Rumor Mill Churns Some More

As previous comments suggested, the rumor mill has been been making up for time lost during the early rounds of the Euros. Gomes has now moved to Tottenham, Elmander is off to Bolton, more Ronaldinho nonsense: mostly the expected. But Ajax has made some waves doing both the expected and something completely different.

First, there is a proposed deal for Henrique, a central defender on the books at Palmeiras. The 21 year-old has only made 5 appearances since moving from Coritiba. Barca is also interested, but Ajax is supposedly the first to put an offer down. I know absolutely nothing about Brazilian defenders playing in Brazil, but it is a good sign that our scouts may have been just a step ahead of Barca. I also think we stand to learn a lot about the guy when we see what he chooses. There is no stinking way that he will come to Barca and be given a place in the starting eleven. If at 21 he just wants a nice paycheck and a loan deal to a second or third-tier Spanish or Portugese side, we do not want him anyway. Three years ago that may have made sense, but the guy needs to earn his chops now. I happen to know of a club in Amsterdam where he could step in and possibly be the strongest central defender on the squad. And he could play in the UEFA Cup. Beats the heck out of nothing.

The move for Enrique makes sense, assuming he really ends up being worth the price we pay. But Ajax is also throwing curveballs, or maybe even a knuckleball. Yossi Benayoun has been linked with Ajax as well. I have a theory, but first a few details. The deal involves a pay raise for Yossi, as his Liverpool handlers are a bit miserly for a guy who made over thirty appearances last year. At Liverpool under Rafa, Yossi is probably a squad player of sorts. Should Rafa be fired, Yossi would be one of the guys on the phone with his agent coming up with an exit strategy. But I don’t think Rafa is going anywhere, and I doubt Yossi could be that unhappy in Liverpool. He is a fixture in his national side, and CL bonuses should enhance his wages.

My theory is that the Yossi story is a cudgel to drive the price down on Sulejmani, a deal that has certainly stalled out recently. My guess is that Ajax wants Sulejmani and his agent or Hereenveen to know that they are exploring other options. If so, I hope they get the message and sit down with Danny Blind like old friends. Making a gesture toward a squad player at a cash-starved club should grease the wheel.

Of course, I also believe this because I do not know what I would do in a world where Ajax can both land the best young talent in Holland and lure a decent player away from Anfield. Actually I would probably buy a house, register to vote, and have a few kids in such a world. What would you do?

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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