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Lille snags Ajax youth product El Ghazi for reported €7M fee

Toussaint Kluiters / Reuters

Lille saved its only business of the January transfer window for deadline day, signing highly rated Dutch attacker Anwar El Ghazi from Ajax on a four-and-a-half-year contract.

The 21-year-old arrived in northern France for a €7-million fee, according to L'Equipe.

Paraguayan defender Junior Alonso, on-loan Monaco midfielder Fares Bahlouli, and 18-year-old Agim Zeka also joined the mid-table French side Tuesday.

Lille, with just 21 goals in 22 Ligue 1 outings, desperately needs help in the attacking department. Although El Ghazi scored just two senior goals for Ajax this season, spending a chunk of time in November with the reserve team after a training-ground bust-up, he is still considered an electric winger who can also play in a central role.

"My goal is to fight for the club, goals will come later," said El Ghazi in a statement.

The likes of Liverpool and AC Milan were linked with the youngster, but Lille's past as a hotbed for talent, including former player Eden Hazard, impressed El Ghazi.

Standing at 6-foot-2, he is still a quick and technical footballer. His commitment and attitude toward the cause remains a big question, especially his willingness to track back, but he has the pace and the instinct to make things happen in the final third.

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