Arsenal to sign breakout Eredivisie star for €60m

Daniel Cabot Kerkdijk

• Updated: 12 Jan 2024 13:30 GMT
• 3 min read

Ismael Saibari of PSV will be the star of the Eredivisie in the second half of the season, former Feyenoord striker Ali Boussaboun expects.

The ex-pro has high expectations of the attacking midfielder, who will be active with Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in the coming weeks. “Saibari is great. He has beautiful technique, is so strong and really a team player,” says Boussaboun in conversation with NU.nl.

“And he is so humble that you almost want to hug him.” Although Saibari will not be available for PSV in the coming weeks, Boussaboun thinks that the Eindhoven club will actually benefit from his absence.

“That is also beneficial for PSV. If Saibari does well there, his market value will increase by €10 or €20 million.” According to the FootballTransfers algorithm, the Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of the 22-year-old attacking midfielder of the Eindhoven team is currently €7.1m.

Arsenal's next star?

“I wouldn't be surprised if Arsenal pick him up after the season. If PSV sell him for less than €60m, they will have failed," Boussaboun even asserts, using Mikel Arteta's Gunners as an example of the calibre of club that could be attracted to the Moroccan.

Saibari was signed from KRC Genk by PSV in 2020. At the age of 19, he became available for a relatively low fee, after he had been scouted for quite some time. Just like Johan Bakayoko, he needed a decent acclimatisation period in the Dutch second tier, the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, to reach to the next phase in terms of his development.

Saibari's tally for PSV's senior side now stands at 55 official matches, in which he has notched seven goals, five assists and averaged 41 playing minutes per match. The upcoming tournament will be Saibari's first proper Africa Cup.

The four-time Moroccan international shone last summer during the Africa Cup of Nations junior tournament. There, he won the title with Morocco. His debut as a senior international followed in September and that was also the month in which he signed a new contract with PSV until 2028.