| 19.11.2009 |
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| There's a reason why they call the run-up to Christmas the Silly Season. It's not because everyone is going nuts about the coming holidays or getting high on the mad rush for presents, it's because of a completely different compulsion to spend obscene amounts of money on unnecessary luxury items which will be gathering dust by February: yes, it's the January transfer window. Besides giving Arab sheikhs and Russian oligarchs yet another reason to expand their collection of expensive footballers, the close-season and January transfer windows give sportswriters another excuse to drop acid and come up with far-fetched speculation which fills their column inches and justifies their existence to editors and publishers alike. (Writing about writers writing about fanciful soccer dealings also has the same effect, I might add.) The Internet is awash with rumors and half-truths right now so it would take me until the next transfer window to go through all the potential deals doing the rounds in the sports gossip pages so I'm going to concentrate on the Bundesliga pipedreams which are most prominent. Andriy Voronin to…Anyone. The pony-tailed Ukrainian must be eager for anyone to come in with a firm bid and end his Anfield hell. Probably not as eager as the majority of Liverpool fans to see the back of him, however. Voronin is not even booed any more on Merseyside. His inclusion in the side or even on the bench is met with painful groans from the Kop faithful, and this extreme lack of love is certainly having an effect on the former Bayer Leverkusen player's confidence - and waistline. After finding a modicum of form and happiness on loan at Hertha Berlin last season, Voronin returned to Liverpool after the two sides failed to agree on a permanent deal in the summer. Now, as Liverpool slump and Voronin – rather unfairly, it must be said – has been among those blamed for it, the Ukrainian shouldn't be judged for wanting to move on. Now if only someone...actually wanted him. Eintracht Frankfurt have made noises about taking him back to the Bundesliga but recently revealed that they can't afford him. If Liverpool hadn't got hit by a plague of injuries, they may well have cut their asking price – just to get some funds in for their own transfer plans (see below). But while half the team is off having pureed horse placenta rubbed into various injuries, it's all bodies to the wheel. Even bloated, underperforming Ukrainian ones… Eljero Elia to Liverpool Hamburg's highly-rated Dutch winger only arrived at the HSH Nordbank Arena from FC Twente this summer but if Rafa Benitez can raise some funds, the 22-year-old could be plucked from Bruno Laddabia's team and thrust into the soap opera atmosphere at Anfield. Elia has been in barnstorming form for HSV since his arrival and has managed to transfer that form to the international stage with Holland. Elia's agent Klauss Vink has confirmed that a number of Premiership clubs are already tracking the winger, and has said that there is "big interest" from Liverpool. A number of issues will need to be addressed,though, before this one is either revealed as wishful thinking from Merseyside or the real deal: Will Benitez have cash to spend? Will Elia want to become the new Ryan Babel (Dutch talent misused and abused to the point of ordinariness)? Will Liverpool be able to offer Elia Champions League football next season? So Elia will probably be staying at Hamburg then… Neven Subotic to Manchester City (or Arsenal) Man City are like a kid who has had all his pocket money for the year given to him at once. Instead of considering over the space of 12 months what they can save up to buy, the other Manchester club runs around with change falling out all over the shop floor, buying up random players for positions they already have filled – just because they can. It can be argued that City don't need Subotic, the highly-rated Serbian international center-back, but because Arsenal have also shown an interest, they feel that they should too. Subotic would be much better suited and utilized under Arsene Wenger, who is still looking for a bit of strength at the back since Kolo Toure went to, yep – you've guessed it – Man City. Both Premiership clubs are likely to go home empty-handed however. Subotic has recently signed a new contract at Borussia Dortmund, keeping him at BVB until 2014, and the player himself has said he doesn't want to leave, rather to stay and achieve something with Dortmund. Maicosuel to Arsenal The Hoffenheim midfielder only joined the club side last summer in a €4.5 million deal which ties him to the Bundesliga outfit until 2014. But this hasn't stopped the rumor mongers stirring up a potential love-fest between the rangy Brazilian and Arsene Wenger. Maicosuel has been earning rave reviews in the Bundesliga this term and the Gunners' French boss has reportedly been alerted to his talents. Those in the know – and those who are just good at sitting in a pub and making stuff up – say that Maicosuel would fit in beautifully at the Emirates stadium where compatriot Denilson is a regular member of the first team. These "insiders" fail to explain just where Maicosuel would fit in a midfield boasting Cesc Fabregas, Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri unless the Brazilian is being lined up for the role of the defensive holding player Wenger has been looking for since Gilberto departed. However Alex Song and Denilson may have something to say about that… Zvjezdan Misimovic to Arsenal Arsenal scouts must have some kind of deal with a travel agency specializing in trips to Germany because the Gunners pop up again when the name of Wolfsburg's playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic is mentioned. As with Maicosuel above, it seems unlikely that the Bosnia-Herzegovina star would be willing to sit on the bench at the Emirates until Fabregas gets crocked (or is sold to Barcelona). Another impressive season to date has, however, fuelled speculation that Arsenal could be poised to swoop in January, especially given Misimovic's impressive debut in the Champions League this year. But the midfielder signed a new contract at Wolfsburg at the beginning of the year which runs until 2013 and has yet to make any noises over a move. Edin Dzeko to Manchester United or AC Milan This one is the most likely to actually turn from speculation to realization. Dzeko has made no secret of his desire to leave the Bundesliga champions after three years at the Volkswagen Arena and his continued good form has made him a target for some of the biggest teams in Europe. Manchester United, still flush with cash from the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, and still feeling the void left by the Portuguese star's defection to Madrid, are leading the pack. United are looking for a goal scorer to take the pressure off Wayne Rooney with Dimitar Berbatov again looking disinterested and Michael Owen proving to be only a bit-part player in less important games. United could face stiff opposition from Milan, however, who may be preparing for life without Alexandre Pato. And Dzeko has gone on record so many times about AC being the 'club of his boyhood dreams' he's beginning to put readers to sleep. Wherever he goes, it looks as though Wolfsburg and manager Armin Veh are resigned to losing star striker Dzeko – but will want a pretty penny for him, which puts United in the driving seat. |
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| 2 Comments |
| Never mind... I found the RSS feed for the blog now. It's not very obvious, but it is there. |
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| John | Homepage | E-Mail | 21.11.2009, 22:11 | ||
| Good commentary! I like this blog--do you think DW could make RSS feeds available for these blogs? I'd like to add this blog and some other DW blogs to my Google Reader subscriptions. | ||
| John | Homepage | E-Mail | 21.11.2009, 22:10 | ||