Category Archives: NEWS

AZ shockingly sack Verbeek

AZ Alkmaar have confirmed the shock departure of coach Gertjan Verbeek – just a day after he guided the club to victory over Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven.

20131001 - Gertjan Verbeek

In a statement, the AZ board pointed to a “lack of chemistry” between the coach and his squad as the reason for his sudden exit.

AZ sit fourth in the league standings in the wake of Saturday’s 2-1 win over PSV and are contesting the group stages of the Europa League, with a game to come against PAOK on Thursday.

In a statement on official club website AZ.nl, the club announced “Coach Gertjan Verbeek leaves AZ with immediate effect. Based on a lack of chemistry between players and the head coach resulting in a lack of confidence, the management and supervisory board sees no more basis for further co-operation.”

The 51-year-old joined AZ in 2010 and signed a contract extension through to 2015 just last summer. After securing European qualification in each of his three full seasons at the club – twice after finishing in fourth place in the league and again by winning the KNVB Beker last season.

No replacement has been named as of press time.

————-

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com

TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY

TDDlogo

With the European transfer window closed, Will Burns is here with an update of all the transfers happening in and out of the Eredivisie on the final day of business. To view all the previous transfers from the summer transfer window click here.

LIVE UPDATES

DONE DEAL – 23:59 – Ajax defensive midfielder Ilan Boccara has joined Ligue 1 side Evian on loan until May.

DONE DEAL – 20:55 – ADO Den Haag have bolstered their attacking options signing Roland Alberg from Turkish side Elazığspor.

DONE DEAL – 20:21 – La Liga side Atletico Madrid finally announce the signing of Ajax defender Toby Alderweireld on a four-year contract.

DONE DEAL – 20:20 – Sparta Rotterdam midfielder Iliass Bel Hassani has announced via twitter that he has joined Heracles.

AJAX DONE – 19:17 – Sporting director Marc Overmars talking to Mike Verweij states there will be no more business from Ajax tonight. Eljero Elia‘s proposed move fell through as Werder Bremen insisted on permanent sale, with Ajax only wanting to take the player on loan with option to buy.

DONE DEAL – 18:56 – Feyenoord defender Matthew Steenvoorden, 20, will spend the rest of the season on loan at FC Dordrecht.

HOT RUMOUR – 18:52 – Thijs Slegers reports that Everton have turned their attentions to PSV‘s Swedish forward Ola Toivonen.

DONE DEAL – 18:41 – Lucas Woudenberg leaves Feyenoord to join Excelsior Rotterdam for the remainder of the season on loan.

DONE DEAL – 17:59 – Winger Youness Mokhtar has joined FC Twente on a four-year deal from Eredivisie league leaders PEC Zwolle for an undisclosed fee.

DEAL OFF 17:34 – Feyenoord manager Ronald Koeman states he does not expect Everton target Bruno Martins Indi or Graziano Pelle to leave the club today.

HOT RUMOUR – 17:28 –  De Telegraaf’s Ajax reporter Mike Verweij states that the Amsterdammers are negotiating with Eljero Elia‘s agent. Elia currently plays in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen.

DONE DEAL – 17:25 – Ajax clinch the signature of midfielder Lerin Duarte from Heracles Almelo for an undisclosed fee. Duarte had been rumoured all summer long as a replacement for the outgoing Christian Eriksen. The Jong Oranje player signs a four-year contract

DONE DEAL – 16:45 – Heerenveen bring in Nigerian striker Uche Owofor from VVV Venlo on a season-long loan deal. 

DONE DEAL – 16:00 – Yet another Chelsea reserve player joins Vitesse Arnhem on loan. English defender Sam Hutchinson, aged 24 joins after making just five appearances since his debut in 2007.

DONE DEAL – 15:35 – German midfielder Simon Cziommer, 32, has signed for Heracles on a free transfer after being released from Vitesse Arnhem at the end of last season.

DONE DEAL – 15:10 – Heerenveen have sold Sven Kums to Belgian club Zulte Waregem. The Belgian midfielder has agreed a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

DONE DEAL – 15:00 – PEC Zwolle signed Leroy Labylle this afternoon from Eerste Divisie MVV Maastricht.

DONE DEAL – 15:00 – Ajax youngster Joeri de Kamps, 21, joins Heerenveen on a season loan deal.

DONE DEAL – 13:00 – NEC Nijmegen, without a win this season have strengthened by signing three new members to the squad. Belgian right-back, Marnick Vermijl, 21, arrives on a season-long loan. Austrian striker Jakob Jantscher joins from Red Bull Salzburg on a permanent two-year deal and 21-year-old Samuel Štefánik comes from Trencin, where he scored twenty times in 96 games. The Slovakian midfielder has signed for three seasons.

DONE DEAL – 11:30 – Joshua John leaves FC Twente to join Danish Superliga side FC Norsjaelland on a three-year contract. He spent last season on-loan at the Danish side.

DONE DEAL – 09:00 – 19-year-old right-back Kevin Gomez has left Feyenoord to join Stoke City on a two-year-deal for an undisclosed fee.

DONE DEAL – 09:00 – Portuguese central midfielder Francisco Junior has joined Vitesse Arnhem on a season-long loan from Premier League side Everton.

Ajax sell Eriksen & Alderweireld

Ajax fans have endured a painful transfer window this summer, even though up to a few days ago, it looked like a successful one. Friday saw Christian Eriksen sign for Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur on a £11.5m deal, Saturday morning came news that Toby Alderweireld was flying to Madrid to complete a transfer to Atletico. The Amsterdam club have made some good money on the transfers as both were set to leave on a free at the end of the season.

20130830 - Christian Eriksen Spurs

Spurs have been splashing the cash during the transfer window and have broken their own transfer record three times with the signings of Paulinho, Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela. Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen, who was also on Liverpool’s wanted list, has joined in a deal worth £11.5m.

The Denmark international moved to Ajax in 2008 from Odense in his homeland and has since gone on to play a total of 161 games for the Eredivisie club scoring 33 times.

Eriksen, capped 37 times by his country, has enjoyed great success during his time in Amsterdam. A main player in De Boer’s reign, he won three consecutive Eredivisie league titles between 2011 and 2013. The Dane was also named Talent of the Year and Ajax’s Player of the Year in 2011, and also voted Danish Football Player of the Year, the same year.

Spurs announced the transfer on their official website: “We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Ajax for the transfer of Christian Eriksen.”

Eriksen added: “Everyone has followed the development of Spurs and it’s something I want to be part of.”

The purchase of Eriksen is likely to take Andre Villas-Boas’ side’s summer spending to just under £105m in this transfer window and paves the way for Gareth Bale to join Real Madrid in a world-record move.

Spanish side Atlético Madrid are hours away from finalising the transfer of Toby Alderweireld. The Belgian international has attracted interest from a number of English clubs throughout the summer, with Spurs, Newcastle, Everton and Norwich as well as Liverpool monitoring his situation at Ajax, however he has chosen to move to Spain.

Last week, Ajax had accepted a bid in the region of €5m from Spartak Moscow earlier this month but Alderweireld, 24, also turned down the move to Russia.

Atlético are able to offer the Belgian Champions League football and his signing will pave the way for Martin Demichelis to be reunited with Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City.

Diego Simeone will to sign Alderweireld to a four year contract later today and may make his debut away to Real Sociedad tomorrow evening.

As for replacements for the two stars, Ajax have plenty of options but only a few days to make the signings complete.

In midfield, Heracles’ Lerin Duarte has been linked with the defending Eredivisie champions all summer long and he looks like the favourite to fill in for Eriksen.

Frank de Boer did enquire to Chelsea about taking Marco van Ginkel on a season-long loan, but the Blues hierarchy rejected the deal immediately, as they see the Dutchman playing a strong role in their charge for the English league title.

FC Twente’s Dusan Tadic was rumoured but Ajax Sporting Director Marc Overmars stated that the Amsterdammers were not interested.

In defence, Ajax’s purchase of FC Utrecht’s young central defender Mike van der Hoorn in the summer, has always being mooted as Alderweireld’s replacement once he moved on.

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com

Introducing Jesús Manuel Corona…

Last week, it was announced that FC Twente had signed one of the real prospects from the world of football, his name is Jesús Manuel Corona.

The 20-year-old, 5ft 5inch right sided winger, nicknamed “El Tecatito”, signs on a free transfer from Liga MX side Monterrey after rejecting a new contract from the Mexican club last year.

The young Mexican suffered a frustrating time in his homeland with Monterrey, unable to force himself into the starting line-up in a team packed with experienced internationals. However, Corona’s opportunity did arrive during last year’s Club World Championships, where Monterrey picked up a respectable third position. Chilean international striker Humberto Suazo found himself injured before the trip to Japan, so Monterrey coach Victor Manuel Vucetich handed the youngster a chance to star.

Vucetich’s decision proved to be a great one as Corona notched two goals in four appearances and was rightly named Man-of-the-Match in a semi-final defeat to English side Chelsea. Corona showed in the tournament that he is perfect example of a pacy winger with a tremendous dribbling ability to torment full-backs down either flank. The defenders of Eredivisie must not take this tricky little dribbler lightly.

Corona has signed a four year deal at the Enschede club, but he will most probably not see that contract out.  As with every talent in the Eredivisie, Europe’s big clubs will be ready to pounce to steal the player away from the Dutch league.

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com

Miracle if Eriksen does not move to England next week

Dutch journalist Jaap de Groot, whom writes for De Telegraaf, has stated that it will be a ‘miracle’ if Ajax’s Christian Eriksen does not move to an English Premier League club this coming week.

Now the transfer window is closing and the clubs across Europe start to panic buy, De Groot assumes that Eriksen will leave Ajax this coming week: “The signs are showing now that a miracle must happen if the Dane not move to England over the next week. Perhaps to Liverpool, but another club could steal in to take him.”

Over the summer, Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool have been strongly linked to the Danish international but it is understood that Tottenham Hotspur have also been involved in talks with Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars over a transfer.

It is no secret that Manchester United is also in the hunt for a central midfielder. David Moyes has asked his old club Everton to allow Belgian international Marouane Fellani move to Old Trafford after already rejecting a bid from Moyes. The Toffees chairman Bill Kenwright rejected the joint bid for Fellani and Leighton Baines earlier this week, so Moyes may have look elsewhere. Anyone who has watched Eriksen in his time at Ajax would agree that the Dane would fit right in behind Robin van Persie.

However only yesterday, it was reported in Italy that Serie A giants AC Milan have joined the race for Eriksen after the player turned down a move to Germany with Bayer Leverkusen this past week.

Milan have turned to the Ajax playmaker after admitting defeat in their pursuit of CSKA Moscow’s Japanese playmaker Keisuke Honda, while AS Roma are also thought to be contemplating a bid if they lose Argentine midfielder Erik Lamela to Tottenham.

According to MilanNews.it, Italy, Spain and England remain the only likely destinations for the Dane, who has ruled out moves to Germany and Russia, despite strong interest from Leverkusen and Zenit St Petersburg. The website reports that Eriksen is open to a move to Italy after spending his recent summer holidays in Venice.

As previously stated, Eriksen reportedly wants Champions League football, a demand that would appear to rule out a move to Spurs and Liverpool.

That would appear to leave Manchester United or Milan in pole position for Eriksen providing the Italians are able to progress to the competition’s group stages this Wednesday night after drawing 1-1 with PSV in the first leg of their qualifying match last Tuesday.

Milan’s move for Honda has been one of the most protracted sagas of the off-season, but both sides now appear to have reached an impasse.

Juventus, who have automatically qualified for the Champions League group stages, were also previously credited with a move for Eriksen but AC Milan could beat their Serie A rivals to the 21-year-old’s signature as soon as next Wednesday when the second leg of their play-off against PSV takes place at the San Siro.

Wherever his destination, his assists, key passes, set-piece plays and powerful shooting will add something special to any team across the globe but the defending Eredivisie champions Ajax will miss him terribly. The Dane has already notched two goals in four games this campaign, even though the Amsterdammers have dropped points to currently sit fourth in the division.

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutch.wordpress.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com

NEC sack Pastoor

Just another Monday morning and Alex Pastoor is clearing his desk and will begin a new search work after he was fired as coach of NEC.

He arrived in Nijmegen in the summer of 2011, joining from Eerste Divisie side Excelsior. He had a successful period in his first year, in Rotterdam as leaded Excelsior to promotion to the Eredivisie.

The following year, on a tight budget he saved the clubs Eredivisie status and lead some great players in the team. Breakthroughs for Jordy Clasie, Geert Arend Roorda and Ryan Koolwijk came under Pastoor’s leadership.

He has been at NEC for two seasons now, and during the first things started slowly as he suffered six defeats in a row and NEC were in danger of relegation.

The turning point came during a winter training camp in Spain in 2012. After team bonding and finding a new tactical ways of attacking Eredivisie teams, NEC climbed to eighth position in the league that season. Although, Vitesse Arnhem were too strong for them in the play-offs for a place in the Europa League.

After failing to find a win so far this season, NEC management decided to call time on their relationship with Pastoor: “Due to recent results we see no future between Alex Pastor and NEC,” said technical director Edo Ophof.

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com

WorldFootballWeekly.com

Park Ji-Sung returns to PSV

Park Ji-Sung has made a return to PSV Eindhoven on loan from English Championship side Queens Park Rangers, they are still awaiting a work permit to be issued.

Voetbal International reported on Tuesday that although PSV wanted to acquire the Korean midfielder on a full transfer, they had to opt for a loan as the Eindhoven side is unable to afford Park’s high salary.

The 32-year-old had previously spent three seasons with PSV Eindhoven from January 2003 under the leadership of Guus Hiddink. The legendary coach signed him after both played crucial roles in taking South Korea on their exceptional run to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup. In Eindhoven, Park won two Eredivisie titles and reached the Champions League semi-finals. He then transferred to England with Manchester United in July 2005.

PSV coach Phillip Cocu, 43, who played for PSV with Park during the team’s golden age and in an interview with local media, he expressed high hopes for Park. Cocu described him as a versatile player who can slot into numerous positions from midfield to attack, and whose vast experience will be of much use to PSV’s cache of young players.

Back in England, he will pleased to leave the London club after having initially been named as QPR captain, he was then stripped of the armband after a series of niggling injuries and the appointment of Harry Redknapp as manager.

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com

Vitesse loans Chilean wonderkid

Chilean left-sided player Cristian Cuevas has become yet another Chelsea player to join Vitesse on a season-long loan.

The highly-rated Cuevas is an 18-year-old Chilean Under-20 international, who joined Chelsea on a five-year deal from O’Higgins in July. He made his first-team debut for his former side in May 2011, having risen through the youth ranks at the club.

Primarily a left-back, he will star as a left-winger at the Arnhem outfit, as club colleague Patrick van Aanholt currently holds the defensive spot.

There are big hopes for Cuevas in his native Chile, with the left footer currently playing two years above his age group and acquitting himself well. He represented the Chilean Under-20 side at this summer’s Under-20 World Cup, helping his side to the quarter-finals where they lost on penalties to Ghana.

Previously this year, Cuevas scored twice in the South American Youth Championships as Chile finished fourth in the tournament after winning Group A.

At Chelsea, Cuevas is almost certainly being viewed as the long-term replacement for Ashley Cole, whose contract expires next summer.

Cuevas, as Van Aanholt and Gael Kakuta has in the past, has been loaned to Vitesse to get valuable first team experience in the Eredivisie. Furthermore when the time is right and if he develops as hoped, Cuevas could challenge current Cole understudy, Ryan Bertrand, for the left-back spot at Stamford Bridge.

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com

Piazón set for Vitesse loan

Young Brazilian playmaker Lucas Piazón is set to follow his Chelsea teammates Patrick Van Aanholt and Gael Kakuta to Vitesse Arnhem where he join on a season-long deal.

The Europa League champions have already have a strong relationship with the Eredivisie side after sending development players out on loan in the past, and In June saw Dutch international midfielder Marco van Ginkel make a permanent move to Stamford Bridge.

The 19-year-old is highly rated by the London club, and under new manager Jose Mourinho it was thought that he could play a role in the title challenge this year. This experience may have to wait a year as they have decided he is too raw to be thrust into the Chelsea first team squad. Last season, he had a successful six-month spell on loan with Spanish La Liga side Malaga where he made 14 first team appearances.

Piazón has made just one appearance for the Blues in the Premier League, which was during the 8-0 thrashing of Aston Villa.  However, the midfielder endured mixed fortunes after arrving as a second-half substitute to lay on an assist for compatriot Ramires, before seeing his penalty saved by Villa ‘keeper Brad Guzan.

In early 2011, Chelsea secured the services of the young Brazilian by means of a pre-contract, having to fight off the interest from a number of the world’s leading clubs, including Serie A giants Juventus. Finally on the 15th of March of that year, São Paulo announced that Piazón could only play for Chelsea senior team after 20 January 2012 when he became eligible to obtain a work visa, but he would join in the 2011 summer transfer window.

If Vitesse can capture this loan deal it will go a long way to fill the gap left by Van Ginkel this past summer.

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutchFootball.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com

Boerrigter wings his way into Celtic

Scottish champions Celtic signed their second Dutchman of the summer tonight as Derk Boerrigter arrived from Eredivisie champions Ajax on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. The left winger is available and may make his debut in tomorrow night’s Champions League qualifying match against Elfsborg of Sweden.

The 26-year-old spent his youth career at FC Twente, where he was spotted by Ajax and joined the Amsterdam giants for the first time as a teenager. Following a loan spell at the now-defunct HFC Haarlem, in which he made his competitive debut, he made the move to FC Zwolle on a free transfer when his contract had expired.

After benefiting from first-team football on a regular basis, Boerrigter flourished at Zwolle, attracting interest from several clubs in his homeland. The then-newly-promoted RKC Waalwijk won the race for his signature and he signed for them in the summer of 2009. His impressive displays for RKC persuaded Ajax to swoop for his services for a second time two years ago, and he quickly hit top form in Amsterdam to earn his first call-up to the Dutch national side in November 2011.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon is delighted that he was signed the flying Dutchman and he stated that Boerrigter is exactly the type of player the Hoops have been searching for.

“He’s been the type of player we’ve been after for quite a while,” he said to Celtic’s official website “He’s a very pacy, left-footed player. He’s direct, an eliminator. He has goals in him as well, left-foot and right-foot. He’s very powerful and I think he fits the bill of the type of player we have been looking for in that position.

Lennon continued: “He has good experience and has played at a high level for the last two or three years, and has contributed with for a number of goals. He has been playing in a quality side in a quality environment.”

Here’s a feature video courtesy of Fox Sports NL with a few clips on what Celtic fans may expect from Boerrigter…

————-

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutch.wordpress.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com

Strootman excited by Roma challenge

Kevin Strootman is relishing the chance to have a crack at Serie A after joining Roma from PSV Eindhoven. The Holland midfielder has signed a five-year-deal with the Giallorossi after the two clubs agreed a fee reported to be  €20million.

Strootman wrote on his personal website: ”I am very excited to be able to play for this great club. ”It is the next stage in my career development after being at Sparta, FC Utrecht and PSV, a club at which I had a lot of fun.

The 23-year-old admitted that he had sought the advice of PSV teammate and former Milan midfielder, Mark Van Bommel before opting to move to Italy.

Strootman told De Telegraaf: ”He was the man with experience of Italy. ”Mark said how great the passion of the fans was, how special the atmoshpere in the stadiums was and and how there was a totally different football culture.

”What counts for me is the number if big games I am going to play here. ”I will train everyday with top players and get to play with the likes of Inter, Juventus and Napoli.”

CaraldVella

PSV agree Strootman fee with Roma

The excepted transfer of Kevin Strootman to Serie A side AS Roma is close to completion. His current club, PSV confirmed on their official website this morning that they have reached a financial agreement with the Italian club for the Oranje international. The fee has reportedly been agreed at up to €19 million.

Kevin Strootman on the ball during a FIFA 2014 World Cup Qualifier

Tonight, the 23-year-old is in Rome to negotiate personal terms before undergoing a medical check tomorrow morning and join up with his new team-mates for pre-season training.

Strootman spent two seasons with the Eindhoven club since moving from FC Utrecht in June 2011. He collected some silverware within the two years, having won the KNVB Beker and the Super Cup in 2012, and also Oranje vice-captain.

PSV’s sporting director Marcel Brands stated that this was an offer the club could not refuse: “This was a transfer we could not refuse, the money is one of the biggest amounts in the club’s history but it’s a great loss to the squad.

It is yet another case of a big star of the Eredivisie leaving to progress their career elsewhere, this is a player that should take the Serie A by storm with his tough-tackling and tempo controlling play.

————-

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutch.wordpress.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com

PSV announces double signing

PSV Eindhoven have presented the signing of Dutch central midfielder Stijn Schaars to the press today. He joins from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, in what could be the replacement for Kevin Strootman.

Copyright 2013 PSV Media

Schaars, 29, signs on a three-year contract, previously won the Eredivisie championship with AZ Alkmaar in 2009 and will look to bring that title back to the Phillips Stadion after a six-year wait for the Eindhoven side.

Schaars is new head coach Philip Cocu’s fifth signing of the summer in the major rebuild of the PSV side. With captain Kevin Strootman set to complete a €20million move to Serie A club Roma in Italy, Schaars will wear the number 8 shirt in his absence.

The Dutchman has made 18 appearances internationally for Oranje and has spent the last two season in Lisbon with Sporting and scored six goals in 66 games in all competitions.

The Cocu Revolution continued later tonight with the announcement of the sixth signing. 21-year-old Colombian right-back Santiago Arias also joins from Lisbon and signed a four-year contract.

Copyright 2013 PSV Media

Arias,  can either operate as a right defender or right midfielder and is a product of Liga Postobon’s side La Equidad’s youth academy. Like Schaars, he spent two years in Lisbon. Both Schaars and the Colombian were transfered for a reported €1.6million. PSV are set to make great profit this year after the sales of half the first team squad that finished second in the Eredivisie last year.

The Eindhoven side also presented Jeffrey Bruma to the press today, signing a four-year contract after the doctors assessed a heart complaint from Bruma’s past, but cleared the player of all problems.

————-

WillBurns

Click the name above to follow Will on Twitter.

TotalDutch.wordpress.com    WorldFootballWeekly.com