Former Netherlands international Rene van der Gijp has offered Feyenoord star Luciano Valente some advice on attracting Arsenal’s attention.
Versatile attacking midfielder Luciano Valente has been growing in stature through his performances for Feyenoord since last season. Having come through the Groningen academy, the midfielder joined Feyenoord last summer and enjoyed a productive first season with the club.
Two goals and seven assists in 32 Eredivisie appearances were considered a positive return from a developmental perspective, while he also earned two caps for the Netherlands. He has started the new campaign strongly, scoring three goals and providing one assist in six league matches.
His early-season form is likely the reason behind some speculation linking him with interest from major clubs. However, former Netherlands international Rene van der Gijp believes such talk may be premature. He has advised Valente to take the right steps in his career rather than rush into a major move at this stage, as reported by Voetbal Primeur.
Rene van der’s Gijp’s advice for Luciano Valente
Pointing to former Ajax star Mohammed Kudus as an example, Van der Gijp said, “I mean, I don’t think Valente is going to become as good as Jude Bellingham, I don’t think so.”
“Even if it is just like Kudus, where you go to West Ham United, so to speak, and do so well there that Arsenal signs you. I don’t really believe he will go straight to the top. He needs to make a stopover, provided he gets a starting spot in Oranje. Then clubs like Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Arsenal will be interested in someone.”
Van der Gijp then further commented on Valente’s potential to reach the highest level, saying, “As long as Frenkie de Jong, Koopmeiners, and Reijnders are still playing there (for the Oranje, ed.), you will soon have to decide a Champions League match, let’s say against FC Barcelona.”
“You can’t do it with the Dutch national team then, and you can’t do it in the Dutch league either. Arsenal scouts aren’t going to Zwolle-Feyenoord. I actually still think that Santiago Gimenez owes his transfer (to AC Milan, ed.) to that one goal against Bayern Munich. I am truly convinced of that. Valente needs to have that luck.”
At present, there are no concrete links between Valente and Arsenal or any other major clubs. Van der Gijp was merely speculating about how other Dutch players have progressed in their careers. Based on his advice, the 22-year-old Dutch talent should continue developing while carefully choosing his next club, much like Kudus did before moving to a bigger side.
As Van der Gijp also stated, Arsenal are unlikely to scout the pool of players Valente currently represents, as the Gunners may have other targets in mind. However, if the 22-year-old continues to develop as Van der Gijp believes he should, there is every chance that clubs such as Arsenal will show an interest in the near future.
