Monday, 15th October, 2012

Oussama Assaidi can more than make the grade at Liverpool if he is given the time do so, in the opinion of one of the Moroccan’s former managers, Ron Jans.

The Dutchman coached the speedy winger at Eredivisie outfit Heerenveen between 2010 and 2012, before they both left the club this summer.

relatedNewsStoryAs Assaidi was snapped up by Liverpool for just €3M, Jans headed over the Dutch border to Belgium, taking over at Jupiler Pro League giants Standard Liege.


He is clear on his opinion of Assaidi and has backed the 24-year-old to assert himself at Anfield in time.

"When Oussama first played at Heerenveen he had three different managers in one year and the last of those didn’t give him a real chance", Jans explained to LFC Magazine.

"But as soon as I became coach I knew he could be a good footballer.


"He’s very good in one-against-one situations when he’s attacking defenders. He turns them left and right and when he was full of confidence he was a really special player, scoring goals and making a lot of assists.

"He had a really good season in 2010-11 and last year there was lots of interest in him."

And the former Groningen boss was left drooling at some of Assaidi’s performances under his leadership in the 2011/12 campaign, with a clash against FC Twente really standing out.

"He had some great moments such as the game against FC Twente. Sometimes in your life you play a perfect game", said Jans.

"Oussama scored a hat-trick and gave three assists and we won 6-2 against one of the best teams in Holland."

Jans does stress though that Assaidi must be given the chance to adapt to the demands of football in England, with the physicality something the winger will have to learn to cope with – and when he does, the Dutchman believes Liverpool will have an absolute gem.

"It will take him time to get used to the Premier League. Defenders are likely to be quite physical against him but once he gets used to that he can be amazing."

Read all about Liverpool’s Oussama Assaidi and why he had been nicknamed the ‘Maghrebian Messi’.


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