FORMER Accrington Stanley coach Pablo Asensio expects several clubs to be chasing the signature of Jimmy Ryan this summer after revealing that he previously recommended the midfielder to West Bromwich Albion.

A whole host of clubs are rumoured to be interested in the 22-year-old, who is out of contract and has until the end of this week to tell Stanley whether he will accept their offer of a new deal.

La Liga side Real Zaragoza were even reported to be keen on Ryan recently and, although those links were laughed off at the club, the former Liverpool midfielder has admitted that the chance of moving to Spain one day would be ‘a dream’.

Argentinian Asensio, who previously worked in Spain but is now scouting for friend Gus Poyet at Brighton, thinks Ryan has the technique to adapt to any style of football and suspects clubs, most likely in England, will be queuing up to sign the former Liverpool youth team player.

Asensio left Stanley when the club could not afford to offer him a wage for the 2009/10 campaign but he still has great affection for the club and the players he worked with, and knows West Brom watched Ryan during Roberto Di Matteo’s tenure at the Hawthorns – even if the Italian has now been replaced as boss by Roy Hodgson.

“I would not be surprised if a lot of clubs are interested in him this summer,” said Asensio, who has been keen to stress that he had no involvement in the Zaragoza links.

“Jimmy was my favourite player at Accrington. I always said this.

“A couple of years ago I spoke to Roberto Di Matteo at West Brom about him.

“I know Roberto sent people to watch him a couple of times.

“Sometimes clubs watch players for a couple of years and maybe he was just a little too young at that point.

“But I think Jimmy has the ability to play in any country in the world.”