Leeds United and Aston Villa must move quickly if they want to bring Branco van den Boomen to the Premier League with the contract-rebel midfielder receiving offers from Galatasaray and PSV Eindhoven.
A month ago, Planet Football crunched the numbers and ranked the ten players with the most ‘shot-creating actions’ in Europe’s top five leagues. Among them, as you’d expect, was a selection of usual suspects; Lionel Messi, Vinicius Jr, Martin Odegaard, Kevin de Bruyne, Bukayo Saka, Bruno Fernandes.
But sneaking into tenth spot was Branco van den Boomen. The very definition of a late-blooming talent, it has taken until the age of 27 for the former Netherlands U18 international to really make his mark in one of the continent’s major leagues, having played second-tier football with FC Eindhoven and De Graafschaap until recently.
Only Messi creates more chances than him in Ligue 1.
Second only to Lionel Messi in Ligue 1
Van den Boomen, one of Europe’s finest set-piece specialists, has 13 assists and six goals of his own during an outstanding 2022/23 season at Toulouse. And understandably, with his contract expiring in a matter of weeks, the one-time Ajax prospect is determined to ensure that an opportunity to secure the biggest and most high-profile move of his career does not pass him by; FootMercato reporting that Van den Boom is ‘refusing’ the chance to extend his current deal with Les Violets.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Leeds United and Aston Villa are among his admirers.
Turkish Super Lig leaders Galatasaray appear to be in pole position, however, having submitted an offer for the stylish midfielder. Ditto PSV; the Dutch giants offering Van den Boomen the chance to return to Eindhoven.
“I just give the ball to Branco. He has an amazing right foot,” Toulouse team-mate Stijn Spierings tells the Ligue 1 website. “And he has the vision. You see the qualities he has. He’s really good and yes, when I need to give the ball to somebody in the team, I will give the ball to Branco.”
Leeds’ hopes of luring Van den Boomen to Elland Road could suffer a fatal blow next weekend; relegation will be confirmed if they lose at home to Tottenham. Aston Villa can offer him the chance to play a major role in Unai Emery’s revolution, while Galatasaray and PSV can put European football on the table.
And while some may question if Van den Boomen is anything more than a mere ‘one season wonder’, the player himself certainly isn’t lacking in self-confidence.
“Everyone knows about my ability from set pieces,” Van den Boomen tells L’Equipe. “But passes at the right tempo and into the right zone are my biggest strength.
“In other areas, I’m perhaps not at the level of other players. But, in terms of passing, few are as good as me.”
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