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GALATASARAY FAIL IN LEIVA BID

Galatasaray made a move to take the 29-year old midfielder Lucas Leiva away from Liverpool and seemed close to signing the Brazilian midfielder after they agreed terms with the Premier League side, with Lucas looking set to follow Dirk Kuyt from The Reds into Turkish Football.

Lucas Leiva started his career as a box-to-box midfielder at Gremio in Brazil where he won the Campeonato Gaucho in 2006 and 2007. In July 2007 he was signed by Liverpool, where he developed into one of the league’s premier defensive midfielders.

The right-footer midfielder has since made over 300 appearances for the club and won the League Cup in 2012. From 2010 to 2016 Lucas led the Premier League in tackles per game, five times in six seasons

The Instanbul giants gave Liverpool until Monday 8th August to make an effective decision over the selling of the Brazilian midfielder, Lucas Leiva. The football betting odds had Lucas at 1/8 to move, so the bookies thought it was nailed on. Nevertheless, the Amfield dwellers had second thoughts and reportedly delayed the final decision concerning Lucas’ future at the club.

The 20-time Turkey Super Lig winners, Galatasaray were not intending to wait as Liverpool seemed to be dragging their decision, with the Turkey side ready to turn their attention elsewhere if no further willingness came from Liverpool.

“We have an agreement with Liverpool over the transfer of Lucas, but they are having second thoughts because of a number of recent injuries,” Galatasaray board member Levent Nazifoglu declared at a news conference. We will wait until Monday 8th of August to see what happens. We will look at other options if the deal is not done by then.”

Galatasaray had no one on their watch-list, but saw the Hertha Berlin midfielder, Tolga Cigerci as a potential plan B and sent a formal offer for the 24-year-old who eventually joined instead on August 8th.

“We have made an offer for Cigerci. We are waiting for their answer,” Nazifoglu added.

Kuyt on Georginio Wijnaldum

Dirk Kuyt used to perform with Liverpool from 2006 until 2012 where he managed to make over 200 appearances. The Dutch player has expressed his opinions concerning the latest signing that the Premier League outfit Liverpool has completed.

Liverpool signed Georginio Wijnaldum for a transfer fee of £25 million as he made his way from Newcastle United to the team of Jurgen Klopp. Even though Newcastle United went through an underwhelming season which saw them being relegated after only being able to win 9 matches from 38.

Despite the forgettable season of Newcastle United, Georginio Wijnaldum had a fairly impressive campaign as the 25 year old Dutch player was the top goal-scorer as he scored 11 goals and made consistent high level performances.

According to Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool has been keeping a close eye on the Dutch player for some time as he said:

“He was watched by the scouts already in his youth days at Feyenoord as a very great talent. When I played for Liverpool, I heard them frequently say that he would be a wonderful asset one day. It is a wonderful transfer for Gini. The best compliment for him was that his name in my time at Liverpool buzzed inside the club,”

Whether or not Georginio Wijnaldum becomes a successful player in Anfield is something that remains to be seen and only time will tell but Dirky Kuyt has backed him up for great things as he is a player that Liverpool has been keeping a close eye on for a significantly long period of time and they have finally snatched him up.

Georginio Wijnaldum will be wearing the number # 5 jersey which has been previously worn by Daniel Agger and he is hoping to be as influential as the Danish player was during his time spent in Anfield where he made over 150 appearances.

TEIJSSE FOLLOWS THE FOOTSTEPS OF DIRK KUYT

Scottish club Dundee FC have signed Holland international Yordi Teijsse ahead of the coming season.

The 23-year old Teijsse decided to follow the footsteps of former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt by moving across the North Sea.

Teijsse had a successful season in the last campaign with top amateur club Quick Boys before deciding to join Dens Park for a fresh challenge.

Dirk Kuyt was groomed by the Quick Boys youth system until 1998 before he moved up to join FC Utrecht. He played there for several seasons before joining Feyenoord in 2003. He stayed with the club until his big money move to Liverpool, when they are arguably one of the biggest clubs in Europe. He played several season with The Reds before joining Fernabahce in 2012 as his career started winding down. He rejoined his former club Feyenoord last season.

Kuyt just even renewed his contract for another year ending speculation over his future at the Dutch outfit after an impressive season. The 35-year old scored 19 goals in 32 league matches helping Feyenoord to a third place finish in the Eredivisie. He attempted 721 passes in the final third of last season, which was more than any other player in the Dutch top flight football league.

He is already been tipped for the top in Scottish football, with the latest StanJames odds showing them as the third favourites after his signing.

Teijsse is another talent that many are hoping will be successful like the biggest name from Quick Boys. He already scored 30 goals in just 26 games last campaign, helping the club gain the much needed promotion.

The player who is not huge has surprisingly scored a lot of goals using his head with his ability to jump high. A lot of clubs in Holland wanted him but he decided to move to the UK. The coach and the rest of the team wished Teijsse the best as he moves to a new phase of his career.

Kuyt backs Liverpool to qualify for the final

Dirk Kuyt believes that Liverpool can still qualify for the Europa League final despite being beaten 1-0 in Spain. Lopez scored a goal in the 92nd minute to help Villareal defeat Liverpool.

He stated that this is only the first-half of the tie and that there is still 90 minutes to play for in the semi-final. He believes that the side will be able to overcome the deficit at Anfield and that they still have a chance to make it to the final.

Kuyt was speaking to the Dutch press ahead of Feyenoord’s final few fixtures in the Eredivisie – with tickets for the team’s final game at home amongst the most searched for items on www.livefootballtickets.com because of the impact their result could have on where the league championship ends up.

However, whilst he was in a confident mood, manager Jurgen Klopp confessed that he was not pleased with the way his side conceded a goal in injury time. He said that they lacked luck because there was no offside against Adam Lallana, and this would have given them time to regroup and reorganize their defence. He also had issues with Moreno, as the full-back was nowhere to be seen on the goal, but he admitted that errors do happen and that they have to accept it and moved on.

The Liverpool manager thought that they would have encountered more problems in Spain, but he is satisfied the way the game went. He said that his team defended well and managed to create some chances in the game. Because of this performance, he still believes that they can overcome the deficit at Anfield and make it to the final. For him, the game at Anfield will be a different one and this time, they will be attacking Villarreal.

Liverpool played a more defensive game in Spain without a striker in the team, supposedly because Klopp and Sturridge have fallen out. Indeed, Sturridge was left on the bench as Jurgen Klopp tried to stifle Villarreal attack. Liverpool did manage to create some chances, though. Allen fired directly at the keeper in the opening stage of the game while Firmino managed to hit the post midway through the second-half.

BLIND LEAVES RVP AT HOME

Danny Blind, the Oranje boss, is not happy with Robin Van Persie’s showings at the club level in the recent times and that’s the reason he has preferred to keep him out of the national squad.

Van Persie is not amongst the players whom Blind has chosen for the games that Netherlands is going to play against their European neighbours in the coming weeks.

The 54-year old has instead decided to try out some of the young strikers who have promised a lot in the Dutch League, leaving RVP fuming.

According to Blind, he has been regularly watching Van Persie play and though, his fitness certainly looks a lot better now, the level of his game is still not satisfying. Whilst much has been made about the amount of time Robin van Persie spends on horse racing betting, he insists that this is just a release for his spare time, and doesn’t affect his play.

Blind was quoted as saying, “I tune in to each one of the games that Robin plays and though, he has been getting more playing time at his club and seems to be in good shape if you compare it to his situation in October which I think is a positive, game-wise it’s still proving to be quite tough for him. He will have to perform in greater capacity to come back.”

Blind’s stand can be justified in the sense that the Dutch don’t have to play any big tournament in near future as they have missed out on Euros. So, now is the time for them to try and build a solid team for the next World Cup and Van Persie, with all due respect to him, is not likely to be the player who would be the trump card for them in that tournament.

However, even if Van Persie, who is 32 at the moment, doesn’t get another international game, there is no reason for him to be regretful as he has served Netherlands as well as anyone else – he has a half century of international goals in his CV.

SCHURRLE LIKE KUYT

Sky Sports pundit and former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has said that Chelsea midfielder Andre Schurrle reminds him of former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt. The Dutchman was often used as a right-winger despite being a striker.

He was converted into those new position by former manager Rafael Benitez. After having played with Kuyt for several years, Carragher is one of the few players who can comment on his style football. Carragher recently saw Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho experiment by using Schurrle as the striker in the first leg Champions League match against Paris St Germain.

Even though this was one of the important games of the season for the club, Mourinho took the gamble and decided to use the 23-year-old as the striker. This decision baffled many because he had the likes of Fernando Torres and Demba Ba on the bench. This was also not to the first time the Portuguese has decided to go with this selection, as Schurrle had been used in the same position against Manchester United earlier in the season. On both occasions, he did not create much impact, but Carragher says that the way Schurrle played reminded him of Kuyt.

The Dutchman is now playing for Fenerbahce, but he has been linked with a return to Premier League with West Ham United.

“He reminds me of Dirk Kuyt, he’s a managers dream. He can play left, right, centre, and always puts a shift in. You know what you will get, is he the greatest technically, probably not, but he (Jose Mourinho) doesn’t know what he will get from his strikers, not an awful lot. He probably wants graft and grit in there. He [Torres] hasn’t done enough to complain, knock on a manager’s door. He’s done nothing to back it up, and not been good enough,” said Carragher about Schurrle and Torres.

KUYT HEADING BACK?

Former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt could be on his way back to England after it has emerged that West Ham United are interested in bringing him to the Premier league once again.

The Dutch striker has been playing in Turkish football with Fenerbahce, who are top of the Turkish league right now. They have a substantial lead over second placed Galatasaray. Despite the chance to win the Turkish league and play in the Champions League almost on a regular basis, Kuyt could be open to the possibility of returning to England – one of the best leagues in the world.

West Ham United are severely short of firepower upfront. The presence of Andy Carroll should solve the striker crisis, but the £ 15 million man has largely been on the sidelines this season. His injury record is unlikely to improve in the coming years. Hence, it has been learnt that Sam Allardyce is looking at Kuyt as a potential option. The striker spent six years at Liverpool before moving to Fenerbahce in a £ 1 million deal a few years ago. The 33-year-old only has months left on his contract with the Turkish outfit and he could be brought for a relatively low transfer fee.

Allardyce has been extremely successful at getting the best out of players who appeared to have gone over their best spells. The likes of Ivan Campo and Nicolas Anelka are great examples of the man managerial abilities of the former Bolton Wanderers manager. After flirting with a relegation during the middle of the campaign, West Ham are now safely closer to mid-table with only nine matches remaining in the season. He will be hoping for European qualification next season if he can add a striker like Kuyt to the squad.

Kuyt is also experienced at international level with the Dutch squad.

KUYT RETIRES

Dirk Kuyt announced his retirement from playing for his national country Holland after the 2014 World Cup comes to an end. The Dutchman is currently helping Fernerbahce fighting in their league and he is expected to get past the 100 matches mark with Holland during the upcoming World Cup.

“I will never stop calling myself an international. But I have to be realistic. This will be my last tournament. I am 34 years old. Other players will take my place’’.

“It’s very special that my last World Cup will be in Brazil. Hopefully we can achieve the same level as in 2010. I think it’s going to be a really good tournament with Brazil as absolute favorites. You just want to be there with the best players and best countries in the world. Hopefully we can achieve the same as we did in 2010 when we reached the finals’’.

”For my country it’s an honor to play. I will never say that I will retire for my country but to be realistic this is going to be my last tournament as I will be 34 and probably that’s the right time for other players to pick up my place’’.

Liverpool’s impressive sees them fighting in the top 5 spots of the Premier League and the main engine behind the side of Brendan Rodgers is Luis Suarez who has displayed abilities so impressive that he has even received praise from players and coaches stating that the Uruguayan forward is good enough to compete for the Ballon d’Or.

“He’s definitely, for me at the moment, at that level. What Ronaldo has done this year I think is amazing, while everyone knows the quality of Messi. But, after these two guys, I think he is a serious contender,” Kuyt told reporters.

LIVERPOOL CRUISING

Liverpool’s charge to the top spots of the Premier League continue rolling on in sensational form with a 3-1 triumph over Cardiff City and Luis Suarez once more being the central figure of the club as he scored twice and gave the assist for the remaining goal.

Even though Suarez is going through a marvelous time in Liverpool with Brendan Rodgers and his teammates, the January wish-list for the Premier League club is going to be a busy one as they have a number of players hoping to land when the transfer window re-opens.

The 21 years old defender of Oldham, James Tarkowski is one of the targets that Brendan Rodgers has as he is a huge fan of the defender and has a contract that expires at the end of the next season but Rodgers should be able to offload more money in order to snatch him away from his current club even if it hasn’t ended.

Barcelona’s Pedro is another player that Rodgers is keeping a close eye on. Pedro is still uncertain about his future with the Catalan club although some recent statements from the 26 years old forward will disappoint Rodgers as Pedro said that he is happy playing in Barcelona.

“I am happy with Barcelona, but things have to be evaluated every season,” Pedro said .

Luis Suarez has made a buy-out in his new contract with Liverpool that will allow him to leave the Premier League club if any non-English club makes a bid in the region of £60-70 million and even though Liverpool would be losing their star player, the injection of cash would see them reinforcing other areas of the squad that have been showing weaknesses. Real Madrid and PSG are some of the clubs already interested in signing the Uruguayan player but still no contacts have been made although it could change in January.

Fenerbahçe keen on PSG’s Pastore

Turkish giants Fenerbahçe are keen on signing Paris Saint Germain playmaker Javier Pastore, according to manager Ersun Yanal.

The Argentina international joined the French giants in the summer of 2011 in a big money move from Italian club Palermo and was the first marquee signing for the club under their new Qatari owners.

But since the move, he has failed to produce the kind of form in France that prompted the Parisian club to part with almost £ 40 million for his signature, the kind of form that he displayed with Palermo, which made him one of the most sought after youngsters in Europe with the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid keen on bringing him to the club.

He has been a more or less regular player in his two seasons at the club and won the Ligue 1 title with them last season but his failure to produce any real magic has called the future of the player in question and Fenerbahçe are keen on taking advantage of that situation by offering him an escape route.

English giants Liverpool have already registered their interest in bringing the 24 year old playmaker to the club while Italian giants AC Milan are also looking at the prospect of bringing the player back to Serie A where he cut his teeth since his move from his homeland.

But it is Fenerbahçe who are looking to make a firm offer for the player as the January transfer window opens and move ahead of the rest of the pack as they look for a genuine playmaker. According to Yanal, he has told the club hierarchy to set up a meeting with PSG and see what direction they want to go with Pastore and stated that he wants a genuine #10 at the club.