Wednesday 24 December 2008

Hull, Arsenal, Blackburn & Everton On Alert As Ajax Bid For Elia Is Rejected

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Premier League clubs Arsenal, Hull City, Everton and Blackburn Rovers, will be on alert today after Eredivisie club FC Twente revealed that they have rejected a bid from Dutch rivals Ajax for winger Eljero Elia.

21-year-old Elia has attracted strong interest from the Premiership, but Ajax, are the first club to make a firm offer for the Dutch International. However, with so many clubs interested in the talented Dutchman, Twente chairman Joop Munsterman has revealed the bid by Ajax to lure Elia to the Amsterdam Arena, which he has confirmed was rejected out of hand and even went as far as to call the offer an “insult”.

“Ajax have made an offer for Eljero [Elia], but we're not even considering it,” Munsterman told TC/Tubantia.

“Ajax's offer was an insult for a player of Elia's level.”



The Tigers along with the Toffees and Blackburn are believed to have watched Elia in former England manager Steve McClaren’s Twente side that played Manchester City in the UEFA Cup recently at the Eastlands Stadium. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is understood to have been at the European clash to run the rule over Elia personally.

Elia, who joined Twente from ADO Den Haag in 2007 had attracted attention from La Liga side Valencia in the summer, but opted against a move to the Mestalla and revealed a desire to ply his trade in England one day.

McClaren has used Elia on the wing this season, but the player can play as a secondary striker and has scored 7 goals in 45 appearances for the Reds. Elia still has more than two-years to run on his present deal at the Grolsh Veste, but it is understood that Twente will not stand in the players way should a decent offer and the Premier League beckon in January.

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