Ajax News Archives

It was going to be a pretty short day in transfer news and rumors, but there’s a reason I stay up a little late - so I can catch the early Friday rumors around Europe. So, there are a few extra tidbits in today’s roundup which make things a little more juicy than they were going to be originally.

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Well, it’s the start of a new week, and this week carries a great deal of excitement, as we’re only a week away from the start of the Premier League season.

Today’s transfer roundup isn’t as packed as I would have expected, but there’s plenty to run through, so you certainly won’t go lacking.

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It’s a relatively light day today in transfer news and rumors, but there’s still plenty to talk about in today’s roundup.

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Today’s word of the day is contradiction. In the world of speculation, you’ll often see one report say one thing, and another say something completely opposite. That’s the case with a few of today’s rumors, which involve a few big names that may or may not be moving.

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There’s not a lot of major news to report today, since it’s Sunday and all, but there are a few signings to report, so hopefully you’ll get your fill of weekend transfer tidbits.

Ajax’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who scores goals in his sleep, is a well-known target of Manchester United, and Huntelaar says that United are a club that makes him dream, especially because of all that Dutch compatriot Ruud Van Nistelrooy did at United.

Rumor Rating: 4 - With Ajax signing Serbian hot-shot Miralem Sulejmani, it would appear that they may be planning for life without Huntelaar, so it may not be long before official offers come in from United and others.

Chelsea could be set to make another profit off of a player who was just on their squad list to be on it, as Juventus could be set for a 12 million pound move for Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic. Ivanovic moved from Lokomotiv Moscow for nine mil in January, but he didn’t play a single game for Chelsea through the remainder of the season.

Rumor Rating: 5 - Who’s going to have the last laugh in this one? Chelsea for making Juve pay more than they would have had they won the race to sign him in the winter, or Ivanovic for showing that there was a reason he’s made not one, but two clubs pay high fees for him over the span of several months?

According to the Mirror, Newcastle are closing in on a four million pound deal for Swiss star Gokhan Inler, who could quit Udinese after only one season.

Rumor Rating: 4 - Kevin Keegan is making the midfield a priority, having already signed Jonas Gutierrez earlier this week and now having Inler in his sights.

Hull have signed Brazilian midfielder Geovanni, who was recently released by Manchester City.

Rumor Rating: 5 - Geovanni didn’t quite have the expected impact at City after being signed last summer, but the 28-year old, who once commanded an 18m euro transfer fee when he moved to Barcelona in 2001, could prove to be a low-risk, high-reward player for Phil Brown’s Tigers.

Spain

Villareal’s Marcos Senna, who has been the object of interest from the likes of Arsenal, has told the club not to sell him in case someone comes in for him.

Rumor Rating: 1 - There’s a chance that a few offers come in for him, but considering that Villareal have upped his release clause to 36 million euros, Senna likely doesn’t have anything to worry about.

Mallorca have strengthened their defense by signing Villareal’s Josemi, formerly of Liverpool, and Racing Santander’s Ayoze Diaz.

Rumor Rating: 5 - Mallorca had one of the top-scoring sides in La Liga this season, but defensively, they were in the bottom half of the league, which was a factor in them just missing out on a top-six finish and an automatic European place. Also, with Fernando Navarro going to Sevilla, it was a must to reinforce the defense quickly.

Italy

Fiorentina have made a double defensive swoop by getting Juan Manuel Vargas from Catania and Gianluca Comotto from Torino.

Rumor Rating: 5 - Fiorentina have been active in the transfer market thus far, and have done a lot to strengthen their squad for an assault on Serie A and a run in the Champions League.

France

Like I said the other day, verbal agreements don’t mean much, and that appears to be the case for Rennes forward Jimmy Briand. The 23-year old forward says that Rennes general manager Pierre Dreossi told him that he’d let him go elsewhere if a good offer came in. Well, PSG came in with an offer of seven million euros? Good enough, right? Not even close, as Rennes are apparently holding out for 12 million euros.

Rumor Rating: 3 - Well, there must be a difference in what Briand thinks is a ‘good’ offer and what Dreossi thinks is good. Simple misunderstanding is all, it appears.

Well, that’s it for today - all of the summer transfer lists will be updated by Monday, so check those out for all of the summer’s signings from the Premier League, Championship, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, and Ligue 1. And as for the rumors, chime in, chip in, and I’ll be back tomorrow.

There’s no big news to report on the Cristiano Ronaldo front, but fortunately for those who love soap operas, there’s something to talk about in regards to one of the summer’s other big transfer sagas.

Reports are circulating that Ronaldinho is set to opt for a move to AC Milan over going to Manchester City, as his brother/agent has said that things are 80-90% there in regards to the transfer.

Rumor Rating: 4 - One day it’s off, another day it’s on, then it’s off again, and then it’s on again. So, until everything’s officially signed on the dotted line(s), City still has a chance.

The Sun says that Portsmouth expect to land Peter Crouch by Monday, in a deal that will see Pompey pay nine mil up front and potentially another two mil in add-ons for the Liverpool striker.

Rumor Rating: 5 - Selling Crouch to Pompey might take away a potential makeweight in any deal for Robbie Keane, but it does free up some funds to help make a few more purchases.

That money may be reserved for another move or two, but with the funds they already have, Liverpool are using them to secure a backup goalkeeper, as they are reportedly close to signing Palmeiras goalkeeper Diego Cavalleri in a 3 million pound deal.

Rumor Rating: 5 - Cavalieri won’t be pushing Jose Reina for the #1 spot, but the 26-year old will likely offer Scott Carson a way out of Liverpool after the sale of Charles Itandje to Galatasaray raised the chances of Carson coming back to Anfield to be Reina’s #2.

The Daily Mail says that Spartak Moscow have rejected Tottenham’s 10 million pound bid for striker Roman Pavlyuchenko because they aren’t in the Champions League and wouldn’t be enough of a step up, considering that Spartak are (third qualifying round).

Rumor Rating: 2 - Well, it’s good to see that there’s at least one club out there that has their player’s best interests and future in mind.

Galatasaray seem to be looking to add an Australian flair to their club. With Harry Kewell having already signed or on the verge of doing so, the Turkish champions are interested in West Ham captain Lucas Neill and have made a bid for the 30-year old defender.

Rumor Rating: 3 - If the Hammers are looking to trim the wage bill, selling Neill might make sense, considering that he’s one of their highest-paid players.

Middlesbrough have completed an impressive double swoop, finally completing their 4 million pound swoop for PSG midfielder Didier Digard and signing young Dutch attacker Marvin Emnes from Sparta Rotterdam for 3.2 million pounds. The 20-year old Emnes was the fans’ Player of the Year at Sparta last season after scoring eight goals.

Rumor Rating: 5 - Signing two highly-rated youngsters is a sign that Boro are building towards the future just as much as they are for the present, and it could prove to be a bright one if these two pan out.

West Brom have signed Scotland U-21 international Graham Dorrans from Livingston for 100,000 pounds. The deal, which was initially agreed in February, could pay Livi an additional 150,000 pounds depending on appearances.

Rumor Rating: 5 - Dorrans was the Scottish Division One Player’s Player of the Year this past season, scoring 12 goals for Livingston, and while he may not jump into the first team right away, he’s one to watch for the future, both for club and country.

Bristol City are set to break a club transfer record by signing Egyptian star Emad Meteb for 1.5 million pounds from Al-Ahly.

Rumor Rating: 5 - The 25-year old Moteab, who has scored 22 goals in 47 appearances for Egypt, could be one of the missing pieces to help fuel Bristol City’s push for promotion after narrowly missing out last season.

Italy

Chievo have signed former Torino and AEK Athens goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino on a free transfer.

Rumor Rating: 5 - Sorrentino spent last season on loan at La Liga side Recreativo Huelva, who had the option of buying him permanently, but they chose not to pick up the option, freeing him up for a return to Italy, where he formerly played for Torino before leaving for Greece in 2005.

Germany

Bayern Munich aren’t looking to let go of Bastian Schweinsteiger, as they’ve rejected Inter’s advances for the star midfielder, who’s coming off of a successful performance at Euro 2008.

Rumor Rating: 1 - Immediately after what was a somewhat indifferent season for Schweinsteiger at club level, Bayern may have considered a sale, but after he starred in Austria/Switzerland, that appears to be out of the question.

France

Marseille have pulled out of the hunt to sign striker Bakari Kone, as Nice’s asking price of 10 to 12 million euros was higher than the 8 mil that Marseille was willing to offer.

Rumor Rating: 1 - Well, that means brother Arouna can hold it over his head that he’s played in the Champions League (with PSV and Sevilla), unless Marseille decide to pony up the extra couple of mil.

Holland

Ajax are set to break a club and Dutch transfer record by signing Heerenveen striker Miralem Sulejmani for 16.25 million euros. The signing of the 19-year old Serbian hit-man breaks the record set by Ajax when they signed Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Heerenveen in the middle of the 2005/06 season.

Rumor Rating: 5 - If Sulejmani (15 goals last season) makes as good on the investment as Huntelaar has, we’ll be talking about him being linked with Manchester United, Barcelona, and others before long.

Well that’s it for today’s rumors. What do you think about the bits in the bunch? Chime in with your opinions, chip in with rumors that you’ve heard, and I’ll be back with all of the latest tomorrow!

Until Russia’s lengthy dismantling exercise in Basle on Friday, Holland’s blitz on the proclaimed ‘Group of Death’ had been Euro 2008’s foremost point for exclamation.

To English audiences in particular, the proposition of a Dutch rebirth after twenty years of bungled failure was a thrilling and unexpected boon to a competition tainted by the absence of a team for partisan interests. Wistful talk of Michels, Cruyff and Totaalvoetball abounded, while those less seduced by hyperbole reminisced with welcome moderation on the 1988 success prompted via the influence of the heavenly Milanese axis: Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten.

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Klaas Jan Huntelaar is, without doubt, one of the most prolific strikers in Europe at the moment. In the 2007/08 season he scored an amazing thirty-three goals in thirty-four appearances, making him the top scorer in the Eredivisie, scoring eleven goals more than Twente’s Blaise N’Kufo.

Now, after three glorious seasons in Ajax, ninety-six goals and 113 appearances for the Amsterdam outfit, the time has finally come to go.

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It is 20 years since Holland won the one major title in their footballing history, and many believe they finally have a squad talented and united enough to replicate their success in Germany back in 1988. Marco van Basten knows a thing or two about what it takes to score goals at the top level and he is lucky enough to be able to select from a talented array of attackers.

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Today’s transfer roundup starts with transfer-related news, but not a big rumor. Instead, I give two thumbs-up to Real Madrid’s Wesley Sneijder for looking out for his brother’s best interests, as he stepped in to prevent Real from making an offer to former club Ajax for his brother Rodney, a promising youth team player.

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In recent seasons, we have witnessed (and continue to witness), slowly but surely, the elegant destruction of what we know as the ‘big’ teams. Spain, Italy, France, England, Scotland, Germany, Holland, Russia, Greece, and Turkey have all fallen to the inevitable rise of the ‘middle’ teams. Let’s review the movers and shakers:

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