Category Archives: NEWS

Roma rule out selling Strootman to Man Utd

July 26, 2014 Will Burns 1 Comment

AS Roma manager Rudi Garcia has ruled out selling Dutch international midfielder Kevin Strootman. On the eve of Roma playing Manchester United in a pre-season friendly, it is thought that new Red Devils manager Louis Van Gaal is interested in signing the 24-year-old.

Garcia said: “Strootman is a Roma player, he will be a Roma player this year. There is no doubt about that. Only he can say whether he wants to stay but it was never an issue for him to go to another club. There is no question of it.”

“Strootman is following a normal recovery programme,” said Garcia. “He has stayed in Boston to work with our physios and he will start running any time soon.” The central midfielder sustained a cruciate knee ligament injury in March, which ruled him out for the Netherlands at the World Cup in Brazil.

Van Gaal is thought to be a huge admirer of Strootman who he described along with Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben as one of his three captains in the Dutch national team.

Due to Strootman’s injury, Van Gaal had to change the Netherlands formation from 4-3-3 to 5-3-2 as he felt that he did not have a central midfielder of the same quality as the former PSV Eindhoven man. With the midfielder seemingly having returned from injury quicker then expected reports in Italy claim United may make a £30 million bid. Roma however don’t have to sell as they unlike the Red Devils can offer Champions League football and Strootman dependent on his fitness may not even pass a medical were a bid to be accepted.

If Strootman was to leave Roma to join Manchester United then it is most likely to happen in the January transfer window or next summer when United are in a better position to negotiate and with the player having fully recovered form his long term injury.

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Sunderland clinch Van Aanholt from Chelsea

July 25, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Dutch youngster Patrick van Aanholt told reporters last week that he was unsure where his future lay, he was certain that it would not be at Stamford Bridge where he would by plying his trade next season. Sunderland have signed the Dutchman on a four year deal for an undisclosed fee.

Van Aanholt, who has had several loan spells while being under contract at Chelsea has finally decided it is time to leave in order to play regular first team football. It is a decision that has several teams on high alert.

The Sunderland deal was completed on Friday evening due to the fact that their sporting director, Lee Congerton, was an employee of Chelsea while van Aanholt was coming up through their ranks and has worked with the player before. He will now set off to Portugal to join the Black Cats in their summer pre-season tour.

The 23-year-old was initially thought to have been targeted by Vitesse Arnhem, a club where he enjoyed a very successful loan spell for the last two years, but Gus Poyet and his advisers are low on defenders and Van Aanholt joins for a rumoured £2 million or less given the fact that he only has one year to play on his contract.

The Dutch defender’s chances at Chelsea were slim to none after the purchase of Filipe Luis from Atletico Madrid. Where Van Aanholt saw an opportunity, Mourinho saw a problem position and it now appears that if Van Aanholt is to continue his progression at another club.

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Southampton interest for Celtic defender

July 25, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

While Gus Poyet sent scouts to watch Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk, it appears the Dutchman is keen to team up with countryman Ronald Koeman at Southampton. It seems a prerequisite to declaring interest in the 23-year-old is that your club name starts with the letter S, with Swansea, Sunderland and now Southampton in the mix.

Celtic are looking for £10 million for their man, a figure that has scared away teams who enquired previously but with the Dejan Lovren to Liverpool rumours that just won’t go away and a decent transfer budget being handed to Koeman, he has van Dijk in his sights as a replacement for the Croatian if he leaves.

Koeman is desperate to hold on to the services of Lovren, but has stated that if he is to leave then only the healthiest of bids will suffice. The new Dutch boss also believed he has a capable replacement in the form of van Dijk, and with the Dutch connection, it is believed to be a move that both parties are keen on.

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EUROPA LEAGUE, EUROPA LEAGUE REPORT, NEWS

EUROPA LEAGUE: FC Groningen 1-2 Aberdeen

July 24, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

THURSDAY 24TH JULY

EUROPA LEAGUE – SECOND ROUND QUALIFYING – SECOND LEG

FC GRONINGEN 1-2 ABERDEEN

Aberdeen win 2-1 on aggregate

FC Groningen crash out of the Europa League at their first hurdle after Derek McInnes led his Aberdeen side to a 2-1 win thanks to first half goals through frontmen Adam Rooney and Niall McGinn.

It was an exciting start to the game inside the Euroborg and the hosts were unlucky not be ahead after just four minutes. From a Nick van der Velden corner, Johan Kappelhof rose above everyone at the back post but Aberdeen’s Jonny Hayes nodded off the line.

A few minutes later, Groningen had another golden opportunity to grab the lead but Serbian attacker Filip Kostic dragged his shot wide after he had worked hard to get himself through on goal.

The game slowed down until 24 minutes when Peter Pawlett, tricky throughout, jinked his way into the box and Brazilian defender Eric Botteghin clumsy tripped the striker. Polish referee Daniel Stefanski pointed straight to the spot and Adam Rooney sent Sergio Padt the opposite way to give the Dons the lead.

Rooney was involved in the second goal on 33 minutes. The striker held off the challenge of Kappelhof and lobbed Padt but the ball clipped the cross bar and bounced out. The Groningen defence were statuesque as they waited for the foul on Kappelhof to be awarded. Niall McGinn pounced on the rebound to slot past the keeper to double Aberdeen’s advantage.

The home side were given a lifeline just before half-time as a pin point accurate cross from Nick van der Velden found Maikel Kieftenbeld at the back post to power a header past Jamie Langfield who will be disappointed after getting a hand to it.

At half-time, Edwin van der Looi replaced the ineffective Danny Hoesen and Maikel Kieftenbeld with attacking pairing of Jarchinio Antonia and Michael De Leeuw to take the game to Aberdeen.

Just past the hour mark, Aberdeen had Langfield to thank for keeping the 2-1 advantage. After a great touch and flick into De Leeuw from Van der Velden, the substitute looked destined to grab the equaliser but the veteran keeper rushed out and forced the ball away with his feet. The groans around the Euroborg were drowning out the cheers from the 1,100 travelling Aberdeen fans.

Those travelling supporters had a massive sign of relief when Kostic worked his magic down the left wing and drove a low cross into the box. With De Leeuw arriving at the back post, Mark Reynolds got across to stick a leg out and force the ball behind for a corner. Replays showed that Reynolds was very lucky not to push the ball into his own net.

The hosts began pushing knowing they needed to two goals to send their fans home happy. However, the Eredivisie side were halted by the wall of red shirts and Groningen were reduced to long range efforts which Langfield kept at bay.

At the full-time whistle the Euroborg ended disappointed and the strife of the Europa League playoffs for Groningen last season came to no avail. Aberdeen progress to play La Liga side Real Sociedad in the third qualifying round to face last season’s Eredivisie top scorer, Alfred Finnbogason.

TEAMS

FC GRONINGEN: Padt, Hateboer, Botteghin, Kappelhof, Burnet (Van Nieff 62), Kieftenbeld (Antonia 46), Chery, Lindgren, Van der Velden, Hoesen (De Leeuw 46), Kostic.

SUBS NOT USED: Van der Vlag, Magnasco, Hiariej, Islamovic.

GOALS: Kieftenbeld 44.

BOOKINGS: Lindgren 63.

ABERDEEN: Langfield, Logan, Anderson, Reynolds, Considine, Jack, Flood (Low 90), McGinn, Hayes, Pawlett (Robson 66), Rooney (Goodwillie 74).

SUBS NOT USED: Brown, Murray, Taylor, Smith, Robson.

GOALS: Rooney 26P, McGinn 33.

BOOKINGS: Hayes 72.

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Sunderland chase Celtic defender

July 24, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

According to today’s Daily Record, the latest Dutchman to be linked to the Premier League currently plies his trade in Scotland in the heart of Glasgow Celtic’s defence. 23-year-old Virgil van Dijk has been scouted by Sunderland ahead of a possible bid that would probably need to far exceed the £2.6 million that his current team paid FC Groningen for his services.

In his first season at Parkhead, he won the Player of the Year award and has impressed largely since his summer move last year. Swansea were previously linked to the big centre-half, but were scared off by his hefty price tag placed on him by Celtic, who are in no hurry to sell the constantly improving defender.

After a deal for Ashley Williams fell through, the Black Cats manager Gus Poyet seems keen on van Dijk to fill a void left by the release of Carlos Cueller and Andrea Dossena in their defense. The aging Wes Brown and John O’Shea are currently holding down the fort but a young aggressive defender who can score goals would be perfect for a team in transition and Gus Poyet seems keen to make that happen if his recent scouting is anything to go by.

Van Dijk began his career at FC Groningen where he appeared 62 times scoring seven times, and moved to Glasgow in 2013 where he appeared for Celtic 36 times scoring five times.

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Dutch keeper joins Tottenham Hotspur

July 23, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Dutch international shotstopper, Michel Vorm, is on the verge of being announced as a new player of Tottenham Hotspur. The move which comes as somewhat of a surprise given Hugo Lloris’ presence in Spurs’ squad, means Vorm will be given the chance to compete for a place against French international, Lloris.

No fee has been mentioned, but Vorm himself has spoken of his excitement at such an opportunity. The London-based club are set to compete in the Europa League next year, and Vorm expects to be given game time based on the hectic nature of their schedule next season.

Speaking to De Telegraaf, Vorm said “Every club has two top goalkeepers in their squad,” which might suggest he is happy to be second choice but continued, “It suits the club’s philosophy that there are two of us with Hugo and me. Especially when we see that Tottenham is active in a lot of competitions.”

Vorm clearly believes in his own ability to make an impact and capitalise on any chance that he is given with the first squad. Vorm was the third choice goalkeeper for a Netherlands’ squad that made it to the semi-final of the World Cup, but only featured a few seconds of play in the Third/Fourth place playoff during the competition.

Spurs’ and Vorm’s former club, Swansea, are currently swapping players at quite a rate. Icelandic forward Gylfi Sigurdsson is set to move back to Swansea, and Ben Davies has already signed for Spurs’, and joined them in Toronto on their preseason tour, from the Welsh club. Vorm is the latest transfer between the clubs.

Vorm turns 31 in October and began his career at FC Utrecht, amassing 157 appearances for the club before moving to Swansea City during the summer of 2011 and spending the last three years as the Swans number one.

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Feyenoord want Man City striker

July 22, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

John Guidetti is a strong candidate to replace Graziano Pellè at Feyenoord. After Wolfsburg striker Bas Dost has laughed off reports that he return to the Eredivisie, the Rotterdam club’s sporting director Martin van Geel has stated Guidetti is on the list to replace the Italian.

Talking to RTV Rijmond, Van Geel spoke highly of the young Swedish striker, “The name of John Guidetti will always be remembered by our supporters. John has become this legend since the season he was here, he was incredible. He’s always in our thoughts and he ticks all the boxes for us. We will make our best move for him. Preferably as soon as possible”

Guidetti has struggled at the other clubs he went on loan to, but took to the Eredivisie like a fish to water, scoring 20 goals in 23 games for Feyenoord during the 2011-2012. Ronald Koeman, who was manager of Feyenoord during Guidetti’s loan spell, might be interested in bringing him to his new club, Southampton, as a replacement for the departed Rickie Lambert. It was Sven Goran Eriksson who spotted the youngster and brought him to Manchester.

However, it hasn’t all been upward trending for the young Swede. In 2012, Guidetti ate an infected piece of chicken, lost the feeling in one of his legs and lost an entire season due to the mishap. He has returned with a point to prove and at the age of 22, it could be time for the striker to get a fairer share of first team football. With Manchester City’s striking options, it appears unlikely he will be given these chances in the Premier League.

If he were to return to Feyenoord, it would be to warm welcome from the fans. We’re quite sure that he would welcome them back into his life, also.

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PSV interests Belgium hardman Steven Defour

July 22, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

If PSV and FC Porto can agree a transfer fee, Steven Arnold Defour could be on the verge of joining the Eindhoven club after 3 years with the Portuguese giants. Defour’s agent Paul Stefani was originally quoted as saying “PSV are a big club and would certainly be of interest to Steve”. He is now saying that Defour has an agreement in principal with PSV but that it also depends on whether Porto allow him to leave.

Porto are certainly not lacking in midfield with players such as Hector Herrera, Josue and Juan Quintero already there and both Casemiro and Oliver Torres joining this summer on loan. Presumably as one of the more senior players at 26, Defour is likely to be on higher wages than most at the club so Porto will probably allow him to leave. PSV will bring him in to provide cover in midfield after Park Ji-Sung retired and Bryan Ruiz returned to Fulham. Also after having such a good World Cup, Georginio Wijnaldum could be a target for one or two European clubs.

Defour was born in Mechelen, Belgium and played youth football for KV Mechelen, before moving to KRC Genk in 2004. At the age of just 17 he became first choice for Genk in the 2005-06 campaign and finished it with 26 games and 1 goal. That season Genk failed to reach European football and this made Defour try and force a move to Ajax. Genk refused because the Dutch club had approached the player without the club’s permission, forcing Ajax to pull out. Defour threatened to leave over this but Ajax were no longer interested and Defour ended up signing for Standard Liege for a much reduced fee.

In his 2^nd year at Standard he was named Captain at just 19 and won the Belgian Golden Shoe (Domestic Player of the Year) for helping his team to the domestic title for the first time in 25 years. During his time at Standard he was linked with quite a few big European clubs, including Manchester United after Defour received a letter from Sir Alex Ferguson wishing him well after Defour broke his foot in 2009.

In the summer of 2011 he signed for FC Porto for €6 million, signing a five-year contract. In his first year he made 37 appearances and scored 2 goals helping Porto to the league title. Last season he wasn’t as vital in Porto’s midfield as he had been in previous years, making only 16 appearances and scoring no goals, which is probably why he is linked with a move away.

Steven Defour is an accomplished central midfielder, who has good vision as well as being a tough tackler; he will add some bite and drive to the PSV midfield, which already contains the likes of Maher and Wijnaldum. If PSV can sign him and keep Wijnaldum then they will surely challenge for the Eredivisie title this year because they will have signed a player coming into his prime and already a proven winner.

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Feyenoord reject bid for Man Utd target

July 21, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

Feyenoord have rejected a €6m bid for defender Stefan de Vrij from Serie A side Lazio and it now appears that Louis van Gaal may be in the driving seat to take the 22-year-old to Old Trafford.

It is understood that the Eredivisie giants want around €12m and Feyenoord sporting director Martin van Geel has spoke to RTV Rijnmond and stated if the club received an acceptable offer than they would not stand in the player’s way if he wished to depart the Rotterdam club.

“It’s logical for him to leave but it has to be for the right club for Stefan at the right price,” Van Geel said. “I am happy that we did not accept Lazio’s offer as it was too low. A second higher offer has not been received as of yet.”

Sources in Italy suggest that Lazio are thought to be lining up a counter-bid, however, it is unlikely to be near the €12m figure that the Rotterdam side value him at.

Van Geel continued: “Until a sufficient offer has been received then Stefan will be a Feyenoord player after he returns from his leave after the World Cup.”

New Manchester United boss Van Gaal led De Vrij and his Oranje team-mates to third place in the World Cup this summer and now beginning life at Old Trafford has led to many stories linking members of the impressive Dutch squad to a move to Manchester.

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Bakkali offer accepted but Liverpool still in the hunt

July 21, 2014 Will Burns 2 Comments

UPDATED 21st July 2014 – 19:10

PSV Eindhoven contract rebel Zakaria Bakkali is wishing to move to the Premier League with Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers in an €8m deal. Although, reports tonight coming out of Holland suggest that PSV have agreed a fee with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.

The young highly-rated Belgian winger has rejected PSV’s approaches with a new five-year contract due to the Eindhoven club unable to guarantee the 18-year-old first team football. Even though PSV technical director Martin Brands and head coach Philip Cocu highly-rate Bakkali, the emergence of Memphis Depay and Luciano Narsingh have made sure that the youngster is sitting on the bench.

By rejecting PSV’s offers, the club has saw this as a slap in the face and are looking to cash in on Bakkal, less than week after sending the player to train with the Jong PSV squad. At only €8m, Bakkali could prove to be a real snip for Liverpool, but he may well be spending time on the sidelines at Anfield also. England international Raheem Sterling has cemented his role on the right-wing after a tremendous season last campaign at only 19 years old and has no signs of letting up.

Bakkali himself burst on the season last year with a great start in a 5-0 win against NEC Nijmegen on 11th August 2013. At 17 years and 196 days, he became the youngest player in Eredivisie history to score a hat-trick.

Even with his great feats in the Eredivisie last season, PSV are set to ditch him due to his attitude regarding his future. Although he shows great ambitions, the youngster could find himself kicking up a storm in Liverpool within a few months. This is something that Brendan Rodgers will have to take into hand before signing the prospect to a deal.

Indeed a deal with Eintracht Frankfurt has been agreed, however, it is understood that Bakkali is holding off for a better offer. Could that be the mighty Reds?

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Redknapp keen as QPR look to Van der Vaart

July 20, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

QPR have been linked with a move for Hamburg’s Rafael van der Vaart. The R’s manager, Harry Redknapp, coached the Dutch man during his time at Tottenham Hotspur and would like to rekindle the partnership as Redknapp aims to keep his team in the top flight following a successful campaign last year that resulted in promotion.

Redknapp has spoken about the London-based clubs need for six signings during the current transfer window, and the manager at Loftus Road has a history of signing players that previously worked with him – this theory only strengthened by the signing of former West Ham player Rio Ferdinand just last week.

Van der Vaart, signed with Hamburg in the Bundesliga, following a two year stint with Tottenham Hotspur under the guidance of Redknapp. There were tumultuous spells between the manager and the midfielder when the latter complained publicly about being made play on the right wing. Redknapp responded by dropping the former Dutch international and claiming that van der Vaart needed to concentrate on his fitness.

It is unknown how much Hamburg would try to extrapolate from the sale of their club captain, who has appeared for the club 172 during two spells with the club. The 31-year-old cost €13 million when purchased in 2012, but given his age and the fact that Hamburg struggled desperately last year might mean that they are willing to move in another direction. The former Dutch international has one year left to run on his contract.

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Chelsea set to loan out another to Vitesse

July 20, 2014 Will Burns 2 Comments

Colombian striker Joao Rodriguez is set to become the third player currently on loan from Chelsea at Vitesse Arnhem, according to multiple reports.

The striker joined the club in 2012 after a successful trial as an Under-16 and would join up with Blues’ teammates Wallace and Bertrand Traore in the Eredivisie if the deal to Vitesse Arnhem goes through.

The issue that arose from Rodriguez’ transfer to Chelsea, and the reason why he hasn’t joined up with the squad is due to the fact that he can not obtain an English work permit. This is the reason he was sent back to Deportes Quindio after his initial signing, and the reason why he will likely be loaned out to the Eredivisie club, where a work permit might be more accessible.

Vitesse Arnhem have lost three Chelsea players from last season including Ghanaian winger Christian Atsu, Patrick van Aanholt and Lucas Piazon but will benefit from the additions of Wallace and ongoing loan deal involving Traore.

The partnership between Chelsea and Vitesse Arnhem appears to be growing stronger and stronger.

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Stefan De Vrij – A bright future ahead

July 19, 2014 Will Burns Leave a comment

As of the 19th of July it seems almost certain that Stefan de Vrij will become the latest player to leave Feyenoord this summer, after Graziano Pelle, Daryl Janmaat and Bruno Martins Indi. He has been strongly linked with a move to Lazio of Serie A and the latest info seems to be that the Rome club have bid €7m for the 22-year old while Feyenoord are holding out for a figure closer to €9m.

This disagreement in transfer could leave a small gap for another club, such as Manchester United, to swoop in and sign the player, but this is unlikely because reports are saying de Vrij is keen on Lazio. Stefan de Vrij missed only 2 games in the Eredivisie last season and contributed 4 goals which helped his side to finish 2^nd and earn a Champions League qualifying spot. However it now appears that de Vrij will join the growing list of names in Feyenoord’s ‘talent drain’.

De Vrij was born in Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel, a small village in the province of South Holland. He is the son of Jan de Vrij who played for local team vv Spirit. When he was 10 years old he was talent spotted by Feyenoord as a midfielder and was later turned into a defender. He developed rapidly and in July 2009 he signed his first professional contract with Feyenoord. In 2012 he replaced Ron Vlaar as the captain but was stripped of the captaincy last season after a poor run of form.

The Oranje international has now made 19 appearances for the national side; with his only international goal coming at the 2014 World Cup in the infamous 5-1 win against then World Champions Spain. Together with former club teammates ‘Concrete Ron’ Vlaar and Bruno Martins Indi he formed a rock solid partnership that conceded only 4 goals in 7 games at this World Cup, which is the same as World Champions Germany.

Overall he is an accomplished centre-back who is comfortable on the ball, very strong and is good in the air both attacking and defending. Whatever club he goes to, Lazio or somewhere else, as long as he gets significant game time then he certainly has a bright future. It looks like the only way is up for another Feyenoord youth product.

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