The summer transfer market waits for no one, not even folks on vacation, so here is SBI correspondent Carl Setterlund with news and notes from the European soccer world.
Guiza joins Fenerbahce
Although none of the big fish have moved yet, the transfer season is still working its way into full swing as smaller fish Dani Güiza has completed his move to Fenerbahçe, where he will rejoin with ex-Spain coach Luis Aragones. Don’t call it a transfer though as the Turkish giants agreed to meet Güiza’s €15 million buy-out clause, as well as paying a €2.4 million tax to Real Mallorca, which adds up to a grand total of $27.2 million.
Fresh off a Euro 2008 performance that saw him score twice (hey, he was just as prolific as my boy Torres), the 27-year-old was bound to move on to a bigger club. Güiza found the net 27 times last season in league play for Mallorca, winning the Pichichi Trophy as top goal-scorer over Sevilla’s Luis Fabiano.
What do I think of the move? A pretty good pickup for Fenerbahçe at what looks like a fair price. I don’t have any inside information but from watching the Euros it looked like Aragones was very confident in Güiza and they had a functional relationship. The Istanbul club didn’t necessarily need Güiza, but then again you can never have too many capable forwards and Fenerbahçe surely want to wrestle back the SuperLig title from Galatasaray.
Zenit tells Barcelona double or nothing on Arshavin
Upon finding out that Barcelona and Andrei Arshavin share a mutual interest, a deal to send the Russian attacker to the Blaugrana has seemed in the cards. It has been revealed that Barca have launched roughly a $23.6 million bid on Arshavin, but Zenit St. Petersburg have told the La Liga club to double their offer if they want to get their man.
The 27-year-old was undoubtedly the catalyst in Zenit’s 2008 UEFA Cup capture, but it was his performance in Euro 2008 that made him truly a wanted man. Coming into the tournament as a player to watch for, Arshavin led an inspired Russia side to the Euro semifinals, where they lost, 3-0, to Spain.
I doubt that Barca have brought their best offer forward, especially in a year when they’re looking to replace the creative energy brought by Deco and Ronaldinho, but I also don’t expect that Zenit are doing anything more than posturing. A compromise would be to meet halfway, because if Gareth Barry (a completely different player, but stay with me) is supposed to be a $35 million player, then surely Zenit can obtain somewhere around that region for Arshavin.
There isn’t much else out there of substance today unfortunately, but in other news snippets, Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari won’t have the pleasure of coaching Kaka again, with reports AC Milan VP Adriano Galliani didn’t even let Chelsea put in a bid. Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor is still sitting in limbo as Milan don’t want to go anywhere near Arsene Wenger’s $70.9 million asking price. Finally, Inter Milan owner Massimo Moratti confirms that Jose Mourinho’s new club has a bid in for Frank Lampard despite denials from Stamford Bridge, although Chelsea still aren’t interested in talking just yet.
Is Fenerbahçe a good landing spot for Güiza? Will Barca dig deep into their pockets for Arshavin? Tired of hearing all the big names thrown around with nobody actually moving just yet? Share your thoughts below.