Engelaar Price-Tag Scares Off Ajax Ajax have all but withdrawn their interest in signing Orlando Engelaar since Twente have asked for no less than 1

In fact, the Amsterdam giants have found Twente’s demands outrageous, as Martin van Geel suggested.

“As far as Engelaar is concerned, I don’t have much to say,” the Ajax technical director told Algemeen Dagblad. “His club demand 15 million, an amount of money out of proportion for a 28-year-old. Therefore we will no longer deal with this matter.”

Not a matter of money

Twente chairman Joop Munsterman had already made his point talking to regional newspaper Twentse Courant Tubantia. “Van Geel asked me ‘Don’t you need the money?’ and I replied ‘No’. He had also offered a sum which was too low for us to let anybody go.”

Engelaar’s agent, Edward Burleson, revealed that the international all-round midfielder will not push Twente for a possible transfer, but gave away a hint or two on his client’s preference.

Agent leaves the door open

“Orlando would of course like to play for a bigger club, but he’s determined to take it one step at a time. He has ambitions, just like any footballer. But he won’t force a transfer by not playing or not training with the rest of the team.”

“He will assess the situation and then reveal his thoughts publicly. But should he favour a move to Ajax then Twente cannot shut their ears surely.”

Valencia To Unveil Maduro Next Week Hedwiges Maduro’s move to Valencia is set to be completed within a matter of hours, as the Dutch international ha

The Ajax man, accompanied by his fiancée, landed at Manises airport at 12:15 (both local and CET) to face a large number of journalists and cameramen waiting for him.

“I chose Valencia because they are a great club and I was also very excited about the prospect of playing football in Spain,” the 22-year-old said. “I’m very happy to be here. It’s a significant move in my career, as Valencia is one of the most important clubs in Spain.”

Ajax acquaintances

Maduro was set to go through a medical today before signing a deal which Spanish media estimate will reward Ajax with two million euros. And the defensive midfielder will actually have the chance to play under Ronald Koeman, who had promoted him to the Godenzonen first team, but actually left the club a day before Maduro made his debut!

“I know Koeman well. He’s a great coach and we knew each other already, from the past in Amsterdam.” Maduro said.

Should the deal be struck after all, it will be Valencia’s second this month, after they signed another defensive midfielder, Argentine Ever Banega from La Boca Juniors for 18 million euros.

Eredivisie Round-Up: Away Stalemates For Both PSV And Ajax

Defending champions PSV Eindhoven were in for a surprise at the “Seacon”, as Rachid Ofrany lobbed the ball over Heurelho Gomes as early as the second minute (1-0) – a birthday present to himself, since he only turned 21 last Thursday.

Venlo had only lost one of their previous 10 games, but they have now drawn seven out of 11 (!), since the Rood-Witten replied just 10 minutes later. New recruit Balázs Dzsudzsák scored his first goal in Dutch football in only his second outing as he capitalized on a Jeff Farfán pass.

It looked like Sef Vergoossen’s men would have their way when Peter Reekers received his marching orders just after the half-hour mark (32’), but it wasn’t to be, even though Ibi Afellay missed a great chance right at the death. The final score was 1-1.

Three-point lead

Even so, PSV Eindhoven stayed on top on 40 points, three ahead of Ajax who again had to settle for a draw against Nijmegen (1-1). Actually, they needed another Klaas-Jan Huntelaar strike, his 21st in 26 season appearances, to avoid another embarrassing defeat, four days after their 4-2 Beker humiliation at Breda.

On a muddy “Mc DOS / De Goffert” turf it was always going to be a matter of will and the hosts, fighting for their lives, broke the deadlock through Jeremain Lens after a quarter of an hour (16’, 1-0).

Adrie Koster threw on Dennis Rommedahl and Leonardo and after a few good chances the Johan Cruyff Schaal and Beker holders finally found their way back into the game when the sought-after Huntelaar pounced on a precise Kenneth Pérez ball to draw level (1-1).

Twente flying high

Twente continued their impressive run with a 3-1 win over Groningen, catching up with them at third place on 36 points - as many as Feyenoord, who have a game in hand, just like PSV Eindhoven and Ajax.

Blaise N’ Kufo scored twice (29’, 86’) to make it 16 for the season and Stijn Huysegems (53’) added a third for the hosts, while Ron Jans’ side could only hold on to Goran Lovré’s equalizer (47’) for six minutes.

Down at the bottom, a Charles Dissels brace (11’, 59’) helped Sparta Rotterdam to a stunning 6-1 drubbing of De Graafschap, who only pulled one back through Arnar Viðarsson (35’, 3-1). Yuri Rose (7’), Sepp de Roover (26’), Resit Schuurman (own-goal, 57’) and Nourdin Boukhari (68’) netted the other four, as the hosts, who have played a game less, only won for the third time in the campaign.

However, they dragged themselves out of the danger zone thanks to a better goal difference compared to Nijmegen and Excelsior Rotterdam.

Maduro Set To Complete Valencia Move Hedwiges Maduro is expected to conclude his transfer from Ajax to Valencia on Friday as Ronald Koeman has pinpoi

The 22-year-old Dutch midfielder is reported to be flying to Spain where he will undergo a medical and put pen-to-paper on a deal by the end of the day.

Koeman has made his move as Maduro's contract expires at the end of the end of the season and Ajax are keen to receive a fee rather than let him leave nothing.

With 12 international appearances for the Netherlands already, his experience and versatility made him a prime target for many of Europe's wealthier clubs.

Koeman jumped to the head of the queue though as he continues his restructuring of Los Ché squad and looks to have clinched the deal.

Standing at 1.85m tall, Maduro's physical presence has seen him shine in defensive midfield and he will be asked to partner another new arrival, Éver Banega, in the centre.

Maduro was voted as Ajax's most promising prospect in 2003-04 and quickly saw his career take off as he became a regular in the Amsterdam club's side and went on to appear in the 2006 World Cup Finals.

Albelda's future is still up in the air after he was told that he is surplus to requirements and has attracted the interest of several clubs both in Spain and abroad.

Despite that, Valencia have stated that he can only leave if someone is willing to meet his €60m buy-out clause which has left the veteran campaigner in limbo.

Van Marwijk “Ashamed” After Derby Defeat Feyenoord missed a golden chance to go joint-top of the Eredivisie, at least until Sunday evening, as they w

The Roodzwarten, who had last triumphed over Feyenoord on April 27, 1986 by exactly the same score-line, stunned their rivals when they scored twice right after kick-off. Michel van Guldener made it 1-0 just five minutes into the match and then set up Geert den Ouden for the second goal (and his 10th of the season) on 11 minutes.

“Nine substitutions”

“Of course I’m angry, what do you think?” Van Marwijk told reporters after the final whistle. “We started off in apathy, just waiting for them to come on to us. And then we conceded twice in the first 11 minutes. When you play in torrential rain you should be awake.”

“I’m ashamed. You should ask the players what happened, although I feel entirely responsible. I can’t find the words to explain how I feel. I would have made nine changes if I could. The only one I’m not angry at is Tim de Cler.”

The visitors pulled one back through ex-Excelsior man Danny Buijs, his first of the season, on 80 minutes, but it was too little, too late for them. Excelsior, on the other hand, pulled themselves out of the danger zone with only their second victory in 10 games after beating the likes of Ajax on December 23!

Lokhoff in ecstasy

“We still have a long way to go, but this certainly feels nice. Of course, beating Ajax and Feyenoord can only count as a bonus. We can only make these unexpected victories matter if we also beat our competitors.” a delighted Ton Lokhoff said.

A former Feyenoord player, Lokhoff had also reason to feel disappointed, as Muhammet Aykut Demir and former Feyenoord keeper Ronald Graafland were taken off injured and they will seemingly be out of action for a while.

Maduro Presented To The Press

Valencia confirmed the signing of Maduro, 22, from Ajax for an undisclosed fee - believed to be in the region of 2 million Euros - on Friday.

The Dutch midfielder has signed a four-year contract at the Mestalla and stated at his unveiling that he was "happy and proud" to be joining "such a great club".

He described himself as a highly technical midfielder, who can "help in defence and give stability to the midfield", although he stated that he was not averse "to playing in defence" as he had done on occasion at Ajax.

Maduro will wear the number three shirt at Valencia and hopes to be involved in the first-team squad in the near future as he believes that his physical condition "is very good", although coach Ronald Koeman "thinks that it is a little soon".

He stated that he dreamed "about playing in Spain" as a youngster and revealed that he was close to signing with Valencia when he was 15 or 16, but did not want to uproot at such a young age.

Maduro feels that he has enough maturity not to feel the pressure that will inevitably be on the whole team in the coming weeks following their poor start to life under Koeman and believes that results will improve soon because "there is much quality" in the squad.

Finally, Maduro was asked about David Albelda, the player that he will replace in the centre of midfield.

"Albelda is a good player, but one single player is not more important than the team. The team wins the matches," he concluded.

Eriksson & Thaksin Agree City's Transfer Targets Manchester City have drawn up their plan of action for this month's transfer window and identified t

Sven-Goran Eriksson and Manchester City's owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, held talks on Saturday morning as the Citizens target new players to bring in.

The Manchester Evening News reports that Eriksson is keen to make two or three new signings while the January window remains open, in order to give fresh impets to City's attempt to finish in the top six or better this season.

The need for reinforcements was underlined on Saturday when Everton beat City 1-0 at Goodison Park.

That away defeat knocked City from their fourth-place perch down to seventh in the Premier League table on goal difference, and highlighted the need to recruit at least one more striker and probably too another midfielder.

However, Eriksson was understandably not prepared to reveal the club's buying plans following his strategy meeting with Shinawatra.

"I spoke to him and we will see what happens," said the Swedish coach.

"We are working on things and hopefully they will happen but it must do so soon because January is soon over."

The glaring weakness in the City team is goalscoring. The midfielders have done exceptionally well in terms of contributing goals, but the striking department is a problem area.

Eriksson of course realises better than most that lack of goals is their Achilles' heel. He acknowledged: "We have to create more chances and that is a little bit of a problem that has been hanging around us all season."

Critics might shift the emphasis on to converting chances rather than creating them.

Eriksson is understood to admire Dinamo Zagreb's 21-year-old Mario Mandzukic, but Dinamo are reluctant to sell and don't need an urgent cash injection after having cashed in during the summer on Vedran Corluka (to City) and Eduardo, whom thery sold to Arsenal.

Some others who were believed to be on Eriksson's radar, says the Manchester Evening News - the Swede Johan Elmander, Real Madrid's Julio Baptista and Ajax's Klaas Jan Huntelaar, as well as Nicolas Anelka, who has now joined Chelsea - have all been ruled out for various reasons.

Huntelaar would cost around £18million, which Juventus seem prepared to pay, making the Serie A giants favourites for his signature.

No doubt the new City targets will emerge sooner rather than later as we are already at the halfway stage in January.

Jansen Hopes Feyenoord Have The Cure Feyenoord have moved fast to clinch the signing of Michael Jansen, less than three days after the sidelined left

Coming through the ranks in Arnhem, Jansen made his debut with the club’s first team as an 18-year-old on December 12, 2002, when the Geel en Zwart lost 1-0 to Liverpool and were eliminated from the UEFA Cup.

In the years that followed he built his reputation as an up-and-coming defender, playing in 72 games and scoring eight times for Vitesse as well as making his way into the Netherlands under-21 side. He was considered such a gifted player that Marco van Basten invited him to train with the Oranje in 2005.

Heart condition

But then disaster struck. On May 15 of that same year, during a home game against Ajax Jansen collided with Steven Pienaar, now of Everton, and lost consciousness. He was immediately replaced and a month later he was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia.

Jansen did not take part in a single competitive match ever since. And despite resuming training sessions last August, he cancelled his contract with Vitesse after “an advancing difference of opinion concerning his treatment”.

Off to Almelo

Feyenoord jumped at the chance and today announced signing the 23-year-old until the end of the season with an option to extend his contract for a further three years, should he return to action in the meantime. However, Jansen will have to look for first-team action elsewhere, as within hours from signing him Feyenoord have loaned him out to Heracles until June 30.

“This is a slice of luck for us,” technical director Peter Bosz told the Feyenoord official website. “Michael is an exceptionally talented player who has been sidelined by bad fortune for a long time. He’s now fully recovered from his heart problems. We will give him the chance to prove himself again at the highest level.”

Bosz, who had played for both Vitesse and Feyenoord himself, and coach Bert van Marwijk are still looking for reinforcements at the back, while the club have already allowed two of their defenders (Karim Saïdi on loan to Sivasspor and Pieter Collen to Sint-Truidense) to leave this month.

Holland - Eredivisie

1 PSV Eindhoven 46
2 SC Heerenveen 40
3 AFC Ajax 40
4 Feyenoord 39
5 FC Groningen 39
6 FC Twente 36
7 NAC Breda 35
8 Roda JC 33
9 FC Utrecht 32
10 BV Vitesse 31
11 AZ Alkmaar 28
12 De Graafschap 25
13 Willem II 19
14 VVV Venlo 19
15 Heracles Almelo 19
16 Sparta Rotterdam 15
17 NEC Nijmegen 15
18 SC Excelsior 15

Seedorf Unhappy With Change Of Position Due To Pato Milan star Clarence Seedorf is unhappy that he is being forced to change position due to the arri

Seedorf’s favourite position is in the trequartista role, however now that Pato is eligible to play, the Dutch master has had to go into a deeper midfield role.


This didn’t seem to have much of an impact on Seedorf yesterday as the 31-year-old was probably the man-of-the-match in the 5-2 thrashing on Napoli at San Siro.


"I knew that things would go well," Seedorf, who along with Pato and Ronaldo (2), scored in the game, told La Gazzetta dello Sport.


"However I cannot deny that going back to being a midfielder for me is a sacrifice."


Carlo Ancelotti was full of praise for Seedorf after the game, and he admitted himself that the ex-Ajax star was indeed making a sacrifice for the team.

“I would always like to see Seedorf play with this spirit and he was probably Man of the Match for me," Carletto stated.

“Seedorf feels he is a Trequartista and played a crucial role in winning the Champions League last year. He is not the only one who must make a sacrifice for the team, but everyone has to work together for the squad.”

Liverpool, Manchester United and City On The Hunt For Huntelaar A host of Premiership and Serie A clubs had scouts in the stands to analyse gifted st

The likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Rafael Benitez and Sven-Goran Eriksson, along with Juventus’ Claudio Ranieri are all reported to be keen on boosting their attacking line-up with the tall, lanky forward.

Huntelaar did don’t disappoint the eager observers as he netted a brace in Ajax's convincing 6-1 romp over AZ Alkmaar.

Huntelaar, 24, is an established Holland international, has been capped nine times by his country and has an impressive 55 goals from just 66 appearances for the Amsterdam giants following his switch from Heerenveen.

Although Liverpool and Manchester United would probably be Huntelaar's prefereed choice of destination, it is more likely that Manchester City will snare the player.


Benitez has already had the purse strings at Merseyside tightened, as has Ranieri at Juventus. Meanwhile, Ferguson has gone on record to state that he isn't interested in bringing anyone in this month.


However, if his rivals are ready to pounce it may force Ferguson into action as he only has three main strikers available to him at Old Trafford and in Louis Saha he has a forward constantly un-fit and seemingly un-motivated.


Meanwhile, Eriksson has the desire, money and pulling-power to bring in someone of Huntelaar's class, but Eastlands may prove to lowly for the Dutchman when it comes to the crunch.


A move for the instinctive scorer, likened by many to Ruud van Nistelrooy, is likely to cost around £15-18m.

 

Koster: “We Deserved It” Adrie Koster enjoyed his biggest win since taking over at Ajax, on October 9, but he didn’t think the 6-1 drubbing of AZ was

No, I don’t find the score-line flattering,” he told Tele 2 network.

“Demy De Zeeuw’s red card proved vital for both Alkmaar and ourselves. A man up we then had to kill the game – and that’s exactly what we did.”

“Our clean-cut finishing was the main reason why the match was not competitive anymore. But after we’d made it 3-1 we were a bit loose.”

Koster was also particularly satisfied with the return of both Edgar Davids and Kenneth Perez. “I found Kenneth decisive in his passing, while Edgar was present overall. It was a beautiful, a spectacular game and now the Eredivisie title fight is wide open.”

Galliani Pleased With Milan Win

An injury time winner from Alberto Gilardino sealed all the points for the Rossoneri. Milan just edged Udinese in terms of gameplay and the home side were no doubt disappointed at not being able to hold on to a point.

Recent reports had suggested that the under-fire Gilardino was on his way out of the club but it seems as if this is no longer the case as Galliani revealed.

“I left the stands two minutes from the end. It has happened once before where Milan have won right at the end and I had already left.”

“Gilardino? We spoke to his agent and we agreed that we would talk further in March. We have some tough games ahead and we need two good players for every position. Who plays is up to the coach.”

Galliani insisted that Gilardino is just as important as any of their other strikers and said the player will get his chance to shine.

“Gila is as important as Ronnie, Inzaghi and Pato, there will be room to play, that is obvious as we play a game every three days.”

Milan struggled to beat Udinese and Galliani believes this was down to the home side’s excellent tactical awareness.

It was a very important victory for the Rossoneri as they are in direct competition with the Bianconeri for the all important final Champions League spot.

“We struggled, Udinese are an excellent team, they played like the Ajax team of 1995,” concluded the Milan chief.

France - Ligue 1

1 PSV Eindhoven 46
2 SC Heerenveen 40
3 AFC Ajax 40
4 Feyenoord 39
5 FC Groningen 39
6 FC Twente 36
7 NAC Breda 35
8 Roda JC 33
9 FC Utrecht 32
10 BV Vitesse 31
11 AZ Alkmaar 28
12 De Graafschap 25
13 Willem II 19
14 VVV Venlo 19
15 Heracles Almelo 19
16 Sparta Rotterdam 15
17 NEC Nijmegen 15
18 SC Excelsior 15

Steinsson All But Set For Bolton Switch Bolton Wanderers’ experience of Icelanders has no doubt been fruitful, with the likes of Guðni Bergsson and E

According to Sky Sports media group, a report that many Dutch media repeat today, the English club have all but reached an agreement with AZ to sign Grétar Steinsson.

Huge success

International centre-forward Guðjohnsen joined Wanderers in August 1998 and scored 26 goals in 73 appearances until he was sold to Chelsea for 7.5 million euros less than two years later. As for Bergsson, who has reportedly played a major part in the deal, the big international defender was acquired from Tottenham for 95.000 euros (!) in March ’95 only to become somewhat of a Bolton legend, playing in 316 games and netting 26 times before ending his career in the summer of 2003.

Steinsson, Alkmaar’s regular right fullback ever since joining in from Swiss club Young Boys for just one million in August ’05, looks like he’s played his last game for AZ on Sunday, coming on in the 78th minute of his side’s 6-1 demolition at Ajax.

“Lack of concentration”

“Grétar told me on Saturday that he was very emotional ahead of a possible transfer. Therefore he could not concentrate a hundred percent,” Louis van Gaal explained his decision not to start the 26-year-old international. “I only want to work with players who are fully concentrated on AZ. That is with Grétar currently not an issue. He will probably leave the club.”

The Bolton club have already bought Israeli (of Italian ancestry) Tamir Cohen from Maccabi Netanya and Steinsson is widely expected to become their second January signing. Should the former Akraness man join in, he’ll team up with fellow Icelander Heiðar Helguson.

Steinsson only extended his contract with Alkmaar in November until June 30, 2012, but now it’s assessed that the deal with Wanderers should be completed until tomorrow.

Koeman On Maduro, Villarreal And Top Four Dream Ronald Koeman has revealed that a deal to sign Hedwiges Maduro from Ajax has not ben concluded as he

The Dutch coach is waiting for news from the club over the possible arrival of Maduro on Friday after press reports suggested that the deal would be finalised.

"Nobody has rung me to tell that it has been done and I do not like to talk about possible signings until they are concluded.

"I will answer things if and when he signs."

With the second half of the season starting this weekend, Valencia have the chance to gain a slice of revenge of local rivals Villarreal and start heading towards the Champions League places.

The Yellow Submarine won 3-0 at Mestalla on the opening day and that result has stuck with the players and fans who are now hoping to reverse it on Saturday.

"Everyone has talked a lot about that game," Koeman said. "Losing 3-0 at home against them was very hard.

"The players want to beat any local rivals and to continue on the good path that we are on.

"We want to win this game against direct rivals because we want to begin to think about moving towards the top four.

"It would be great to beat a team that is above us. That has to be our only aim."

"It is not easy to reach the top four because there is a gap, but there are a lot of games to go and we are only at the start of the second half of the season."

Koeman Builds A Wall Around Him The distance between Ronald Koeman and Spanish media isn’t getting any smaller, as the Dutch coach has asked for a wa

Koeman, who only took over at the Spanish giants on October 31, has faced harsh criticism almost from the start due to poor results and his decision to sideline José Santi Cañizares, David Albelda and Miguel Ángel Angulo, three of the fans’ most favourite players.

The former Vitesse, Ajax, Benfica and PSV Eindhoven boss has complained that media pressure does not allow him to work properly and has therefore asked the club’s administration for a wall to be built around Valencia’s training ground.

“With this massive attention it looks as if I do something wrong everyday. Everytime I step off my car or get out of the changing room I find eight cameras in my face,” Koeman was quoted as saying last week.

Another renowned Dutch coach, Louis van Gaal, had also found dealing with the press difficult during his time at Barcelona. Koeman had already banned the fans from watching training sessions and his latest decision is hardly expected to make him more popular.