The former Barcelona and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/PSV-c40281 attacking midfielder will join the German team on a season-long loan deal after being no longer needed at Blaugrana.
Schalke have confirmed the capture of the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604 on a loan spell until the end of the current season. The German club were in need of a quality addition to their camp before
the market ended. Therefore, they were negotiating with the La Liga side over the signing of Afellay.
The offensive player is now reported to complete the fitness test for his new side. He joined the Spanish Cup champions in January 2011 but failed to make any significant impact at Barca. However, he did provide an assist for a
crucial goal for the Catalans in the UEFA Champions League semi-final win against Real Madrid that year.
Moreover, his bright start at Barca came under scrutiny as he suffered a long-term injury and missed most of the previous campaign. Barcelona’s new manager Tito Vilanova confirmed that the Dutch star is not expected to feature
for the team regularly and urged the 26-year-old to find another club where he can get more playing time.
The young prodigy claimed that he is respected at the Bundesliga side and said that Schalke are a great team.
"I [can] taste the trust. It's a beautiful club to play for. Schalke is a top club in every way," Afellay stated.
"They always play for the title in the Bundesliga and they're in the group phase of the Champions League. This is what I was looking for. I'm really looking forward to starting here," he mused.
The highly-rated winger blamed the stiff competition led to his departure from the Spanish giants.
"I would be playing, but not as much as I wanted. We [he and Vilanova] both agreed that it would be best that I would leave on loan," explained the Dutchman.
"I had a really warm chat with the coach. He shows trust in me. I'll play around http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Klaas-Jan-Huntelaar-c21175,” he finally concluded.
The move will be finalised soon and Afellay anticipates transferring to the German club by the weekend.
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