Crawley Town added a new wide player to their squad today with the signing of Gyliano van Velzen.
The Dutchman joins on a two-year deal after playing for Jupiler League outfit Roda JC Kerkrade. As a 16-year-old he played in the Manchester United academy after the Premier League giants brought him over to England from the Ajax youth set-up.
While at United, he played with the likes of Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard. The 25-year-old’s desire to play in England and the fact that he knows former-Crawley winger Enzio Boldewijn gave the West Sussex outfit an advantage over his other suitors.
“Gyliano has got a very good pedigree and is someone we have been looking at for several months.” said Crawley Director of Football Selim Gaygusuz.
“In the summer we made contact and although he had other options in Europe, he is very keen to play in England. Fortunately for us, he knows our former player Enzio Boldewijn well and Enzio could not have been more helpful with regards to his positive comments about the club.”
The Reds have made an excellent start to the League Two season and manager Gabriele Cioffi believes the addition of Van Velzen will offer the club a lot in attack.
“Welcome Gyliano to the club. He has a lot to offer us we believe,” said the Italian boss.
“He is strong and quick and can bring assists and goals. The football in Holland is more technical but he has the attributes to make a positive contribution to us.”
Crawley face another League Two surprise package in Macclesfield at the weekend as they look to continue their positive start.