http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/.../artikel_die-irrfahrt-des-ulisses-garcia.html Article on Ulisses Garcia. He sounds like a level headed young player with positive work attitude. Understands the competition for the left-back position, and doesn't mind starting off initially with the reserves if required of him. Will also use that as motivation towards making it to the first team. Describes good technique and physical robustness as his greatest strengths. Clubs from France and England were after him but at the end chose Werder to continue his development.
http://www.borlife.de/41354-sv-werder-bremen-ryoma-watanabe-im-probetraining 18 y/o winger talent, Ryoma Watanabe is here on trial. He is described as extremely fast, attacking mainly from the left side offensively. Equipped with a good overview, although his passing ability is still expandable. Watanabe could be a good investment in the future. New rumors that Luca Caldirola is expected to work out a loan move for the season to newly promoted Darmstadt.
Lt SportBild habe #Werder weiterhin großes Interesse an Niklas Stark (DM, 1.FC Nürnberg). Vorher müssten aber Spieler verkauft werden.— worum.org (@worum_org) July 14, 2015 Werder still maintaining great interest in FCN's Niklas Stark. However, players like Elia and Obraniak will need to be sold before this can move forward.
http://www.kreiszeitung.de/werder-bremen/jetzt-soll-durchbruch-gelingen-5241527.html Hajrovic feeling fitter, faster, and better than one year ago. Additionally, the adjustment period is now over and he's working hard for the upcoming campaign. Looking towards what he brings to the team now that he has a fresh mindset and new focus.
Tough and worthy challenge for Caldirola to play defence of a newly promoted team. Hope this experience benefits his growth and he can help guide them to a stable season in the Bundesliga.
Di Santo leaves to Schalke. Di Santo refused a 3 million annual salary by Werder and one year before the end of contract Schalke is about to pay the 6 million € buying option. It is very bitter to hear such news at the day of the fans. And then also Schalke.
What annoys me more than the actual transfer is the process behind it for the last 6 months. To say that you enjoy being here and will do everything to stay. But then drag out negotiations till the final few weeks of pre-season and turn your back on the club who resurrected his career when he was just a nobody who flopped at Wigan. He would still be nothing without Werder but now he thinks he's something more. The merc can go, there will be no love lost for Franco Di Judas.
Better one hard day than the hard life of a Schalke fan: But tbh. it is not Schalke I am angry on, it is the player. Franco di Judas is Klose 2.0
Munas Dabbur from Grasshopper Club Zurich is mentioned again as a likely replacement striker target. Ibisevic is also in the rumor mill, and could be acquired as a transition player to help bridge the gap while Lorenzen recovers and Bytyqi/Eggestein progress more in their development.
Our fans will be there rain or shine. And we smashed Sevilla 3-1 later on that day. Werder always fights back.
Rumors of Berbatov snubbing Aston Villa for Werder over the past 48 hours. At first I thought it sounded unlikely but the rumor appears to be picking up steam. I'm not sure how I feel about it personally. I think I'd rather invest in a younger player on the rise, however with Lorenzen, Kobylanski, and the new guy Manneh (looks very promising to me), we may benefit more from a veteran target-man goal scorer like Berbatov. Not sure how credible the rumors are as alot of newspapers seem convinced that Berbatov will join Villa along with Adebayor. They've already made some good signings this summer with Ayew and Crespo. Only time will tell. What are you guys in Germany hearing? Berbatov good for Werder? Likely to happen or not?
Right now it looks unlikely we'll sign Berbatov. And just like Ibisevic, he would only be a short-term solution as well for one or two years. As both of them have reached the tail end of their careers. The main striker we are considering currently is Robert Beric from Rapid Wien. He finished last season with 27 goals in 33 games in the Austrian league. However, his club wants at around 4 Mio if they were to sell. Too bad John Guidetti isn't available anymore, was a free agent and could have joined on a free transfer. He is bit of an enigma, but just needs that timing and opportunity to find his breakthrough. Otherwise, I think management will be also be heavily monitoring Manneh in the next couple weeks. He has the best chances for promotion from our youth talents.
This new rumor is emerging fast. Aron Johannsson of AZ Alkmaar is the striker we are negotiating for. According to Bild, we have already reached an agreement with the player on a 4-year contract. However, issue is now over the transfer fee. We're not going to pay more than €4 M. From what I gather of him in the Eredivisie, he's had a rather off season that was marred by injury. I'm Canadian so haven't seen too much of him on the NT level. How do our American friends rate him? Lt. Bild ist sich #Werder mit Aron Johannsson (24/AZ Alkmaar) bereits über einen 4-Jahresvertrag einig, will aber nicht mehr als €4m zahlen.— worum.org (@worum_org) August 2, 2015
Other topics in the rumor mill are: Elia to Feyenoord and Obraniak to Sechzig. Would be nice to work out deals for both players before the season begins.
He's effective when healthy. He was a force two seasons ago (one of the better strikers in the division). His injuries have healed, and I think he'll be a strong #2 option at your club. I think he can score 10-15. Has a wide variety of touches and shot styles. He has the technical skill for the Bundesliga (which is rare as most Americans are more athletes than footballers). This is the correct move for him as he's in the middle of his career (he has about 4-6 years of good football left). He will need the presence of Ujah to play off of - he is NOT a physical grinder. I give him a 60-70% chance of being decent to good. Not a slam dunk, but you could do far worse with 4-5 million.
I am a fan of Johannsson. As a big USNT supporter, I was delighted when he chose to represent the US. He is definitely not an all-around "grinder" so to speak. That responsibility will certainly fall to Ujah. He'll need to draw defensive attention away from Johannsson to allow him to get into scoring positions. AJ reminds me of Klose a bit in that he never seems to be moving very much or very quickly, but frequently finds scoring opportunities due to solid positioning and other attackers drawing defenses away. If the deal can be made, I'm optimistic that he will be able to net 10 or more goals (also if he can remain healthy). A very positive aspect of his game, which he has proven in the Eredivisie, is that he is deadly in front of goal. If given 1 or 2 good opportunities on net, he will bury them.
http://www.transfermarkt.de/werder-bremen-mit-alkmaar-wegen-johannsson-einig/view/news/207777 The signing of Johannsson is almost complete. Both clubs have reached an agreement over a 4.2 Mio transfer, which may rise to 4.8 Mio with bonuses. He's currently on route to Bremen for his medical and also expected to sign a new 4-year contract. And then on Wednesday he'll be officially presented as our new player.
Pleased with the deal overall if it gets finalized. Even with my biased opinion as a UMNT supporter, I do think that Johannsson has the potential to be a great fit playing as the target man alongside Ujah. Looking forward to it!