January Transfer Window: Dutch fringe players on the move?

About the beautiful game / Ben Lyttleton / 30 November 2009 / Leave a Comment

"But December also marks the month when the transfer window rumour-mill kicks
into gear, when head scouts start scouring the benches of opposition teams
to see who might be available, and fine-print details are checked for any
bargains on players out-of-contract next summer."

Ben Lyttleton tells us why the likes of Ryan Babel, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Rafael van der Vaart may all be looking to move clubs in January and how a certain tournament in South Africa next summer may have something to do with it.

The milestone that we are entering the last month before the winter transfer window opens, arrives tomorrow with the announcement in France Football magazine of the winner of the Ballon D'Or title for the world's best player. Lionel Messi will pip holder Cristiano Ronaldo to the award, a deserved accolade after his treble-winning year, with Xavi Hernandez expected to take third place.

Despite not hitting the heights of last season's form yet this campaign, Messi has still managed seven league goals and one in the Champions League. He is ([5.5]) to win the Pichichi as La Liga's top scorer and a more compelling ([16.5]) to repeat last year's success as Champions League top scorer.

But December also marks the month when the transfer window rumour-mill kicks into gear, when head scouts start scouring the benches of opposition teams to see who might be available, and fine-print details are checked for any bargains on players out-of-contract next summer. With this being a World Cup year as well, there is another key factor at large: players on the fringes of their international teams are desperate to have match-time, and so might make a downwards move in the hope of securing a place in their World Cup squad.

Nowhere is this dilemma more obvious than with the Holland national side, and the differing examples of two Dutchmen this weekend bears out this dilemma: Ryan Babel was not even in the Liverpool squad for their 2-0 win over Everton, in the week that he criticised coach Rafa Benitez for not showing enough faith in him to give him more than three games in a row. Ajax have been linked with a winter move for the winger, who needs games to have any chance of playing in South Africa.

On the other hand, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar came off the AC Milan bench with five minutes left to play and scored both goals in his side's crucial 2-0 win at Catania. It was only Huntelaar's eighth appearance for the Rossoneri and his first goals for a club side since he scored for Real Madrid back in March (a run of 16 games, not including the ten games, and three goals, for Holland).

Rather than acting as a reminder to his current club that Huntelaar is a good goalscorer who proved as much in Madrid (eight goals in 13 starts during a crisis-hit season is not a bad return), his brace is more likely to alert other European clubs that he is still on the scene ­ and needs regular games to play at the World Cup. As Dutch pundit Willem van Hanegem said after a poor performance in Holland's 0-0 draw with Italy: "He has made a
number of bad career choices and this is the result. He's a pretty good striker, but I don't think you¹ll need him in this form at the World Cup."

Huntelaar has promised to keep fighting for his place in the Milan side, but would he be able to resist a call from Benitez to help boost the Liverpool attack in the absence of the still-injured Fernando Torres? Is he the answer to the striker problems at Arsenal, still reeling from the injury to Van Persie and desperate for a regular goalscorer? Or might he receive a call from a team looking to break into the top four in England ­ maybe Tottenham, Manchester City or even Sunderland?

These are not the only two Dutchmen who could be on the move: Ruud van Nistelrooy is surplus to requirements in Madrid, as is Rafael van der Vaart both players who should be in Bert van Marwijk's squad for next summer. All four players are at a low-point in their careers, and the question for buying clubs is if they are the right ones to put them back on track.

They could all be bought for knock-down prices (even if their wages may be sky-high), and for teams looking to push on in the second half of the season, could make the difference. Holland might be the ultimate beneficiaries: a run of form for each of them will improve confidence and might help the Dutch overcome their World Cup hoodoo. Going into this Friday's draw, de Oranje are ([17.0]) to win the World Cup.