Saturday, 2nd February, 2013

Ajax beat off competition from English giants Liverpool to sign striker Isaac Cuenca on loan from Barcelona it has emerged.

Cuenca has headed to the Amsterdam ArenA until the end of the season to increase his playing time after a spell out through injury relegated him down the Camp Nou pecking order.



For Ajax, securing the exciting winger-cum-forward is a coup, and one that tastes all the sweeter given that they beat Liverpool to the 21-year-old’s signature.

According to Dutch daily De Telegraaf, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers even made a personal trip to Catalonia in an effort to persuade Barcelona and Cuenca to make Anfield the player’s destination – but to no avail.

relatedNewsStory


The presence of Frank de Boer as Ajax coach, Marc Overmars as director of football (two Barcelona old boys) and the football played by the Dutch champions, swung the deal.

Cuenca has insisted that he feels Ajax play the game similarly to Barcelona and the philosophy in action at the Amsterdam ArenA will suit him perfectly.

In a further boost for Ajax, Cuenca is eligible to play for the club in their Europa League campaign and could feature against Steaua Bucharest on 14th and 21st February.

The Spaniard will not turn out for Ajax in this weekend’s match against VVV Venlo however, with De Boer keen to put him through his paces in training first.

If you’re betting on football this weekend make sure you check out Inside Bet first!