Rasmus Elm

(Profile posted on 20/04/2012)



Date of Birth: - 17th March 1988.



Nationality - Swedish.



Height: - 6ft 0inches.



Position: - Midfielder.



Club History: - Kalmar FF



- AZ Alkmaar.





Linked With: - Manchester United

- Juventus

- Liverpool



Estimated Market Value: - 8 million pounds





Club Career



Kalmar FF:

At the age of 15, Elm was taken on by Swedish side Kalmar FF. After spending roughly 1 year developing throughout the youth system, Elm was then given an opportunity with a few substitute appearances in the 2006/2007 season after impressing with the youth side. In the 2007/2008 season, Elm had become a more regular feature in the first team and began to make the midfield position his own. In the following season again, Elm sealed his starting place and began to attract attention from a few European teams.









AZ Alkmaar:

27th August 2009 - Elm signed a 4-year deal with Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar, at the age of 21.



12th September 2009 - Elm made his debut in the 2-1 loss against ADO Den Haag. However, his first season, as well as his second season was very short lived, due to constant injury (nothing severe) was inconveniant enough to limit him to the substitute bench. After suffering from injuries and illness' alike during his first 2 seasons for AZ, Elm really found his form in the 2011/2012 season. So far he has played almost every single game for the club with no injury, and impressed in pretty much every game he's played. During this season, Elm has managed to receive several man of the match awards as well as becoming a fan favourite, as well as a bit of a superstar with the local media etc. Elm has been praised this season with his passing range and ability, as well as his set-piece ability, whether it's shooting or assist creation.











International Career:

There isn't much detail on Elm's international career, but he is currently a regular for Sweden National team after captaining the U21's as well as U20's in his short international career. Since 2009 he has appeared in 22 games for Sweden, scoring just the 1 goal.









Career Statistics:

Kalmar FF: - 96 appearances, 18 goals.



AZ Alkmaar (as of 30/04/2012): - 68 apperances, 16 goals.

(roughly 30 appearances and 12 goals this season alone).











General Comments:

First off, this is a very short profile as this profile has been mega rushed for all of you Liverpool fans desperate to know about the player that your club has just enquired for and looks likely to bid for and sign. I'm not saying the deal with 100% go through, as there is still a medical and personal terms that need to be discussed etc, so it could still fall through. However, it'd be unlikely for him not to sign for Liverpool as he's actually said he'd love to join LFC.

My thoughts on this player are fairly mixed, as I haven't seen an awful lot on him due to the time constraints etc, and the desire for all of you fans to just find out the basics. Elm is an absolute class act with regards to his set piece ability, and his shooting ability. I've watched countless of his set pieces and this bloke is so accurate, whether it be him shooting or creating a chance for a team-mate.

He's also very level-headed, and seems to show signs that of a leader, which is always a good attribute for a midfielder to have. Elm also seems like he also has some level of technical ability, and can whip out some tricks when necessary in order to get past defences etc, but primarily to pass to other players.

I haven't seen anything of him taking on players as such, and he seems to lack defensive ability from the midfield from what I've seen, probably due to the fact he isn't the quickest of players. Does he have potential? Yes he does, but he needs to get more pace in my opinion or the English League will just kill him.

I know most of you fans are using YouTube at the moment etc to find out how good he is, and I know you're all seeing brilliance from it, but remember, those videos only show the best from players, and ignore the worst of players. So in my honest opinion, he's a fairly good buy at 8 million pounds, but you have to ask the question of, why was he bought? The midfield is a tad overpopulated and Elm seems to be fairly similar to the ability of Adam, which Liverpool already have. So could this see the end of Adam at LFC? We'll certainly see in the coming months.



If you have any questions, feel free to comment on the profile or send in a form and I'll get back to you with as much detail as possible, as information is still coming in.



Thanks all,



Ed022-}