Liverpool have been alerted to the availability of Dutch
winger Ibrahim Afellay after Schalke revealed they will not look to extend the
26-year-old's current season-long loan deal.
Talksport have reported that the German club's sporting
director, Horst Heldt, has confirmed Afellay will return to parent club
Barcelona at the end of the season, and the Catalan giants will again try to
offload the Dutchman, who is deemed surplus to requirements in Spain.
Liverpool are believed to be most eager to bring Afellay to
the Premier League, but Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are also interested.
Afellay has had limited first-team chances at Barcelona
since his £2m move from PSV Eindhoven in 2010, having only made 33 appearances
across three seasons at the Nou Camp.
The winger was loaned to Bundesliga side Schalke at the
beginning of this campaign and has racked up 15 appearances across all
competitions, scoring three goals.
Afellay, who has 44 caps for the Netherlands, has not
featured since November because of injury problems, including a torn thigh
muscle that has kept him on the sidelines for the past two months.
Were he to join Liverpool, the Dutchman would fight for
first-team chances alongside a plethora of talent, with Raheem Sterling,
Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, Stewart Downing, Fabio Borini and Suso all
available to Anfield chief Brendan Rodgers.
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