brassell, who agreed the England star could be tested in a surprising new role.
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Sterling agreed a surprise move to the Eredivisie as a free agent earlier this month after being released by Chelsea earlier this year.
The 31-year-old is waiting for a work permit. Van Persie is moving training to Belgium so that the winger can take part in the training sessions.
The Pitch Prospect understands that around 18 clubs made inquiries before the winger decided to sign a contract with Van Persie’s team.
One of these clubs was Feyenoord’s domestic rivals Ajax, who are among their rivals for automatic Champions League qualification.
“De Club aan de Maas” is only three points ahead of NEC and Ajax in second place, but still has to play against both clubs before the end of the season.
“A lot depends on Sterling and Van Persie”
Brassell, who tipped Sterling to join a club with a similar reputation to Feyenoord, has admitted there is just as much at stake for his new coach.
Van Persie has been under pressure this season Quinten Timber, twin brother of arsenalThis is Jurrienhad already recalled him to Marseille weeks before his departure from the Dutch club.
“There’s a lot at stake with both of them and Sterling really needs to mention Robin Van Persie and also the sporting director by name when he signed and say those are the guys who convinced me to say he really wanted to come and work with Van Persie,” Brassell said.
“I think this is really interesting because as you say, Van Persie is not universally popular at De Kuip and he is not particularly comfortable in his position at the moment.”
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“So you think they go into the game against the Go Ahead Eagles at the weekend, which they narrowly won against ten men, and my goodness, they could have done with a well-suited Raheem Sterling for that game.”
“They are not at their best and Van Persie is under a lot of pressure,” Brassell added to The Pitch Prospect.com.
“Now we know that the title is lost, PSV lost at the weekend, but despite the victories of Feyenoord and Ajax, PSV is still 14 points ahead. It’s done.”
“But for Feyenoord it’s hugely important to reach the Champions League. I think it’s interesting considering there are reports in the Netherlands that Raheem Sterling was also offered to Ajax and they were shy about how much money it was and how quickly or not quickly they could get him fit.”
“You can put it not only in the context of Sterling and Van Persie, but also in the way the Champions League race is going in the Eredivisie, because if Sterling gets fit and helps Feyenoord finish second instead of third, that will be another blow to the Ajax team.”
“So there are big problems for many people in the Netherlands, and not just for these two, I think.”
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Sterling new role
The England international will of course be expected to feature on the wings in Van Persie’s 4-2-3-1 system once he gets going.
But Feyenoord already has a wealth of wide players, including Anis Hadj-Moussa, Aymen Sliti and Gonçalo Borges.
In contrast, a serious injury to Van Persie’s son Shaqueel has left Feyenoord slightly ahead and Ayase Ueda hitting form.
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A possible solution would be for Sterling to operate as a false nine, as he previously did under Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel.
But the first time the 82-time Three Lions star led an attack on his own came when he broke through the front lines in Liverpool.
Ironically, Sterling was used as a false nine by Brendan Rodgers in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in December 2014 – a game in which his opposite number Van Persie scored the third goal.
Agreeing on the prospect of Sterling playing that role under the Dutchman more than a decade later, Brassell added: “Yeah, I wonder.”
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“Obviously it’s a more lenient league in terms of physicality and quality than some of the others he would have joined.”
A lot of people have denounced Serie A, but in the game as a whole you get the feeling that this guy hasn’t played football regularly for a long time. How quickly can we get him to this place?
“I find it interesting that they had a few little problems if Van Persie were to use him in a wide position, which he might do.”
“They have good outside players, there’s no doubt about that.”
“Look at Gonçalo Borges. You see Anis Hadj-Moussa on the other side. He’s a really good player, but he also had personal conflict issues with Van Persie.”
“How they will find the balance up front, especially because Ueda has also been a little weak in terms of goals lately, having had a brilliant season so far, which is not at all consistent with the rest of his career, where he looked like a good but not an exceptional player.”
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“It will be really interesting to see where Sterling will be used, but if he can have a say at the end of the Champions League race in the Eredivisie it would have a huge impact, not just for everyone at Feyenoord but also for Ajax.”
“If it’s the signing that gets you into the Champions League, it’s definitely worth it, isn’t it?
“And then I think Sterling and Feyenoord will reassess their situation from there.”