Jul 09
Heerenveen to Keep Michael Bradley?
Just as speculation about Michael Bradley’s transfer has heated up, we get news that he might not be leaving Heerenveen after all. Heerenveen executive Yme Kuiper says the club will not sell Bradley unless they can get some re-inforcements. ”There is talk about our players left and right, but the chance exists that Bradley will stay.” He continues saying ”Financially, it’s smart to sell Bradley, but we must also surely strike a competitive balance.” This comes after Heerenveen sold both Miralem Sulelmani and Gianni Zuiverloon. They are now hesitant to sell Bradley as well as Daniel Pranjic. All fans of US Soccer didn’t want to hear this, but Bradley has one year left on his contract and he must honor it if Heerenveen don’t sell him. Do I think that his transfer will still go through, probably, but if your Bradley or a fan of US Soccer, this is not welcome news.
Discuss this recent development below.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I don’t think this is so terrible. Makes sense from Heerenven’s point of view since they’ve recently sold off some of their best young talent. If Michael is able to reproduce some of last season’s magic then he’ll get even more suitors come the Winter transfer period when he’llsurely be dealt because there’s no way Heerenveen will get nothing in return for him. Also, this could just be a move for Heerenven to up the buids for his signature.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Yeah, you can’t fault Heerenveen. They’ve lost a lot of talent and they are in the UEFA Cup so they can’t sell irresponsibly. I still think he’ll be sold though, this just might hold it up a week or two until they can get some backup. It wouldn’t be the worst thing for him to stay, but it also would be good for him to move on and play against some better competition.
July 9th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
This is not a bad thing at all. Many world class players have started off their careers through the Eredivisie or spent time there. And, many of those players spent more than two seasons in Holland. It’s a great place to learn how to truly play the game. And maybe I’m going a bit far here, but I’d venture to say that many of the greats wouldn’t be so great without their development in Holland.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
I think that is a fair point CTB, the dutch league has produced a lot of talent and look at the skill of the Dutch team in the Euro’s this year. Even if that is the case and he would be better served staying, he wants to leave and play in a new place. It might be to the detriment of his development but I think he will leave. I think Heerenveen would be wise to keep him and sell him in January although they might get less for him in January.
July 9th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
“All fans of US Soccer didn’t want to hear this, but Bradley has one year left on his contract and he must honor it if Heerenveen don’t sell him.”
The key words in that sentence are: “one year left on his contract”. Heerenven would be foolish not to sell him now. Holding on to Bradley for another five months and then selling him at a cut rate in January would be foolish, as would watching him walk away for nothing in the coming summer.
The club is just playing hard to get. The Dutch clubs, even Ajax and PSV, are selling clubs. They know how the game works and have plenty of experience. They’re just playing hard to get in order to squeeze another 500,000 or so out of a Premiership or Bundesliga club.
July 9th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Your probably right, but Heerenveen has a fair claim. They don’t want to finish worse than 5th and losing potentially 4 very talented young players in not a good sign for next year. They might just be posturing because they will get a lot less in January as you said but they do need to make sure they have the players to not only do well in the league but to do well in the UEFA cup. Heerenveen certainly is a selling club and I still believe he will be sold. I think that it could take a little longer now because Heerenveen will need to find a replacement for Bradley but I still believe he will be sold.
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:58 am
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