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PSV MEDIA - Arne Nilis put pen to paper on a three-year deal with PSV that will run until the summer of 2011. He signed his contract on Tuesday afternoon in the presence of his father Luc and PSV's General Manager Jan Reker. The 17-year-old attacking midfield player joins PSV from Racing Genk.
'The Philips Stadium is like a second home to me', said Nilis before signing his contact in Eindhoven. 'For six seasons, I used to watch my father play his football here. I love life at the Philips Stadium: the outlook and mentality of the people here and the fans appeal to.' For the next three years, Nilis will ply his trade with PSV, where his father is a member of the technical staff. The favourite position of the attacking midfielder, who will join the Young PSV squad in summer, is in behind the strikers. He dismisses a comparison between himself and his father. 'I don't have an opinion on that and would like other people to judge. I think I have an ability to read the game and possess technical skills.'
Nilis, who lives in Zolder in Belgium, attends the national Sports Academy in Genk. He will be in his final year of his studies next year. 'I am looking forward to playing here in Eindhoven. I am determined to force my way into the first-team squad and play first-team football.'
How is he going to deal with the high expectations connected to bearing the family name Nilis? 'There is a positive as well as a negative element. My father has gained a wealth of experience and I will benefit from his advices, but on the other hand, it may put pressure on me to some extent. I know how to cope with that, though, and I am keen to be given an opportunity to play in the first team.'
The Belgium U-21 player played games for the Racing Genk reserves before he sustained an injury at the beginning of the season. 'I am fully fit now and will report for duty at De Herdgang training centre in July.' Arne Nilis follows in the footsteps of his grandfather Roger Nilis, who played for Sint-Truiden, and his father Luc, a legendary PSV striker. For seven years, Arne Nilis went to the football academy run by his grandfather Roger. 'Every single day, I went through all the drills and, as a young lad, I would already learn the basics.'
