Our positive standing in 14/15 will definitely influence and raise expectations for next season. We've also accelerated our rebuilding, reaching back within a Europa League position in a short amount of time. Should be an exciting summer ahead. A major topic will be how we invest the transfer revenues from Selke's sale to upgrade the team. Ujah has been confirmed, but we'll likely acquire another forward as well. Especially with Di Santo's decision still uncertain. However, if he also goes that will mean another 10 mio in transfer gains. There's several other players who were underused this season that we're trying to move which would generate additional funds. So lots of possibilities all around. Here's a couple interesting new rumors that I've read today: -Florian Kamberi, a 20 y/o striker prospect from Grasshopper CZ. He's also drawing interest from Schalke and Aston Villa -According to this link, Werder scouts have been observing Alen Halilovic at Barcelona's B team and a loan move may be an option. Incredible if this were to happen. He's a huge talent and has potential for another De Bruyne type breakthrough at Werder if given the chance. But for now, I'm remaining cautious of this happening until more sources are proven. http://www.fichajes.com/breves/info-fichajes-com-un-equipo-aleman-espia-a-halilovic_88116
http://www.fussballtransfers.com/bundesliga/ft-exklusiv-werder-nimmt-barca-juwel-ins-visier_54107 Another article linking Halilovic with a potential loan to Werder. Once again mentions that we've sent scouts several times during the season to watch him play. He's an offensive all-rounder and can pretty much play anywhere in midfield and both wings. Here's some additional points on his club situation. After a poor campaign, Barca's B team has been relegated to the Spanish third division. Halilovic turns 19 y/o in June and should begin making strives towards playing on the pro level. It'll be tough for him to immediately break into Barca's first team considering their depth so a loan move would benefit him a lot. It's an ambitious target but worth a shot at. Werder's youth movement in recent years sets a great example. De Bruyne, Sokratis, Selke, and Di Santo have made their breakthroughs here while Oztunali and Vestergaard are next in line for promising futures. I'll be following this and hopefully there's further development. Would love to watch Halilovic also write history with us.
Turkish media reporting that Rizespor are ready to exercise the purchase option and sign Obraniak to a permanent deal. They are now in discussions with Werder regarding the transfer fee. Evian's Clarck N'Sikulu is another player that has emerged in the least few days as a potential summer transfer target.
I am waiting for the confirmation from Werder that Felix Wiedwalds joins us from Frankfurt as a free transfer.
http://www.fussballinfos.ch/news/artikel/usami-zurueck-in-die-bundesliga-55499/ After a couple years of maturing and further developing, Takashi Usami could be ready for another chance in the Bundesliga. This report saying that both Werder and Gladbach are showing interest in signing him. Usami has 10 goals in 11 games so far and currently leads the J.League in scoring.
Nils Petersen will be returning to Werder for now. Freiburg's purchase option is no longer valid as it was only considered for the first division.
First of all, it's very sad to see SC Freiburg going down. There were worse teams this season. Nils Petersen played a strong half season at Freiburg, he really fitted well into their wing-orientated attacking game and show his qualities. And there I see a problem, we play a mostly center-orientated passing game, so I think he could only shine a standard situations (Juno's FK and corners). Sympathic lad, but player and club his decide what is best.
http://www.blick.ch/sport/fussball/...ndesliga-heiss-auf-fabian-frei-id3793771.html Quality player but this one may be a long shot. Several Bundesliga clubs are after Basel's Fabian Frei including Werder, Köln, Hannover, Mainz, and Augsburg. Meanwhile, Rouven Schröder has turned down the rumor for now that Evian's defender, Jonathan Mensah is a transfer topic that we are considering. He was spotted taking a photo with friends outside the Weserstadion. Guess he's a fan.
Finally Werder confirmed the deal. Felix Wiedwald returns to Werder signed a contract until 2017. The former Werder youth and reserve keeper born ~20 km away from the Weserstadion had a good development at Duisburg and Frankfurt in the last years. http://www.werder.de/de/profis/news/54771.php Werder also signed another player where I saw absolutely no rumors. Swiss youth national player Ulisses Alexandre Garcia joins from Grasshoppers Zurich. The 19 years old left back signed a contract for the next 3 seasons. I expect him to be an option for the future, but maybe he can make S. Garcia and Sternberg some positive pressure already next season. Best of luck for both players.
Ulisses Garcia definitely came under the radar, although we must have been scouting him for quite some time. Nice young prospect with potential high reward. Has a good athletic build and physique. Schröder has an eye for finding diamonds in the rough. He originally brought Baba Rahman to Greuther Fürth before his move to Augsburg. And now he's one of the most sought after left-backs in Europe. Hopefully Garcia will find a similar path in his development with Werder.
http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/thomas-eichin/einkaufs-stopp-41119900.bild.html Looks like we'll be taking a break from summer shopping for now. Next step is completing the sales of players we loaned out. Which is logical in helping fund further acquisitions for us. Purchase options for Elia and Obraniak are set at around 4.5 and 1 mio respectively. Negotiations currently still in the works with Southampton and Rizespor. According to Skripnik, Petersen may not really be a striker that suits our game plan so he'll likely also be going. We're trying to generate around 3-4 mio for him. I'd imagine Caldirola is also on the to sell list and could bring in another 3 mio. So all together we're looking at gaining 11-13 mio for these guys plus potentially 10 mio more for Di Santo if he leaves.
http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/f.../top-klubs-wollen-di-santo-41151364.bild.html According to this interview with Di Santo's consultant, there are top clubs from the Bundesliga, Spain, Italy, England, and Holland all interested. Franco feels very comfortable in Bremen, where he had his breakthrough campaign this season. But playing in CL or Europa appears to be the goal at this stage of his career. He's currently discussing with his consultant whether next season he plays at Werder or another club. They hope to have all things sorted and reach a decision in 2-3 weeks.
http://www.telegram.hr/sport/halilo...trecu-ligu-ne-zna-hoce-li-ostati-u-barceloni/ Not necessarily new info but a Croatian source, Telegram mentioned yesterday about the Halilovic situation and a notable link to Werder again. He's frustrated with Barca B's relegation, and currently unsure of whether to stay at the club. A decision will be made this summer, at least for his immediate plans going into next season. A one-year loan remains a likely option. They also link to an article back in May from same source. Which reveals that Haliliovic's former club Dinamo Zagreb may potentially lose out on an additional 1.8 mio clause if he doesn't feature with Barca's first team at least once by end of the year.
http://www.fussballtransfers.com/bu...elu-und-co-hannover-96-bastelt-am-kader_54443 Now that Freiburg are out of the picture, it appears Hannover have emerged with new interest in signing Nils Petersen, as a possible replacement for Joselu. They're unhappy with his lack of production for large parts of the season. Especially in the final stretch of games in the relegation battle where Frontzeck benched him. Which is why they're in the market for a new striker, as they currently debate whether to sell Joselu. Briand and Ya Konan are also on their way out.
No progression on the Di Santo situation yet. Appears Franco and his agent are still checking out the market. I read that management might consider moving into the new season keeping him even if he doesn't reach an agreement on contract extension. That would be a risky decision, potentially missing out on a big transfer pay day. Skripnik likes working with Franco and ideally wants to form his game plan around him. It's a tough call, but imho if he doesn't extend, I would take the 10 mio and invest around half of it in a couple of quality new additions.
http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/werder-bremen/will-verstaerkung-aus-turin-holen-41261316.bild.html http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/levent-aycicek/bekommt-die-zehn-41261320.bild.html More Bild news! Eichin attended the CL finals and met with Juventus' manager Giuseppe Marotta before the match. Said that it was a very good exchange, and they could have something in the works. With the rise of Werder's reserve team to the 3.Liga, it opens up new cooperation perspectives between our clubs. Because Juve don't have a B-team, they could send some of their prospects and combine with ours. Levent Aycicek will be wearing the #10 on his jersey next season. Joining a line of great #10's at Werder from Herzog, Micoud, and Diego. Hope this motivates Aycicek and continues to develop to reach his breakthrough.
http://www.weser-kurier.de/werder/w...el,-Kandidat-aus-Groningen-_arid,1141323.html Tjaronn Chery from FC Groningen is a new possible transfer candidate. Scored 15 goals along with 7 assists in the Eredivisie. An important player in the team's Dutch Cup winning campaign that also now qualified for Europa. I have seen him play this season, quality attacking midfielder who can capitalize on chances. However issue considering his age, as he just turned 27. In my opinion, I would try to get Albert Rusnak instead from same team. Much younger and higher talent ceiling.
http://gianlucadimarzio.com/serie-a/palermo/palermo-interesse-per-caldirola-del-werder-brema/ Palermo interested in Caldirola. No official offer yet but according to Di Marzio, negotiations between clubs could begin in the next few days.
http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/werder-bremen/bremen-jagt-juves-tello-41368888.bild.html Finally a quality Juventus prospect linked to Werder. We're working on a loan move for 18 year-old Andres Tello, who was one of Colombia's best players during the U20 WC. He's a versatile talent who can play defensive mid or also as a right full-back. We intend on playing him at the 6 which is defined as his best position. And also provides an alternative option for Bargfrede and Kroos in the rotation. Potential is there for a purchase option of 1 mio, which could be a huge steal for us. However, Malaga and Fiorentina and a couple of Bundesliga clubs are reportedly also interested. Let's see if the club partnership actually holds any influence this time.
http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/werder-bremen/tello-soll-fuer-zwei-jahre-kommen-41415364.bild.html More about Andres Tello. Eichin travelled to Italy to speak with Juventus management regarding a potential move. The objective now is a 2-year loan with a purchase option. Seems like there's motion in this deal, however what may decide it is where we play him. Juventus want him with the first team right away, but we might start him off with the reserve team first and evaluate where he fits before moving him up.
Werder have sent scouts to watch Jan Kliment. The right-midfielder just scored a hat-trick during the Czech Republic's 4-0 victory versus Serbia in the U21 Euros.
http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/werder-bremen/loewe-wolf-im-visier-41476660.bild.html 1860 Munich's Marius Wolf is the latest target. Potential is there, but he's still raw. A good option is to continue monitoring his development at Sechzig, as he needs at least another year in the 2.BL. During that time, we can also contrast his progress to Bytyqi, J.Eggestein, etc. His contract also runs out next summer in 2016, so he would be available on free transfer.
http://www.weser-kurier.de/werder/w...heidung-fuer-Nils-Petersen-_arid,1155574.html Hannover and Mainz showing the strongest interest in Nils Petersen at this point. Both teams with an immediate need at striker now that Joselu and Okazaki have both been sold to England. According to Weser Kurier, he's going to make his decision tomorrow on Sunday. Bild saying that H96 are set to offer a 3 mio transfer for Petersen.
Oh the unpredictable twists and turns of the summer transfer season. After lots of different speculation, Petersen will return to Freiburg after all. Moving on a new 3 mio deal confirmed today. He thrived in Streich's system, hope he's able to help them again in their battle next season for promotion.