The lowdown from IMScouting.com on one of the finest talents in the Eredivisie, who could well be playing for a major European club next season.
The lowdown from IMScouting.com on one of the finest talents in the Eredivisie, who could well be playing for a major European club next season.
With AZ Alkmaar currently eleven points clear in Holland and leaving the likes of PSV and Ajax for dust, it will come as no major surprise if Louis van Gaal’s side are dismantled at the end of their likely title winning campaign.
Strikers Ari and Mounir El Hamdaoui have undoubtedly impressed and goalkeeper Sergio Romero could be another player to watch. But the AZ player who could be most in demand is their attacking midfielder Moussa Dembele.
The 21-year-old Belgian international (four goals in 18 games) has been well known to football fans in Holland for some time. Nine goals for Willem II in the 2005/2006 season alerted bigger clubs to his talent and he has impressed since joining AZ the following season.
Dembele’s preferred position is behind the frontline as a supporting striker but he can play on either wing as well as up front. The fact that he is two-footed gives him options to play all along the front line and his rangy skilful style has seen him score some terrific goals after running at defenders.
IMScouting’s network of scouts in Holland describe Dembele as a “top class player, highly skilled playmaker who functions best in a free roll. No10 in the hole between the midfield and striker. Shoots well with both feed and is difficult to stop.”
This season, despite missing nearly three months due to a knee injury, Dembele has scored six goals and provided two assists in 15 appearances. At the end of February he scored another fine goal, in a 3-0 win over Groningen, running from deep and planting a powerful left foot strike into the top corner.
Whilst AZ will be braced for bigger teams to try and prise their starlet away from the club, Dembele is contracted to the league leaders until the end of the 2011/2012 season.
In recent weeks, Dembele has been linked with a move to Arsenal for 5 million euros, scouts in Holland however believe he could be worth closer to 10 million euros.
Click here for the IMScouting website.
(Many more players to watch from around the globe can be seen on the IMScouting website. The IMScouting database is used by some of the biggest clubs in the world to find new talent, including Borussia Dortmund, Panathinaikos and Lille.)