Former Arsenal youth head Terry Burton says he believes a loan spell at Rangers will be hugely beneficial for the young midfielder as it will teach him about the physical side of the game.
A move to the Scottish Championship will certainly expose him to a different kind of football than he’s used to at youth level – if not quite a boy amongst men, he’s going to have learn quickly how to cope with the rough and tumble of competitive league football.
Zelalem, a quick-footed, nimble midfielder with a real eye for a pass, will be up against men bigger and stronger, and Burton believes this to be crucial for his development.
“He’ll have to come to terms with a lot of things but that’s what you have to do if you’re going to be a top footballer,” he told the Daily Record.
“Part of the learning process of going to Rangers will be adapting to the physical side of the game. That’s why you go on loan, to learn things you can’t playing academy football.
“This is the next step in his development and it will be vital for him to get some games under his belt at a good, competitive level.
“He won’t go in and control games but it will be a great experience for him and it’s going to be different for him. With all due respect to Scottish Championship players, it will be a different type of football.”
And on what kind of a player the former Scottish champions will be getting, he said, “Left-footed but very elegant, he reminds me of Paul Davis at Arsenal.
“He’s a very technical player and is good on the ball. He manipulates it quite well. He’s probably a short-range passer rather than long range.
“He’ll play it, get it back. He’s got a decisive final pass in him and can play balls in behind. He likes to keep it moving.”
It’ll be interesting to see how he gets on in Scotland, or indeed another destination as there are English clubs interested too, and how he might have to adapt his game based on the league he’s playing in.
Following in the foot steps of our Arteta!
Emi, Toral, Crowley, Chuba, Zelalem, Jeff, Fortune. Exciting prospects. Future looks bright!
OFF TOPIC
I just read that Alexis Sanchez home town is in a crisis; huge downfall. Alexis himself has financed 2 trucks with first aid kits, water and clothes.
What a man!
http://nyheter24.se/sport/fotboll/807186-stjarnans-hjalp-i-katastrofen-har-inte-glomt-sin-hemstad
Who would dislike this? Hope it was a mistake.
Thought he was right footed for some reason
Same.. If that’s not an error he’s possibly got a better ‘weak’ foot than Santi from what I’ve seen!
He is right-footed.
He’s right footed!
I’m sure Messi was meant to go to rangers on loan at one point. If it’s good enough for him….
As a massive Rangers and a massive Arsenal fan, I would be over the moon if this happens!
He would fit in perfectly with mark warburtons style of football.
What, you mean fit his style like Toral did last year at Brentford? I used to be a fan of Mark Warburton and I thought Brentford would be a perfect place for Toral, but he was given practically no game time at all – just the odd 15 minutes off the bench, despite his ability to get hat-tricks and assists on the rare occasions he was let on the pitch. And Toral is an older and more physically robust player than Zelalem, and the English Championship more skill-focused league than the Scottish one. Thank God, he’s faring much better at… Read more »
That’s like saying ” you need to get over your fear of snakes, play with these cobras”!
Any senior football is more physical than reserves/U21 but the Scottish ‘championship’ is a bit extreme.
That’s what I thought as well. You can’t get better at something by being massively outclassed, it’s like trying to learn to play tennis by having Nadal serve at you (or from personal experience: trying to learn windsurfing in a storm).
Wouldn’t it be better to go somewhere where he at least has a chance in physical duels? This way all he might learn is to stay as far away from opposition players as possible.
i just hope i have the opportunity to watch his progress where ever he goes. He needs this loan opportunity badly
OOOOOOOOOOOOSSPINAAA
Young people probably won’t know what I’m on about when I say Zalelem reminding him of Paul Davis must make him think he will definately deal with the physical side.
Any thugs up there trying it better watch out for their jaws!