Not likely to stay at Hannover: According to a report from Bild in Germany, Hannover 96 are not planning on using the purchase option for #USMNT striker Bobby Wood, so Hamburg are now looking to sell him to #MLS. The problem? No one in MLS wants to pay what it would take to sign him. pic.twitter.com/YfKpGJDmH0— MLS Buzz (@MLS_Buzz) March 25, 2019
As a starting point, Hamburg should probably aim high for a transfer fee like the ones that MLS paid for Bradley and Dempsey. But I think they'll have to lower their expectations. For one, I think the national team's problems over the last 3-5 years hurt the marketability of all newer US players until Pulisic (with Adams and McKennie potentially closing fast). Edit - the tweet also says Wood is making $4 million a year in salary and is under contract until June 2021. Hamburg may need to look into a long-term loan for Wood if they can't sell him off.
Bobby got signed at one of the highest salaries in Hamburg because their sugar daddy demanded it: https://sbisoccer.com/2017/08/hambu...funds-unless-club-signed-bobby-wood-long-term Since at the time Kühne was in dealings to do business in the USA, my guess is that it was one of his offers of good will to whoever his US partner was. Anyway, a bit after Herr Kühne stopped funding HSV and the rest is history. But the bottom line is that Bobby is earning a big salary, perhaps the biggest, in that club, and it's unlikely to have changed when they went down --Bobby, thanks to Kühne, had the clout. So if it's true he's making about €3.1 million, that's close to $4m, there's little chance of any MLS team offering that much. So if Bobby wants to stay put making the big bucks, they can't move him. PS: His contract with HSV lasts until June 2021.
Cool hairstyle right there. I wonder if a few goals might be able to change their mind (and if those goals save them from relegation).
A Bradley/Dempsey transfer fee would certainly be an ambitious starting point for Hamburg . I'm thinking that if Hamburg could get a MLS club to split his salary 50/50 on a free or nominal transfer fee, that might be a workable deal for some club. Or, maybe some kind of loan deal with option to buy. Teams will be wary that Bobby has/had knee issues that might not fare well on turf, is not going to be considered a consistent finisher, not the kind of USMNT draw as the other high profile transfers, etc., etc. But, he could very well tear up MLS. Hamburg has to do something as they are on the hook for a crazy wage until June 2021.
Gonna be tough to do from the bench. His playing time trend is not ideal and if he, or anyone else, is going to save them, they probably have to do it within the next two matches (Stuttgart and Schalke, one of whom they'd likely to have climb over to at least get into the relegation playoff). I'm not sure that's likely to happen the week after the club turns down the option to buy. In MLS, Bobby would be a decent TAM level signing, meaning under $1.5m. I can't see him commanding a DP slot right now (okay, he could, but it would be one with a salary at about the same level). Why would Wood want (damn, out of ws) to leave 2x that for the next two seasons on the table? It's a short career and the entire point is to get as much as you can as quickly as you can. I know on here, their careers are about other things, but its easy for us to walk away from their money. The Wood Reality: he can get paid for the next two years, then jump over to MLS after that deal ends and most likely get a contract that pays at about the same level as he would be offered right now. He would still be in his prime mid-career years (28). He'd also arrive fresh and with an extra $5 million in his pockets. Downside, he'd probably be pushed further down the nats charts, and Hamburg fans would complain every time they saw his Porsche speed past them on the Autobahn. Leaving now would be taking a gamble that he could, well, get back to exactly the level he is now at. As for calling around to Gala et al, I'm not sure those phone calls go very well. "Hey, this is bobby Wood, I know the last couple years in the Bund have been less than ideal, and I'm not the sort of big name that will make the members happy, but want to pay me $4m a year?"
Are you nuts?!?! Turkish fans are mental. If he's having a miserable time now because of poor performance/non-production, imagine what Turkey will be like. Turkey's a great place to visit, and to live - for a while anyway - but a striker who isn't scoring is going to have giant steaming piles of ordure poured over him night, noon and morning. In Germany, at least he speaks the language.
Right. It's a starting point, but it seems unlikely that Hamburg receive that in the end. If nobody wants to match Wood's current salary (which would be a reasonable request by Wood, IMO), then perhaps a long-term loan would be best with Hamburg and an MLS club splitting his current salary.
If I was running Hamburg and wanted to dump his salary, but was unable to dump his salary, I think i'd tell the manager you have him available for selection. You might not get what you want out of him, but loaning him out means you really, really aren't getting anything back, esp with 2 years left on the contract. Loan him for a year, at the end of which he's six months away from being able to sign with whoever he wants on a free.
but his wages and scoring record doesn't inspire confidence for some. But perhaps he goes on loan to a Championship club like the other striker from Hamburg did last season.
Lasogga, who returned from Leeds, has had a good season in the 2bl (17 goals in all comps) and looks to be out of contract in 3 months. They've got a loan with an option to buy on the guy from RB Salzburg, but he's been sub-Wood in goal scoring thus far. I can't remember the the purchase price, but I don't think it was less than Bobby's. There is a chance that both Hamburg, where he has a contract, and Union Berlin, where he has hero status, could be promoted (the Wood windfall!). So there's that. However, while Union has undying love for Wood, I am not at all convinced they have anywhere near the cash that would be needed to sign him or pay him. In the absense of suitors or Wood deciding he has all the money he could ever need so what the hell, I'd think that the short odds would be on Bobby being back in Hamburg next season. They do not look to have that many striking options, and while 3 goals in a BL season is not a great return it matches just about anyone else they have right now.
It's Alex Meier. He has scored 5 in 8 games for Pauli since returning to football in January and BILD say HSV are interested in bringing him back to the club when his contract expires in the Summer. https://t.co/cDTYe9CPri— HSV News English (@HSVnewsEN) March 26, 2019
Heh heh... I remember when I was last in Istanbul, I went to see a Fenerbache match... this was some time ago... I remember Kezman, the former Chelsea misfit, was playing.... anyhoo, this was before E-tickets, so you actually had to go to the stadium to buy tickets. That ticket line was absolutely insane.. honestly never seen anything like it... was almost like the football fans were famine victims and they were suddenly giving out sushi, and this was for a cup game against... Gazianspor I think it was in which Fenerbache won at a canter. Also not sure how pro-US they are at the moment there. Even if he were to go on a scoring streak, fans may turn on him should he go, erm... cold-turkey....
it gets crazy. I was in Besiktas when Besiktas won the title. Had to cancel my dinner plans as there was literally no way to get to my dinner reservation with friends on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. Even in the 2nd Turkish League, the fans can get crazy. Of course, I saw the same behavior from Sheffield United fans when traveling by train in the UK.
If Hamburg gets promoted they will likely just have to keep Bobby and use him to the extent they can. Or maybe he can return to Union Berlin if they get promoted. Comfortable surroundings where he's had success. That would be cool.
They could use him as a sub in the last 20 minutes when they're already down 3-0. Which is basically what they were doing in the middle of the 17/18 season, when they knew Bobby was not BuLi quality but had not given up yet.
I'm quite amazed he's the highest earner at the club. I hope he is taking care of the agent that secured that payday.
Teams that come up need all the help scoring they can get. Lasogga, Meier and wood at least gives you 3 mediocre options to throw out. Maybe one works
He's been reported as "ill" since before the FIFA break. Considering the length, I doubt it's just the flu.