What a finish! Still, there is no time to celebrate not-relegation, there is plenty of dead wood to unload from our roster, and unfortunately, there are some players we'd like to retain, but probably won't. First man out the door is Sercan Sararer, who's gone to 2nd division Fortuna Düsseldorf. Looks like he didn't survive the drop after all. Likely to follow him through the exit door: Vedad Ibisevic, Mohammed Abdellaoue, Konstantin Rausch, and Adam Hlousek Sounds like Maxim does not expect to be back, and Rüdiger is getting some good offers, so we'll have to find two CBs. It will be interesting and probably not too exciting to see the squad we put together, but if they can at least trim down to players who can actually contribute, then our finances might recover enough to have a star player or two in 2017.
Our first signing: Philip Heise, left back from 1. FC Heidenheim Looks like a bench player, so not worth discussing. Leaves the question open as to whether we're keeping Hlousek and Rausch, or do we still need to sign the starter at this position.
If Rudiger stays I think he and Baumgartl make a really good center back pairing. Unfortunately I'm not super confident he's going to stay. Other than that, the only player who has really earned a place in next years team is Ginczek.
Kostic and Die as well IMO. It's hard to tell if players like Gentner and Harnik are really that mediocre or struggling with form. Hopefully Didavi can stay fit as well.
Another summer, another new batch of Antonio Rudiger transfer rumors for ridiculously low transfer fees. Stuttgarter Zeitung says he will leave for €10m, saw a tweet that said Newcastle made an offer of just over €12m, Chelsea/Liverpool/Arsenal are interested. There's no future scenario that I would enjoy that involves him leaving, but if he goes for less than €15m then they're just giving him away and that would be infuriating.
Someone over on the Yanks Abroad forum posted that Jerome Kiesewetter has been moved up to the 1st squad. I haven't verified that on Stuttgart's website though.
You guys acquired Bobby Wood from 1860 for a 1.2 million dollar transfer fee. Looks like his goals vs. the Netherlands and Germany boosted his stock. Where do you guys see him fitting in?
I have read that the Wood signing is not final. He would be an interesting gamble. It's someone who got loaned away from his 2 BL club. So, if he was struggling at 1860 München, it remains to be seen if he could contribute to a Bundesliga side. Certainly a bench player, so not a factor in addressing the issues we have this off-season. I would enjoy watching his progress, if this does happen. Pure speculation, but I'm imagining that Klinsmann recommended him to us earlier, and maybe his goal against Germany brought more interest and endangered the deal. I'll wait for VfB to announce it.
I heard the former 1860 coach that was there when they signed him and now serves as a scout for VfB recommend Wood to VfB as he loved Wood and thinks he has a ton of potential. Obviously his goals vs the Netherlands and Germany kinda helped to push VfB go seal the deal if it does happen.
There is no way a club is going to buy someone based on 40 minutes of playing time in 2 friendlies. He is a possible signing because Schmidt has liked him for a long time, not because he did well in 2 cameo appearances.
Sven Ulreich is gone! I was not expecting that. At one time he was fantastic. He still has the potential to regain his reflex save ability, but his concentration, and therefore his motivation, has been a question from time to time. In fact, another player might want to be where he can get regular playing time. I think he will mostly be a spectator at Bayern. After 17 years at #VfB, Sven Ulreich will leave our club to join @FCBayernEN. pic.twitter.com/StqLdI2hM4— VfB Stuttgart_int (@VfB_int) June 16, 2015 I don't think we want Kirschbaum as our #1, so I await news on which goalies we are pursuing. EDIT: Looks like we've been after Przemyslaw Tyton, a Polish keeper who played for Elche FC in the Spanish Primera - relegated this year for taxes, not for finishing too low. Damn! Their loss is our gain.
Ulreich is getting ripped on social media, of course. This one was good: 610737640481161217 is not a valid tweet id Ulreich says "yes" to retirement at 26. He's hanging 'em up to warm the bench at Bayern. I have to assume he always thought he would be the starting keeper at one of the power clubs one day. Well, this is kind of close. He probably imagines he has a shot at the job if Neuer ever moves on. Guaranteed to win the Meisterschale either way, wouldn't you say? Remember, he missed out on 2007. He's found a way to live out his expectations. I honestly hope he doesn't feel empty afterward. Also, it has been brought up that his record against Bayern was abysmal: Winless in 13 tries, allowing 2.85 goals per match on average. Must've gotten tired of watching them fly by.
Reportedly, we will sign Croatian LB Tonci Kukoc from ZSKA Sofia. Unfortunately, picking up defenders cheap has not been a winning formula. There are no indications that he's as good as Hlousek, let alone the improvement that we need. I'm sure we will sell on Rüdiger, and not buy anybody as expensive. So, logically we ought to have four decent players for the backline. A weak LB is just going to expose the rest with predictable results. Come on VfB! Schwaab, Baumgartl, and Klein are already cheap players. Spend some money on the defense!
With the reported signing of Kukoc and signing Hiese, it really raises the question of Hlousek and Rausch staying. Also, did any one else read "Toni Kukoc" when they first saw the name?
It seems like that's just the transfer policy in general. Sign somewhat promising players for as little as possible. And I really don't like being negative but it just seems like a bad transfer strategy. Only like 1 out of 3 or 4 is going to turn out to be any good, and then your stuck with bad players that you have to get rid of. Just use that money to buy fewer but more proven players that are more likely to have success. The academy players (and it's a pretty good academy) can serve the team just as well as the cheap lottery ticket signings can. Yes!
So many rumors, although mostly news of people leaving, that I wanted to keep a list. I have to repost for updates, so maybe once a week. Please let us know if you hear something or have a correction. Thanks! Player InFromPositionTransfer StatusPriceProbability Philip Heise1. FC HeidenheimLBConfirmed€750000Done Przemyslaw Tyton FC ElcheGKConfirmed€1mDone Bobby WoodTSV 1890 MunchenSTRumor€1.2m1/10 Mario RuiFC EmpoliLBRumor€1m3/10 Maximilian BeisterHamburg SVRMRumor?2/10 Francesco AcerbiSassuoloCMRumor?3/10 Player OutToTransfer StatusPriceLikelihood rating/10 Oriol Romeu Chelsea FC End of Loan Free Done Moritz Leitner Borussia Dortmund End of Loan Free Done Sven Ulreich FC Bayern Confirmed €3.5m Done Joshua Kimmich FC Bayern Confirmed €8.5m Done Tim Leibold 1. FC Nürnberg Confirmed Free Done Sercan Sararer Fortuna Düsseldorf Confirmed €500.000 Done Karim Haggui Fortuna Düsseldorf Confirmed Free Done Mohammed Abdellaoue Anywhere Rumor Free 9/10 Antonio Rüdiger Wolfsburg Rumor €12m 8/10 Alexandru Maxim Swansea City Rumor €5m 6/10 Martin Harnik Hannover 96 Rumor €?m 4/10
I guess the good part of the "buy cheap" strategy is sometimes you get good players for nothing. €1m for Tyton seems like a steal. I'd take him and €2.5m over Ulreich every day of the week!
We have signed Lukas Rupp from SC Paderborn 07 to play RM on a free transfer. If you think about it, you could probably put together a full squad on free transfers. No doubt our management is trying. The Tyton transfer was finally announced as a two year deal.
"The 24-year-old midfielder moves to the Wasen on a free transfer and has signed a three-year deal with VfB." http://www.vfb.de/en/aktuell/meldungen/news/2015/verpflichtung-lr/page/3721-1-1-.html?f2 "VfB have signed Przemyslaw Tyton from PSV Eindhoven. The Polish keeper has agreed on a two-year deal." http://www.vfb.de/en/aktuell/meldungen/news/2015/verpflichtung-pt/page/3720-1-1-.html?f2
I found this through a link to Jens1893 on twitter: Apparently Kirschbaum is also out, so unless there is a really good #2 GK in the academy, VfB is looking for yet another GK.
Replacement keeper is apparently going to be BVB's Mitch Langerak. I know he displaced Weidenfeller this season but I'm not too sure how good he actually is. I guess we are going to let him and Tyton fight it out for #1?
Stuttgart have signed Czech talent, Jan Kliment. He was a standout during the U21 Euros, and most notably scored a hat-trick against Serbia. Also a versatile attacking player, primarily a right-midfielder but can cover any front position including striker.
http://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/i...ger.a94d3307-2002-48d8-8558-5091b28d9b00.html Whoa! So according to the Stuttgarter Zeitung, Chelsea has made an offer of 18 mio for Rudiger. What do you guys think, is that a sufficient offer amount?
Sounds like a good price to me. I'd rather have two €9m CBs than an €18m and a €1m. Of course, we might replace him with one of our typical €1.5m signings. If that happens, I hope there is a flood of Dauerkarten cancellations.