One of the most prolific centre-forwards in European football ‘has ambitions in the Premier League’.
And that’s handy, particularly as a couple of clubs based in England’s top flight have ‘ambitions’ of signing him too.
We reported during the January transfer window that West Ham United and Fulham had sent scouts to watch a man who ended up sharing the Golden Boot award during much of the first half of the current campaign.
The forward’s form proved to be equally impressive after Christmas.
Only PSV Eindhoven captain Luuk de Jong – the one-time Newcastle loanee – could keep up with Vangelis Pavlidis at the top of the scoring charts, the prolific duo leaving Tottenham target Santiago Gimenez choking on their dust.
Pavlidis, the silky, skilful, Salsa dancer of a striker, ended the 2023/24 Eredivisie campaign with a career-best tally of 29. In all competitions, he hit 33.
And Pascal Jansen, who watched Pavlidis develop from a good striker into a potentially great one at AZ, knows that the 25-year-old would seize the opportunity to prove he can make the step up from the Eredivisie to the Premier League, like Luis Suarez, Ruud van Nistelrooy and co before him.
West Ham United and Fulham like Vangelis Pavlidis
“A special boy, with a great personality. He came to us from Willem II and had a number of things very clearly in mind which he wanted to achieve,” Jansen recalls, speaking to Voetbal Primeur.
“He has gotten better every year. The numbers show that. But, above all, he is a fantastic professional. A great guy too.
“He has ambitions in the Premier League and the Bundesliga. I would advise him to move to the middle or the sub-top, because there he has the best chance of taking the steps he also took at AZ.”
West Ham and Fulham certainly feel like a solid next step, even if The Hammers track record when working alongside gifted number nines may be a little concerning. Julen Lopetegui, set to replace David Moyes at the London Stadium, could look to bring his former Sevilla star Youssef En-Nesyri to England but Pavlidis should come a bit cheaper.
HITC understands that Crystal Palace are admirers too. Though it remains to be seen if that interest remains, following Jean-Philippe Mateta’s extraordinary run of form under Oliver Glasner.
“For me, (Pavlidis) is the player of the year,” says Theo Janssen, the former Ajax midfielder who now works as a coach at Vitesse Arnhem.
“If you look at the Eredivisie, who has made the biggest impression? Who has played the best football? If you look at who has had the most impact at his club, it is him, clearly.”
A new striker required at West Ham United
HITC have been told that West Ham also like Atletico Madrid youngster Samu Omorodion and Sporting Lisbon’s 43-goal talisman Viktor Gyokeres, although the latter feels an ambitious target to say the least with a near-£90 million release clause in his contract.
Pavlidis, who’s own price-tag remains a mystery for the time being, is open to leaving Dutch football too after five years in the Netherlands.
“Are there things going on (regarding a transfer)? I don’t talk about that now, I prefer to keep that to myself,” the one-time Borussia Dortmund youngster told De Telegraaf in the winter.
“It is clear that I am physically and technically ready to take the next step.”
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