Van Gaal factor excites Pellè

Italy Under-21 striker Graziano Pellè is relishing the opportunity to play under "the best coach in the world" after agreeing to join Louis van Gaal's AZ Alkmaar on a five-year contract from US Lecce.

Loan spells
The 1.93m-tall 22-year-old, who scored ten goals in 38 Serie B games on loan at AC Cesena last season, made his Serie A debut with Lecce in 2004 before spending two seasons on loan at Calcio Catania and Crotone Calcio. Pellè also has previous experience of the Netherlands, having appeared three times for the Azzurrini in June's UEFA European Under-21 Championship. "I think Louis van Gaal is the best coach in the world and I hope to learn a lot from him in the coming years," he said.

Examples to follow
"If I do well in the Netherlands, I hope to follow the example of Zlatan Ibrahimović and Marco van Basten and move to a big club in Italy," he added. "Both of those strikers laid the foundations for their future career in the Netherlands and are examples I'd love to follow." AZ will compete in the UEFA Cup first round this season having narrowly missed out on UEFA Champions League football.