please log in to view this image Traditionally In England the first of July is the opening of the transfer market, it's that time of the year again when clubs can sign new players, or lose their players. I'm specifically not saying 'ditch' or 'get rid of' because in the Eredivisie, the yearly exodus in the summer is seen as a loss for fans. So when the transfer market opens, you'd expect the Dutch football fans to be in mourning, saying goodbye to their beloved star players. Not this time though, because most of the talents have left the country before the market even opened. In one of my previous blogs I wrote about the phenomenon that clubs already start negotiating and bidding on players in the Eredivisie as soon as the start of April, ironing out any problems so that a deal can be made quickly in May and June. And this year particularly they've been busy, with dozens of players leaving the Eredivisie in June, so here is a round up before it's the first of July: please log in to view this image Jeremain Lens, PSV -> Dynamo Kiev (9 million euro's) Dries Mertens, PSV -> Napoli (9.5 million euro's) Erik Pieters, PSV -> Stoke City (3.5 million euro's) Miralem Sulejmani, Ajax -> Benfica(Free agent) Ryan Babel, Ajax -> Kasimpasa(Free agent) Filip Djuricic, SC Heerenveen -> Benfica(6 million euro's) Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, SC Heerenveen -> AZ Alkmaar (undisclosed) Adam Maher, AZ Alkmaar -> PSV (8 million euro's) Leandro Bacuna, FC Groningen -> Aston Villa(1 million) Virgil van Dijk, FC Groningen -> Celtic (2.5 million) Nemanja Gudelj, NAC Breda -> AZ Alkmaar (3 million) Jeffrey Bruma, Chelsea -> PSV (3 million) Sanharib Malki, Roda JC -> Kasimpasa (1.5 million) Kyle Ebicilio, Arsenal -> FC Twente(Free agent) Nana Asare, FC Utrecht -> AA Gent(undisclosed) Jan Wuytens, FC Utrecht -> AZ Alkmaar(Free agent) *Stretches his neck and hands* A long list for just the month of June(Djuricic transfer excluded). A hectic months and the clubs have already cashed in a tens of millions of euro's and this will likely continue in the next two months. Money is rolling right now and this year's out-flux of players is far from over. By September first most of the clubs will have a complete new first team(mostly because they bought or loaned 11 new players, or in some cases pushed through a couple of youth players). Thus far only Feyenoord and Ajax have managed to cling on to their players, but for how much longer? The transfer rumours around Eriksen , De Vrij and De Jong have subsided in the past few weeks. PSV have sold their forwards and Ola Toivonen is likely to go to Norwich any time soon. July 1st is coming, but the market has opened weeks ago, But as always, I'll keep you posted when rumours pop up when they involve the Eredivisie. Signing off, Cove
Cheers for the update, Cove. No doubt there'll be an absolute ton of movement both to and from Holland over the summer. The rumours about Bony to Swansea seem to have gone from absolutely stonewall to total silence overnight, though.
Good read as always. If rumours are to be believed we are looking to Brazil and Croatia for our signings at the moment but I wouldn't be surprised have more than a few in the Dutch leagues on our radar but it takes a significant investment to take a player from the Eredvise these days. I thought Eriksen was pretty much nailed on to join Dortmund a few weeks ago, anything changed on that front? Not sure we're after him so seriously anymore but he's got a great future ahead of him.
All dead silent on Eriksen and De Jong. Frank de Boer stated on Saturday that he hopes that Eriksen will sign the extension Ajax offered him on his contract. De Jong still has 2 years on his contract though.
Annoyed that Mertens moved on - thought he was a good prospect and would've been happy to have him in our side.
very very strange move for Jeremain Lens. why would anyone choose to go and play their football in the Ukraine?!
They've also signed someone that we were linked with, Younès Belhanda. Not sure that's a positive move for the player.
Sulejmani joined Benfica on a FREE?! Bloody hell that went under the radar, decent player in my opinion. Probably got hyped up too early though at a young age which I think caused his development to hit a snag. I remember him at Heerenveen where everyone was saying he was basically the next best thing. Still done admirable at Ajax in my opinion and definitely good enough to play in the Prem for a top 10 team I'd say. Very good signing for Benfica. Lens was a player I mentioned once or twice I wouldn't mind seeing at Spurs. Can play anywhere across the front three and whenever I've seen him he's looked a decent player. Surprising he's gone to Dynamo. Think Maher made a sensible decision joining PSV. Although I think he's good enough to join a top 6 Prem team already, having another season or two at one of Holland's best clubs, known for producing/ developing some good talent, will help him develop better and get him more prepared for what I think is an inevitable move to a bigger league in the near future.
