Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

[aveslacker]

Good luck, Klaas-Jan. And welcome to Ajax, Mr Berg.

[Amol]

Good luck, Klaas-Jan. And welcome to Ajax, Mr Berg.

UEFA.com says that the transfer sum is 27 million euros. Seems like a good price to me. Who are we getting as a replacement?

[bluedaddy19]

fucking hell... not happy

[gordonvandekamp]

I am not entirely happy, but it was inevitable. I just hope we use the transfer fee for good use (unlike the most recent big pay days of Babel/Sneijder). I'd rather have a new defender than a replacement for Huntelaar.

That said the most likely replacements for purchase at this point seem to be Berg, van Wolfswinkel, and Djiby Fall. I hope we don't pay what Groningen wants for Berg (unless maybe we can get a discount if we send Silva back) and think the money would be spent more wisely elsewhere.

[SPL]

Good luck KJH Thanks for all those goals.

Do not want us to pay over the odds for Berg. We have Cvitanich already as a replacement so why not buy Van Wolfswinkel for the future.

[Amol]

Good luck KJH Thanks for all those goals.

Do not want us to pay over the odds for Berg. We have Cvitanich already as a replacement so why not buy Van Wolfswinkel for the future.

I just don't see Cvitanich being able to play as a lone striker up front. I saw a couple videos of Djiby and he didn't look too bad. I still do want to see what promise Bodul might bring.

[Philippe]

[i]Calderón: ‘Huntelaar komt voor bank’ [/i]I assume bank is the Dutch word for bench.

[Kowalczyk]

One of the details in the deal is that KJH will not play for Ajax anymore in his last month. Which means that his last appearance for Ajax was on November 9th against Sparta, the game in which he sustained his injury (and scored the opening goal).

K.

[Blind3]

Best of luck Hunter !! Now, time to make wise use of the transfer sum.

[The Purple Cow]

I think this was the right time to move on, but I think he has made a mistake in moving to Real, which is a basket-case of a football club. He's a player that needs the rhythm of playing week-in week-out, and that's not going to happen there.

Still, at least the weather will be nice, which is important if you are sitting around doing nothing.

**

I hope the money is spent wisely. We need a right back, a centre-back, and a winger with the skill to go past full-backs, and to cross the ball accurately.

[Philippe]

There he will find friends for small talk in Dutch.

[GangstaRiB]

Ah well... Ajax and Huntelaar did their best to get Klaas-Jan transferred to another club. Ajax lured with Huntelaar for months to try to sell him so we could receive money for him. On the other hand, Huntelaar would never cause trouble when Ajax arranged a deal for him.

So that's what seems to be the story. Ajax wants money for Huntelaar and Huntelaar wants to leave. Ajax is happy with the money, Van Basten is happy so he can invest in another prospect and Huntelaar is happy with his club.

The unhappy ones: A great deal of the Ajax supporters (myself NOT included). I wasn't really a fan of Huntelaar, but the whole 'operation' to get Huntelaar to Real gives me mixed feelings.
We have to be champions this year! The fans can't wait another year, but meanwhile Ajax sells a topstriker just like that....

[rjf1]

With Ajax it was a case of being a big fish in a small pond. With Real he is going to be a very little fish in a very big pond.

I can't understand why so many players who could get all the first team action they could hope for staying here would want to go somewhere where they are going to end up spending 80% of their time on the bench (Ryan Babel being a case in point).

Well, I suppose money has something to do with it -- but it seems to me like a bad trade to send your long-term career prospects down the tube for a short-term monetary gain.

[aveslacker]

With Ajax it was a case of being a big fish in a small pond. With Real he is going to be a very little fish in a very big pond.

I can't understand why so many players who could get all the first team action they could hope for staying here would want to go somewhere where they are going to end up spending 80% of their time on the bench (Ryan Babel being a case in point).

Well, I suppose money has something to do with it -- but it seems to me like a bad trade to send your long-term career prospects down the tube for a short-term monetary gain.

The list of Ajax players who have left the club for more supposedly glamorous places is pretty long. And many of them end up failing.

I know I'm biased towards Ajax, but I just can't help but wonder why there aren't more Gabris out there -- guys who are happy to play in Amsterdam (I mean, it's not like A-dam is a hellhole or anything) for a while.

I can understand a guy like Suarez wanting to leave -- he's from a Latin climate and has the skill and mentality to make it at a place like real. And Heitinga certainly put in a lot of years with the club. But has it been a good move for someone like Nigel de Jong or Hedwiges Maduro? Those guys could have developed a lot more as players, and helped Ajax on the way, if they'd stayed around a few more years.

[Over Pasanens Head]

I can understand players from the great sides of the past wanting to move on to another challenge, but over the last 4 years that hasn't exactly been the case with Ajax.

I have a feeling that KJH's performances with Ajax this season were the produce of staleness or a lack of motivation for another season's slog in the Eredivisie.

Having worked in Madrid in the winter I can say with some certainty that the winters there (highest capital in Europe) can be as cold if not colder at times that dear old Dam.

[SPL]

Cannot see any problem with KJH leaving nor Heits , both aged 25 but
Babel is getting very little playing time and Maduro hardly plays for Valencia.Players like these plus Nigel deJong left for more money and their careers have stagnated.Mind you we let De Jong and Maduro's contracts run down which was plain stupid and probably encouraged then to leave before their time. Babel just saw the money and ran.

It is not just Ajax youngsters who go abroad too early. I read yesterday that Marvin Emnes, who left Sparta for Middlesbrough last summer had played 6 mins of league football before November.The

I read a couple of months ago that Vertonghen was happy to extend his contract and was not interested in joining teams like Everton and Middlesbrough, where he could get more money.If Man U came calling he would find that hard to say no.A couple of more seasons with us and if he continues to improve he will attract bigger teams than the 2 quoted .

I would imagine Urby and Suarez will both look to leave in the summer of 2009.By and large I think youngsters should have a good 4 seasons in the first team before thinking of moving. 23/24 is still a good age to leave
like Sneijder.

[Orange14]

In Maduro's case I think it's just that he never progressed much even when he was at Ajax in his last year. We were fortunate to make money on him and I think it was Koeman who brought him to Valencia (and was later sacked as manager). I don't think we should bring him back. de Jong has done OK at Hamburg and has started for the Oranje when healthy. I don't think it's fair to say his move has been a failure.

Unfortunately with the state of modern football, other than the 10 top Euro teams everyone else sells players.

[Van basten]

I hope the money is spent wisely. We need a right back, a centre-back, and a winger with the skill to go past full-backs, and to cross the ball accurately.

What we need the least, is a winger. We have them so many, that we probably could make a starting line-up just from wingers.

[Kowalczyk]

KJH is already training with Real Madrid, which I find odd and slightly annoying, as he won't officially join them until January 1st... but that's a detail.

We will say goodbye to him on Sunday, after the ADO Den Haag home game. Today, UEFA.com published a nice interview with him. Check it out:

http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/ne ... &att=index

K.

[Kowalczyk]

Just saw the footage of KJ's last lap in the ArenA. He was almost in tears.

Very moving.

He will be missed. Good luck in Madrid, Klaas.

K.

[Orange14]

There was a nice shot of him in the stands during the match today, sitting next to his mother I think. Also Heitinga was there as well. I hope KJH succeeds at Madrid (even though it's the wrong club for him).

[Kowalczyk]

Also Heitinga was there as well.

Yeah - Johnny visited the F-Side and Vak 410. All of a sudden everybody started chanting his name - and there he was, having a chat with the fans. Nice.

K.

[SPL]

Goodbye to KJH . Thanks for all those magic goals and all the best in Madrid.

[saddlerian]

There was a nice shot of him in the stands during the match today, sitting next to his mother I think.

:hupajax.gif: :hupajax.gif: :hupajax.gif:

...yes, and the poor chap seemed close to tears! Must be strange watching from sidelines on your last match..especially as your "replacement" knocks a hat-trick in!

Let's hope that he's treated with the respect he deserves....Good Luck Klaas

[Rooie]

After the game, Klaas-Jan visited Het Supportershome, drinking and singing:

http://www.sportweek.nl/voetbal/81961/V ... ortershome