We Knew This Day Would Come…
By: Matt | December 1st, 2008Preliminary reports are claiming that KJH is on his way to Real Madrid come January. Real panicked now that Ruud is ruled out for the year, and so they decided to fork over the cash for his replacement. I have been writing about this since last summer, so I am not going to act like this is a surprise (although I did not expect a January move). Nor am I going to act like this is the end of Ajax’s ambitions for this season…
…so instead of mourning, let’s assess our prospects.
The last few weeks have given us a glimpse of life after KJH, and this life might not actually look so bad. I still think Suarez needs to learn the position better, but he is more than adequate at scoring goals in the striker spot. A healthy Sulejmani can pull some weight, and a resurgent platoon of Leonardo and Kennedy and Rommedahl can hold down the other wing. This side beat PSV soundly before dropping off at AZ only to show some nerve beating HSV on the road before drawing with FC Utrecht…
… So the core of a good team is still intact, but the consistency is lacking. If KJH provided anything, it was the consistency to score goals so regularly. Suarez is streaky and Sulejmani has been injured, and we cannot always count on Leonardo to produce. But I am still confident that we can challenge for the title.
And that is before we consider the possibility that a replacement will be arriving to take KJH’s place.
You may now begin your speculation… who might be moving to Amsterdam in January?
Category: Team News
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Quite honestly, I had hoped he wouldn’t leave Ajax.
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According to goal.com (granted, a very questionable source), the player most likely to be the replacement is Djiby Fall.
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The KJH-to-Madrid deal is already finalized. Both clubs have just announced the deal is completed. Ajax will receive 20M Euros up front, rising to 27M based on add-on clauses and whatnot. Overall, I’d say that’s a pretty good price for Ajax, considering (1) KJH only had 18 months left on his contract, and (2) the initial 20M is all up-front and not in installments like the Zlatan transfer disaster.
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Don’t forget Cvitanich. We brought him in from Banfield, where he was the Argentinian league’s top scorer, for 7 million and he is a central striker so once he’s healthy in the next week or so expect to see him get a chance. Marcus Berg of groningen is another name, but he is quite pedestrian in my view. Hard working, but not a talent. Have no idea about this Djibril Fall from Odense.
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Jack- You are right. The price is good enough, and this is not quite the Zlatan debacle. We have plenty of time to sort this out, and a bag of money to throw at it.
As far as Fall goes, I dunno. I just discovered him a week ago fiddling around on FM. He would be an unproven talent who could flourish. I would like somebody who can play in the UEFA knockout rounds…
dave- I forgot Cvitanich on purpose because, well, he has been forgettable so far. If he is ever healthy, then we will know what we have. I would prefer bringing someone else in. And you are right about Berg. Not for Ajax.
j- Yeah. Me, too. This just confirms for the media “the death of the eredivisie.”
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What´s this about Ajax looking into another dutch striker in the eredivise….I think it was at twente??…cant remember where I read that, but I´d sure be nice to have another Huntelaar in the works behind Cvitanich….
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@ Ragnar: I think the person you might be thinking of is Ricky van Wolfswinkel? 19-year old currently at Vitesse. Seems like the rumors floating this week are Fall, Berg, and van Wolfswinkel. I don’t know anything about him… except that he might have the best name in the history of forever. Van Wolfswinkel. The name alone has to be worth at least a couple million euros.
But seriously…
I’d definitely like to see Cvitanich get a shot, but even with him in the squad, Ajax will need another central striker, right? Lately they’ve even been using Sno (a defensive midfielder) as a center forward, which leads me to believe they’ll need another striker (even after Cvitanich is healthy and returned).
Anyone know if there is a player in the reserves/youth squads ready to make the leap to the first team? Matt?
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Van Wolfswinkel ehh?never heard of him….Youth squads sounds like a plan. Sno is not really a striker, so I dont think we´ll be collecting any silverware with just Cvitanich in that role….
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Darko Bodul is perhaps the closest striker our youth side has to “ready”, but I don’t think anybody expects him to debut this season.
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United States
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