AZpiration is everything --Jozy in Alkmaar

I didn't include loan fees because they're loan fees. Obasi was 4 million euros. Fuchs was undisclosed (I thought it was around 3, but it might have been 5). You have to admit, like most German clubs, they're stingy when it comes to transfers. Most GMs these days are trying to avoid the mistakes of Schalke and Dortmund in the last decade. This does make it more difficult to bring in a player like Altidore if there's EPL interest, even from a mid table club.

This is just getting crazy off topic. Volland and Herman have been established players beyond last season. They're both decent players, but if the German coaches were really so high on Volland and Herman, they'd be on the senior national team rather than the U21s (the DFB doesn't overlap here, you're either on one or the other).

 

I think his market price is roughly £4 million ($6.25 million). In terms of likely destinations in the Premiership the teams who will be most interested in him are the newly promoted teams like Cardiff and Hull as they will be looking to upgrade their squads. Established Premiership teams like Fulham, Newcastle and Sunderland may also be interested in him, but as they have Berbatov, Cisse and Fletcher respectively, another out-and-out striker will not be their top priorities. Of course though if given the choice Altidore sill probably opt for a Premiership team with more certain prospects.

From outside the Premiership teams like Sevilla and Lazio are reportedly interested in him and playing for a team in Serie A or La Liga that has a shot at CL qualification may be extremely tempting, on the other hand given his experience at Villarreal he may be a little wary of going to a club where he would most likely start as an understudy to Negredo/Klose.

In my opinion he definitely worth a punt for £4 million. From what I saw of him last season early on he didn't looked okay, but no better; however late in the season, after he had got some goals under his belt, he had more confidence and we saw some of the more finessed play that had persuaded Villarreal to pay $10 million for him, but had rarely been in evidence since. Also the fact that it seems he may've finally stepped up to become one of the USA's star players is a promising sign (though goals against the likes of Panama and Jamaica will not alter his value).

 

I doubt it will be $10 million whenever Jozy moves, but that is only € 6.7 million , which would not really be crazy expensive for a guy who is pretty good, seems to still be getting better, and could potentially be sold on for a considerable profit after a couple of seasons, still only 26 or 27 years old.

 

Isnt that more like 8 million euros

 

Actually, $10 million is about € 7.5 million. I don't know where the first site I used for the conversion was getting its rates.

 

This thread is getting to technical for my liking. Lets get back to guessing where he goes and leave the money situation to AZ.
SO I found another fan forum interested in jozy. Its a team hes been linked to years ago. Thats right NUFC. A fan tweeted jozy asking him about the club. Jozy responded its beautiful. Fan went on to write article about it http://www.cominghomenewcastle.com/...ited-NUFC-A-Z-Alkmaar-transfer-rumor#comments
Even though NUFC might be prepping a bid for Darren bent, this is entertaining.

 

Jozy too lazy to leave Holland.

 

Can't see schalke spending more then 5 or 6 mil for someone that will be on the bench

 

The market will set the price. If Schalke won't pay that then maybe someone else will.

Maybe I'm just overrating Jozy's worth, but I think some of these estimates are extremely conservative. How is he worth less than Dost and De Jong? Or Bryan Ruiz, who went for (allegedly) 12 million Euros to Fulham? He is already good and he has a big upside.

I think his current level is close to guys like Oscar Cardozo (Benfica), Jackson Martinez (Porto), Bafetimbi Gomis (Lyon), and Salomon Rondon (Rubin Kazan). Those guys all went for about 8-12 million Euros. I think that's a realistic price tag for Jozy.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if Altidore did go for 8-10 but I don't see Schalke going that high. An EPL will probably be involved

 

No, it's one example.

 

A loan is a type of transfer, not sure what the distinction is - but that's 4M on one player and a half-million on a half-season of another. The point is you overshot how frugal they actually are by a good margin.

 

1 - Established how exactly? Prior to last season, Hermann and Volland had combined for exactly zero Bundesliga games, whereas by then De Jong already had 41 Eredivisie goals and another 10 in the Europa League to his credit.

2 - We were not discussing how high German coaches were on them. We were discussing the media/fans. And I'm not sure how the NT coaches' opinion of him relates to what clubs do with spending anyway.

 

I see Jozy as a 7-10 million dollars player. He could star and produce for most clubs in the world right now and he has a lot of potential.

 

So how can you call any player that has improved so much in multiple aspects of his game (in a short time) lazy? (or is my sarcasm meter malfunctioning)...

So for a big club making a purchase, what factors come into a player's ability to step up to a faster league and higher expectations?
Attitude/hunger
Tactical aptitude
Technical ability
Physical ability

Physical ability has never been in question. If I'm a Euro club and have ANY understanding at all of American players, I do not question attitude/hunger - not because he's American, but because for an American player Jozy had consistently left comfortable situations to test himself...from leaving home young, to taking loans in tough leagues, to forgoing status moves to go to less glamorous places and make sure he'd develop.

Over the last year, my questions about tactical and technical ability have vanished.

The comparison to Luuk De Jong above...well when he was 22 Jozy had just finished a transition to the Eredivise where he'd scored 20 goals. Now he's 23 and had 31 in the just finished season. I think the stats are comparable, and while Jozy may not be as good technically he's pretty damn good and his physical potential is much higher.

Some of you will think I'm clearly nuts, but I expect a transfer fee of between $13-$18 million if he goes this summer. So fire away, but ask yourself first, what did you think Dempsey was worth? Because he apparently went for just under $10 million.

 

It's all arguing over semantics. The point is that German and Italian teams don't spend what EPL teams do. Even if Schalke spent 15 million euros in the last two seasons, it's dwarfed by teams like Liverpool, Tottenham, and even mid table EPL clubs.

What in the world are you talking about? Herrmann played 13 matches in 09/10, 24 matches in 10/11, 27 matches in 11/12, and 32 matches this season. He's made 92 Bundesliga appearances in total, scored 16 goals, and added 18 assists. That's why he's rated above de Jong.

 

Oh goodness, you missed the funny!

 

I think Gladbach way overpaid for de Jong. Basically, they really wanted him for some peculiar reason, and Twente didn't want to sell, and had no reason to sell unless a crazy offer came in. So Gladbach had to make a crazy offer to get him. AZ isn't in the same position to be able to hold out and keep Jozy. They need the money, so if a club makes an offer that matches what they want for him they'll likely accept it. And that minimum amount will likely be a lot less than what Twente were able to demand for de Jong.

TL;DR version: A player's performances and ablilties aren't the only things that determine their transfer fee. The clubs' negotiating position plays a big part as well

 

1 - Heh, that wasn't the point. I never disputed that EPL teams spend more.

2 - You are correct on Hermanns numbers, I fouled up checking his stats and should have known better. The point remains concerning Volland, however.

 

De Jong is an interesting comparison for his transfer wasn't a very successful one except in a financial sense. He chose a team that proved to be a poor fit and many pundits believe he made the step too early after only one breakout season as he clearly wasn't a finished product.

De Jong is now stuck at a German mid table team which is barely an improvement over Twente ( if at all), has shown no progress this season and is struggling to hold a starting spot. Some lessons to be learned for other Eredivisie strikers like Altidore.

 

Yawn!

 

I'd rather Jozy go to a mid table team where he's the first choice striker rather than teams like Lazio and Schalke where he'd be behind elite players at his position. Jozy has never struck me as a guy who's suited to be an impact sub off the bench. He's at his best when he's starting and able to get into the rhythm of the game.

 

Exactly. Gladbach lost the spine of their team (Reus, Neustädter, Dante) and were desperate to get players in (having just qualified for the CL play- offs) and had money. So they made a big offer for de Jong, and it didn't work out (wrong system, etc).

Oh, and de Jong didn't get criticized because he's Dutch and not German (that's idiotic) but because Gladbach hoped to get a CL- level striker and they didn't.

 

Speculating about a possible fee is really pretty worthless. Nothing says he has to accept the transfer to the team that offers the biggest fee. I want him go somewhere that he can play a lot this season and continue to develop, which might mean going nowhere. He could even roll the dice a bit, sign a one or two year extension with AZ, and hope to greatly increase his value by putting on a show in Brazil, which could lead to a bigger payday for him and the club. He certainly doesn't seem to be pushing for a move. Even if it would be nice for the collective ego of U.S. fans were he to move to a bigger club this summer, I don't see it as an imperative.

 

Well BMG wants to be a CL club. Part of that requirement is grossly overspending on players regardless if they're worth it or not.