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Buying
From Italy, Spain, Holland, Germany, France & Portugal |
24th May 2005
By Skeletor
Newcastle-Online reader & forum member
Index:
Arsenal
Aston
Villa
Birmingham
City
Blackburn
Rovers
Bolton
Wanderers
Charlton
Athletic
Chelsea
Crystal
Palace
Everton
Fulham
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester
United
Middlesbrough
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Bromwich Albion
Europe
Conclusion?
Howaythetoon has asked me to write a spin off article, in parallel
with his 'Buying from our Premiership rivals' series but this time
scouring Europe for players that we could possibly pick up and what
they can offer us. Graeme Souness has repeatedly stated that he only
wants British players or foreigners with Premiership experience, but
it is worthwhile having a look at what is out there on the continent.
Starting in Italy, it would appear that Inter Milan are a club
that could be shedding a good number of their bloated squad. One name
that would need no introduction is Edgar Davids. The man labeled"The
dreadlocked tea-pot" by Ian Wright during the European Championships
has had a mixture of highs and lows in the last two years. He was
deemed surplus to requirements at Juventus and went on loan to Barcelona
where he transformed their dwindling side, into a formidable team,
which went on an incredible unbeaten run eventually finishing second
in the league. After a tough time at Inter he is apparently available
again. We would have had the perfect lure in Patrick Kluivert, but
Holland's all-time top scorer is no longer with us.
Davids' team mate Belizoglu Emre is another player who is on
his way out of the San Siro. Emre has had a fall-out with manager
Roberto Mancini and is now looking for a new club. The playmaker has
worked with Souness before at Galatasaray and our manager holds him
in very high regard. Indeed we have been linked with him recently,
but it appears that we also face competition from Everton for his
signature and he is believed to prefer a move to the Toffees as they
have Champions League football to offer.
Finally Andy Van der Meyde could possibly be facing an exit
from Internazionale as well. The flamboyant right winger, who impressed
at Ajax, has stated before that he would be interested in a move to
Newcastle, but that was when Kluivert was here. It remains to be seen
whether he would want to join the team now that we're in the InterToto
Cup...
Similarly to Inter, Juventus look set to shift some of their playing
staff off the wage bill. French winger Oliver Kapo has claimed
that we are after him, but this has been denied by Souness. What he
would offer us is pace down the right hand side, and he can whip some
very good crosses into the box. We have also been linked with Stephen
Appiah over the last year. Appiah is a classy holding midfielder,
with pace and power. Again we face competition from Everton for his
signature, however and others.
Fiorentina, after a summer of heavy spending, look set to be relegated
after a series of managerial changes. One player that we could look
at, would be Tomas Ujfalusi. He’s an uncompromising, pacey
defender who has at times filled in most of the defensive positions.
He's very comfortable on the ball as well. You might remember seeing
him for the Czech Republic in the European Championships where he
was one of the shining lights of the tournament.
Mauro Esposito has emerged as the gem of an otherwise fairly
unspectacular Cagliari side. The Italian midfielder has everything
to excite fans. He's lightning quick, he has plenty of tricks up his
sleeves and he scores and creates goals. However there is inevitably
much bigger clubs sniffing around him, and so I would deem this one
as a no goer, really.
Concluding our look at Italy, the last name I am going to suggest
is Jon Dahl Tomasson. A former Newcastle United player, who
has made a name for himself at AC Milan. Tomasson finds himself down
the Milan pecking order these days, but would be a useful addition
for us. He is still fond of the club and has stated that he still
looks out for our results and I'm sure he would welcome the opportunity
of resuming first team football with us. His creative link up play,
is something that would add variety to our attacking options and with
his contract expiring in a year, he is not likely to cost too much.
Moving westwards to Spain there is also a plethora of talent
for us to sift through. I'll start with the one that would have most
of us fans on the edge of our seat – Michael Owen. We all know
what Owen can do, both from his time at Liverpool and with England,
however no matter how well he plays for Real Madrid, his starting
place never seems to be secure and with Robinho possibly on his way
to Madrid, his opportunities are likely to become more limited. It's
believed however that he is not keen to join us and there are also
rumours circulating of interest from Manchester United and we all
remember what happened the last time we entered into a bidding war
with them. A no goer I feel.
One other player at Madrid that has similar problems is Santiago
Solari. He has been relegated to the subs bench after the arrivals
of all the 'Galacticos' that Florentino Perez just had to have. The
skilful left winger, would fit into Souness' mould because of his
high work rate, having often filled in at left back too. He recently
signed a new contract which appears to have scuppered the interest
in him that was building, but Real might still consider letting him
go for a reasonable fee should we ask about his availability. Whether
he himself would entertain the idea, is another thing altogether.
Two players at champions Barcelona, who look set to be homeless are
Javier Saviola and Juan Roman Riquelme. Saviola has
been on loan at Monaco this year, and he has the attributes to suit
the Premiership. He has pace, stamina, and he has clinical finishing
abilities, however I would doubt that he does enough for Souness to
consider, as he is often on the periphery of games, playing on the
shoulder of the last defender. Riquelme is a fabulously talented player.
He has blossomed since he has been converted to a supporting striker
whilst on loan at Villarreal. He is a creative playmaker, who will
set up hatfuls of chances for his strike partner, whilst at the same
time pull off incredible long range efforts and set pieces. There
is still a question mark over whether he could cope in the physical
Premier League, and having seen how things turned out for Kluivert,
I'm not sure he would get the patience either.
Diego Forlan has found his form this season at Villarreal.
Working in tandem with Riquelme, he is the second highest scorer in
La Liga this term, with his goals elevating Villarreal to third place.
He has pace, harries defenders, always finding space and he scores
goals. He has stated that he wants a return to the Premiership sooner
or later to prove himself once and for all. He is just the kind of
player we need. Hungry to succeed, will never give up and is also
very talented on top of it all.
Similarly there is Kahveci Nihat of Real Sociedad. Nihat has
become somewhat of a cult hero wherever he has played and since he
has been out of the Sociedad team through injury this season, the
team's form has suffered. An intelligent player and a lethal finisher,
as well as having played in Turkey, would make him an ideal player
for the Premiership. Real Sociedad have financial problems and now
would be as good a time as any to test their resolve for Nihat, with
a fee of around £8m having been quoted two months ago.
Being an active member of the Newcastle-Online.com forum, one rumour
that seems to excite even the most ardent Souness critic is that of
Jorge Andrade. The classy ball playing defender is the rock
of the Deportivo defence and an integral part of their Champions League
run last season. His levels of concentration do tend to be suspect
at times however, the incident when he gave Deco a friendly slap in
the Champions League semi-final, only to be sent off because it looked
malicious to the referee who had no idea they were friends. Never
the less, he would be quite a coup for Newcastle if we could pull
it off, and it would create a buzz of optimism for the new season.
His team mate Walter Pandiani has impressed a few people whilst on
loan at Birmingham as well. The striker nicknamed "The rifle" for
his assassin like performances in front of goal has displayed the
necessary qualities to be a hit in the Premiership. Yet he looks to
have a suspect temperament as he has fallen out with Deportivo coach
Irureta over tactical disagreements and even stated that he never
wanted to join Birmingham in the first place, just days after he had
arrived. Doesn't seem like a Souness player does he?
Moving on to Holland. Ajax continue their tradition of raising
their own superstars through their youth academy. One such player
who originally took the world by storm, but has since rather lost
his way is Rafael Van der Vaart. The man with the endless tricks
up his sleeve looks set to leave Ajax, with just one year left to
run on his contract. At one time there would have been no chance of
us signing such a prodigious talent, however his star is fading the
longer he remains at the Dutch side. We have been linked in some corners,
but nothing more reliable has come up. A price of just a mere £3m
is being touted in the media, which would be an absolute bargain.
We have also been linked with his compatriot, Daniel de Ridder.
He is an exciting young talent. However he still has not fully made
his way into the Ajax team. He plays in a similar mould to Cristiano
Ronaldo – The ability to take on many players and beat them all. His
end product still needs work on though. However I think for the rumoured
£2.5m asking price that has been banded around, he would be worth
a consideration. His team mate Hatem Trabelsi has also been
linked to us. The Tunisian right back does all his defensive work
as a right back should, but he is also breathtaking in his ventures
forward. He effortlessly glides up and down the right flank and always
contributes in the attacking 3rd. Would be one to consider now that
Aaron Hughes has departed to Aston Villa.
The Korean double act of Young-Pyo Lee and Park Ji-Sung
have impressed for PSV Eindhoven this season in their long run to
the Champions League Semi-Final. Lee, a left back is part of a solid
defensive unit that Gus Hiddink has created, but he is also very flamboyant
when venturing forward, often appearing like a left winger for PSV.
He has a knack of putting in great crosses and beating his opposite
fullback to the by line. Park Ji-Sung never stops working for the
team and is also vital to the team with his defensive work. He never
lets his opposite number rest and is always determined to win the
ball back. He is also a very creative little player, who is not afraid
of trying his luck from distance. I think the fans would really take
to him because of the way he plays with a big heart.
Then there is Dirk Kuyt at Feyenoord. He is very much your
old fashioned centre forward who looks to hold the ball up and battle
the defenders physically. He has a powerful shot and inevitably he
scores many goals and works hard for the team, constantly allowing
himself to be used as an outlet when needed. Another young centre
forward is Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who impressed many with his
performances in the UEFA Cup this season for Heerenveen against United.
You might remember him as the rather young looking guy who scored
a spectacular goal against us this season, muscling Bramble off the
ball, turning and rifling a shot into the top corner. I think this
kid is going to be special and it won't be long before the big clubs
start to circle like vultures if he keeps his performances up. Is
he worth the gamble now? He is still very raw, and I think he would
have to become a lot stronger if he was going to cope in the Premiership.
In France, Paul Le Guen's departure from Lyon leaves them open
to potential bids for some of their players. One player I think would
do really well for us would be Sylvain Wiltord, the former
Arsenal striker. He's versatile as he can play as a direct right winger
or he can play up front. He has pace, power and great technique, not
to mention a memorable hairline. We are going to need more players
of his ability if we are going to compete with the big boys any time
soon.
Another player from Lyon that interests me is Juninho Pernambucano
(try saying that when you're drunk). He is a classy intelligent player,
who fits in at either right wing or in the centre of midfield. He
is one of the best set piece specialists in the world and has fantastic
technical ability with the ball at his feet. I'm still unsure as to
how he would cope in the physical Premiership, and his age may be
off putting when you realise that he is 30.
One last player who is worth considering from France is Patrice
Evra. Our urgency for a left back has increased with Babayaro's
constant 'injury' problems and now Hughes departure. Evra is another
attacking left back and rose to fame for Monaco in their Champions
League campaign last season. He has pace, he has the end product,
but I don't think he would want to join us somehow.
Only two players from Germany (that we could realistically
get) spring to my mind. The first is England international Owen
Hargreaves. He has had his troubles with England, often being
played out of position on the wings and looking unspectacular for
it. However at home in his holding midfield role, he looks a very
classy player, who has perhaps recently lost his way a bit. He has
made noises about wanting to play in the Premiership and I think he
would be perfect to replace the under performing Nicky Butt in the
engine room of our midfield.
The other player I had in mind was Dimitar Berbatov from Bayer
Leverkusen. They've had another poor season by their standards and
there may be a chance to prize him away. He's an all round goalscorer,
who thrives both on service as well as involving himself in the game.
He always works hard for the team and never gives up easily. It is
debatable whether he would be interested in a move to us though, with
only InterToto football on offer.
Finally we end our look at European prospects in Portugal,
with mostly Sporting Lisbon players to look at. Having played Sporting
so many times this season, and seeing them in the UEFA Cup, I think
many of us have started to know their team like the back of our hands.
One player who has been very impressive is youngster Jaoa Moutinho.
The tenacious midfielder has not been phased by anything that has
been put in front of him in his short career. He has not shyed away
from physical games when faced against both Boro and ourselves. Indeed
both us and Boro fans will remember how he was instrumental in ripping
both our teams apart with his willingness to get involved and his
end product. One of the lowest paid players at Sporting, he may jump
at the opportunity to join the Premiership and we have an ace card
in Hugo Viana, in securing any deal should we want to pursue it.
Striker Liedson and versatile attacking player Rudolf Douala
have both impressed as well. Both have blistering pace and close control.
Prefer to score 'the perfect goal' with close range tap-ins after
a well built attack, rather than try the messier, scrappier finishes.
Their pace would be key to playing in the Premiership as many defenders
would just simply find it difficult to cope with them as they are
both a real handful, as we found out!
Finally there is the possibility of us reigniting our interest in
Souness' old club - Benfica's fullback Miguel. The pacey winger
who was converted into a right back impressed in the European Championships
after stealing Chelsea's Paulo Ferreiras' starting place right from
under his nose. Most notably he kept Arjen Robben quiet when the Portuguese
faced the Netherlands. His jaunts down the field are what make him
stand out however. Having previously been a winger, Miguel knows how
to contribute to the attacking game as well.
Ultimately if I was Graeme Souness, the players from above that I
would be targeting are Andrade, Young Pyo-Lee, Hatem Trabelsi, Owen
Hargreaves, Van der Vaart, Tomasson and Nihat or Diego Forlan. Whether
Souness actually has any targets from the Continent remains to be
seen but I would like to hope that he has already considered some
of the options that I have listed above.
Write In... Who would you like Newcastle to sign
in the Summer? Write in with your suggestions, reasons for your choices
and what these players would bring to the squad and we will publish
your thoughts on these very pages. Send in your suggestions using
the below e-mail form:
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