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Rumors about a possible transfer of Ibrahim Afellay to Spain and the Netherlands have been gaining momentum in recent time.
It is claimed that the Catalan club is offering between 2 and 4 million euros for the 24-year-old Moroccan-Dutch player from the Eindhoven team.
Afellay's contract with the Dutch team expires next summer, so selling the player in winter would be the only way for PSV to gain some financial benefit. The player, who is not willing to sign a new contract, could leave as a free agent in the summer of 2011.
Although several strong teams are interested in the player, Afellay himself has expressed a preference for moving to Barcelona.
Unofficially, it is claimed that the Catalan club has an advantage over competitors in the transfer market, as the current assistant coach of PSV is a former Barcelona player, Phillip Cocu. Cocu has publicly stated that he would recommend Afellay to move to Barcelona and try his luck in the Spanish league. Furthermore, Cocu has provided a lot of additional information about the 24-year-old player to Barcelona scouts.
Despite attempts to deny rumors about Afellay's possible transfer to Barcelona this week, on Friday evening PSV sports director Marcel Brands confirmed that negotiations between the Dutch and Catalan clubs are indeed taking place.
"I can confirm that Barcelona has contacted us about Afellay. The clubs are currently negotiating," said one of the PSV officials quoted by the Dutch football portal "Voetbal International."
According to unofficial data, Barcelona is offering a five-year contract to the defender.
It is worth noting that "Voetbal International" is considered a fairly reliable source, constantly publishing well-verified information about PSV.
The newspaper "El Mundo Deportivo" in Catalonia reports that Barcelona's vice president Jose Maria Bartomeu is involved in negotiations with PSV. It is said that a meeting has already taken place with the leaders of the Dutch club, and the player's agent, Rob Jansen, has been briefed on the offer from the Catalan club.
