Huntelaar will join Madrid in January for £17m

omgukilledkenny SG

Ramón Calderón promised a young striker for Christmas and according to Marca that is exactly what he has delivered this evening.

The Spanish press report that Real Madrid have signed Dutch striker Klaas Jan-Huntelaar and will unveil him in the transfer window.

The 25-year-old has been admired by the top clubs around Europe for a while now and this move has been on the cards, with Pedja Mijatovic declaring just this morning that he was a priority signing for the Spanish side.

The Ajax striker has scored an impressive 75 goals in 90 games for the Dutch side and will be eligible to play in the Champions League for the defending La Liga champions.

The only negative point is that he is injured until January and has never played for a top European side in the past, despite his age.

Huntelaar was made club captain earlier this season by coach Marco Van Basten and appeared at the European Championships for Holland, finding the back of the net against Romania.

Overall for his country he has played eleven times and scored seven goals, ironically struggling to get in the team because of the presence of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, the man he could well now partner at Real Madrid.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/1705/real-madrid/2008/12/01/991327/breaking-news-real-madrid-sign-klaas-jan-huntelaar

sand king SG

WTF...

youyayu SG

actually not really surprising

dinky1409 SG

WTFFFFFF........ SIANS...

knock-knock SG

lol...gg

zocoss SG

No big deal lah... Expected also anyway... with Ruud out for the season they needed someone in and who else is there in the market for them? Calderon has been under a lot of pressure since selling Robinho and and not getting a replacement... This guy won't cost that much... Probably around $20m...

This guy wanted to leave Ajax during the Jul-Aug window liao but no one came in to bid for him so he stayed back... Your title make it like Madrid suddenly sign Torres like that... lol

zocoss SG

Having lost again at the weekend, this time to scrappy neighbours Getafe, Real Madrid are seven points off the pace at the top of the Liga, and they are in desperate need of reinforcement.

Much of this, it is true, is down to an injury crisis so severe that the treatment room at Valdebebas must look like something out of the Crimean War. But there is no Florence Nightengale figure to apply the miracle cure. Instead there is that time-honoured panacea so often deployed in the Spanish capital: a hefty sack of money.

No Quick Fix

For it is said that two signings of calibre are to arrive in a January transfer window that will turn Madrid's season well and truly around. Ramon Calderon and Pedja Mijatovic, like Batman and Robin, have swooped down to ensure that the city will once again be safe thanks to their influence, putting quite aside the fact that, well, had they strengthened the forward line in summer instead of making a ludicrous, last-ditch attempt for David Villa that was never going to succeed on the last day of the window, they might not be in this mess. Yes, there is an injury crisis, but quite frankly if you start a season with two first-choice strikers on the wrong side of thirty with one man on the bench to replace them then you're asking for trouble.

Now Madrid find themselves in the absurd situation that the self-declared saviours who will sign the cheques that save the season are, er, the very same guys who conducted a wild goose chase for Ronaldo in summer instead of building a suitable squad.

The agents of Europe will know this, of course, and no doubt they'll be sliding an extra couple of beads on their abacuses (abacii?) when they hear that it's Madrid on the phone, as opposed to a slightly more prudent club.

Young Ones

In any case the shopping list appears to have been set. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is apparently at the top of the agenda, and given his exemplary goalscoring record in Holland - not to mention his eligibility for the Champions League - his is a name that makes sense.

Yet with all due respect to the Dutch, the Eredivisie is not the Liga, and it is a certainty that Klaas-Jan will find defences in Iberia a good bit tougher than most of those at home.

In this we can find the downside to what president Ramon Calderon said recently. The big chief said that Madrid would turn their season around by purchasing "two Higuains" in January, a reference to current on-form forward Gonzalo Higuain, who arrived in winter 2006/07 from River Plate.

Ready For Action?

It would be churlish to suggest that the young attacker was not a worthwhile signing, given his excellent form so far this season, but here's the thing: he was not an instant success. While he enjoyed a fine debut against Zaragoza he didn't open his goalscoring account for over a month after that match. Plus, having come from a league that, while strong, wasn't quite up to Liga standards, he had some settling in to do.

Could this be the case with Huntelaar? Sure, he's not as young as the then-teenage Franco-Argentine, but he still has some adjusting needing done. If Madrid expect two signings to immediately turn their season around then they don't need two Higuains of winter 2007; they need two Higuains of today, ready for action. (Speaking of which, Huntelaar is currently injured, and while he's expected to be fit by the time he arrives at the Bernabeu this won't do his match sharpness much good.)

It remains to be seen whether or not Huntelaar and his cohort, or whoever arrives in lieu of the Dutchman, meet that criterion. If they don't do so this season Bernd Schuster will lose his job regardless of their future successes. Will Mijatovic go, too? And will Calderon?

In any case we may just find out within 24 hours which young forward is coming to Madrid, and then we can discuss whether or not an inexperienced striker can in fact save the day at the Bernabeu.

POSTSCRIPT: Hours after publication it emerged that Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is in fact on the verge of arrival at the Bernabeu.

limpper SG

ho sey liao lo

zocoss SG

Ajax coach Marco van Basten admits Klaas Jan Huntelaar could be on his way out of the Amsterdam ArenA if Real Madrid table an offer too good to turn down. The Eredivisie outfit confirmed on Tuesday morning that they have opened talks with the Spanish champions over the possible sale of the Holland striker.

Huntelaar is currently sidelined with an ankle injury and, although Van Basten is hopeful he has not played his last game for Ajax, the 44-year-old knows every player has his price.

"If it was up to me, Klaas Jan would finish the season at Ajax," Van Basten told AD Sportwereld. "It's exactly the same as we said in the summer, when there was also a lot of speculation about his transfer. "I haven't changed my position. But I do understand that in the end every player has his price, and that Huntelaar next summer will have only one year left on his contract.

"But we are now in the winter, so Ajax must decide."

Speculation over the 25-year-old's future has intensified over the past 24 hours with Ajax releasing a statement last night denying a deal had already been agreed for their captain.

However, they did confirm on Tuesday morning that talks had started. A statement read: "Ajax are in talks with Real Madrid over the possible sale of Klaas Jan Huntelaar to the Spanish club.

"However no deal has been agreed at the moment." Technical director Danny Blind reiterated that nothing was yet finalised. He said: "Yes, we hear all kind of things too, but it's always the same question: will something become concrete or not?"

Madrid's interest has arisen once again in recent weeks following a season-ending injury to Ruud van Nistelrooy. If the sale goes through, Ajax will have to pay a percentage of the transfer fee to Huntelaar's former club, Heerenveen.

Heerenveen sold the Holland marksman to Ajax in January 2006 for 9million euros and had a sell-on clause included in the deal.

Former Heerenveen chairman Riemer van der Velde told De Telegraaf: "In the end we agreed on a deal for nine million and we also agreed on an extra million on the next transfer of Huntelaar, plus a substantial percentage above the 9million."

zocoss SG

Spanish champions Real Madrid have confirmed Ajax forward Klaas Jan Huntelaar will join the club in January.

The 25-year-old, who has long been linked with a move to Madrid, will sign a deal with the capital club until June 2013 subject to passing a medical.

According to the Ajax website, Huntelaar will join Madrid on January 2 for an initial 20million euros (£17m), rising to a potential 27million euros (£23m).

Madrid confirmed the deal in a statement posted on their own official website: ''Huntelaar is the new Real Madrid player. Real Madrid and Ajax Amsterdam have reached an agreement for the forward.

''As usual, the deal is dependent on the player passing a medical and the signing of his contract with Real Madrid. 'Klaas Jan Huntelaar will be tied to Real Madrid until June 30, 2013.''

The deal, which will provide Real with cover for long-term injury victim Ruud van Nistelrooy, will earn Dutch club Heerenveen around €2.5million as part of the agreement Ajax signed when they signed the player in 2005.

But Ajax technical director Danny Blind decided now was the right moment to let the player go. ''We as a club wouldn't make a deal if we weren't satisfied with the details, but also with the timing of the transfer,'' he said. ''We did our best to extend Klaas Jan's contract, but we failed. His current contract runs for just one and a half years and we had to take that into account.

''After being at Ajax for three years it's a nice step in his career. He absolutely deserves this transfer.''

Madrid fans have been calling for reinforcements in the midst of a poor start to the Primera Liga season. The Bernabeu club are currently fourth in the table, six points behind leaders and fierce rivals Barcelona.

Calderon was forced to come out in support of coach Bernd Schuster yesterday for the second time in a fortnight following Saturday's dismal 3-1 defeat to neighbours Getafe.