Transfer News - Coming In

By: Brian | June 3rd, 2008

The 07/08 Bundesliga season has been in the can for a few weeks now and Bremen transfer rumors are beginning to trickle into the Werder Offside. We handled the exits, now who’s coming in?

In addition to getting a little deeper in some key positions, there are two main vacancies to fill – the Tim Borowski shaped hole that now exists on the left side of midfield and the valuable minutes and experience that Ivan Klasnic provided, mostly off the bench. Combined, they provided close to 20 years of valuable service to Werder and will be missed.

Werder have already missed out on signing young Bolivian international Marcelo Moreno from Cruzeiro. After scoring eight goals in this year’s Copa Libertadores he was being monitored by both the Red and Blue sides of Manchester, Spurs, Shaktar Donetsk, in addition to Werder. And Moreno chose to head to the Ukraine for some reason or another.

Also looks like the possibility of getting young Gunner Nicklas Bendtner into the Bundesliga (with Werder, FCB or BVB) is dead in the water, at least for now.

For a reported 12 million Euros, Werder could be in possession of one Ricardo Oliveira. Winning the CL with AC Milan in 2007, he was loaned out to Real Zaragoza and proceeded to score 17 goals last season in La Liga. Perhaps the lad could’ve tried a bit harder, as Zaragoza were relegated. Standard operating procedure requires relegated clubs to slash their transfer budgets and return loaned players back to whence they came. Zaragoza did neither as they signed Oliveira for 10 million Euros a few days ago. The assumption could be that they would turn around and sell, pocketing a tidy profit. Gotta think the presence of a certain diminutive, impish playmaker in the Werder midfield could help the Brazilian striker to join up.

If Oliveira is the big money, top of the list replacement for Klansic, then Georgios Samaras is surely Plan D. Who B and C are, we couldn’t tell you. After a successful-ish loan spell to Celtic, they’re looking to go steady and make the relationship permanent. However, lurking in the shadows is Thomas Schaaf, ready to pounce and offer the opportunity for Champions League football and the opportunity to wear a green/white kit. Let’s see Celtic match that. Plus Werder has been unable to meet it’s big Greek quota since Charisteas left town.

The favorite current rumor of the Werder Offside is the one where young US international Michael Bradley decides to ply his trade at the Weser next season. We’ve been watching him since his early days with the eloquently named New York/NewJersey MetroStars and his development into a goal scoring midfielder has been remarkable. And yes we realize that everyone scores buckets of goals in the Eredivisie, but still. Most likely to not start for a while at least, he would get great experience in a top league with an attacking team, CL action, and the tutelage of a manager that has a track record of grooming midfielders. Despite earlier indications that Germany would be his preferred destination, Michael has recently come out and asked Everton to politely come and get him. Whether they do is a different story. Plus Werder have been unable to meet it’s Yank quota since Chad Deering left town.

Exiting times. Werder essentially deal in two types of transfers – young, raw, affordable talent (Boenisch, Ozil, Harnik) and reclamation projects (Diego, Almeida, Sanogo). The above short list is a bit of both, but thankfully a little heavier on the former. After the signings Schalke made in the last couple of days (and those rumored to be coming), there is definitely work to be done to keep up.

In other news, Atletico Madrid have decided not to pursue Diego afterall. They thought they would leave that arduous task to some other club in town.