Rafael van der Vaart is a quality player. He was a star at Ajax, lit up Hamburg but didn’t quite shine for Real Madrid.
Whilst some news outlets reported he had signed for Real for for 13million euros (£10.3m), others stated it was as little as £8m so why now is a figure of £20m being quoted by newspapers claiming we are looking to bring the Dutch play maker to Old Trafford?
This is either poor journalism or Real Madrid have gone mad as van der Vaart is hardly an integral player in their team. Last summer he was deemed surplus to requirements as Real Madrid flexed their muscles in the transfer market and was told by Manuel Pellegrini that he was not in the club’s first team plans. His squad number (23) was given to Esteban Granero in preseason but after the squad size was cut down following what was known as the ‘Dutch exodus’ he remained and regained his old number.
But where as Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder moved and the latter two experienced success away from the Bernabeau this season, van der Vaart stayed, remaining on the fringes of the team starting just 18 games.
Last summer we could have signed the Dutch player for way less than £20m so why has his fee suddenly inflated?
Sir Alex has constantly spoken of the lack of value in the transfer market and last summer he refused to meet Lyon’s valuation of Karim Benzema because of this, so why would he go and pay x amount of millions more for a player he could have got for cheaper last season?
Obviously some will say well it wasn’t so apparent that we needed him last season and I agree but that doesn’t account for why his fee has suddenly risen as if he had a stellar season. In his 30 appearances he scored 7 goals and grabbed 6 assists which isn’t bad but also isn’t great and the mere fact that he is in the position he is at the Bernabeau means he should not command such a high transfer fee.
This is the one thing about the deal that stumps me and if Sir Alex’s words about not being held to ransom in the transfer market were not actually spin on the no money situation then he should not press for the transfer.
At this current time the max we should pay for van der Vaart, and I say max, is £15m, anything above that would be farcical even though I do not doubt his ability.
If we are in fact looking at him, I eagerly await the conclusion to this deal as it can be used as an indicator to where the club stands financially as well as providing an insight into Sir Alex’s utterances.
I agree completely with this report good player but over valued at £20 million, 15 maybe 12 yes
It has become a sign of meiocricy that United buy either at overflated prices or are seen as the offloading destination for hasbeens who still think they command a high price.
Here’s a case where last year’s inflated transfer fees continue to bite us a year later. Last year we were priced out of a marquee signing due to inflated fees, this year the same guilty clubs are too worried about their debts and won’t sell at market value as they’re trying to balance their books.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but we should’ve jumped in on Madrid’s Dutch “firesale” last year. Sneider cost Milan less than this rumoured VDV fee, which is an absolute joke. If we are seriously looking into VDV, I think this fact should not be lost during negotiations.
I disagree with most of the views in this article. van der Vaart is a world class player and if used appropriately is as effective as sneijder if not more. He WAS an integral part of Madrid’s pursuit of Barcelona. Whenever Kaka got injured or Gago failed to impress, vdV stepped up and did so brilliantly. He was so influential in dictating the start of their counter attack style alongside Alonso that without him, you could argue Higuain and Ronaldo’s goal tallies would be significantly less. He would be a great signing now that Silva is not for sale. Fergie should not be put off the price, he is 27. Hamburg were short of funds when they cashed in on their captain 2 years ago for a mere £7.5m, he was arguably worth more than double that amount then. Now that he has proved himself at a top league, his figure has risen.
“Last summer we could have signed the Dutch player for way less than £20m so why has his fee suddenly inflated?”
Er, because a year ago he was a Madrid cast-off and presumably not playing well and no one wanted him. If you wait for him to prove himself then obviously you pay more. Bargains are for risk takers. That’s how Inter got Sneijder cheap. He’d be worth more now.
No value in the market my arse Ferguson. There’s value if you dare to back your judgement. Just no obviously brilliant players at cheap prices, why whould there be? Why would it be that easy?
Thanks for your comment Arvind, it’s always good to look at things from the other side.
That being said:
1. The first sentence of the piece affirms how good I think he is.
2. The fact he was only called upon when others (Kaka or Gago) weren’t there stands as testament that he wasn’t held in that high regard by Pellegrini.
3. I would argue that van der Vart has proven himself at Real
Can we get something in perspective first?
What transfers led to an inflated market?… answers on a postcard please to Sir Matt Busby Way
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 80 million UP FRONT.
Fergie cant benefit from this market with the largest transfer fee in history and then bemoan the fact that other established players are commanding “inflated” fees. It smacks of double standards. I honestly think that if Ronaldo is worth 80 million (which he most probably is) then Aguero is worth 40 million and we shouldnt baulk at Athletico’s asking price.
I think he still is a cast off this season @Chris
and @Paul Parker I think Ronaldo was hardly the first inflated fee paid (although going back we have been guilty ie £18m for Carrick)
@ Chris,
I love the last sentence in your comment. SAF’s comments held more weight last summer, but now prices are going down but he’s still singing the same song. I’ll still give him the rest of the summer though before passing final judgment.
I’d have to disagree with you about Sneider not playing well for justifying a lower fee last year. Granted, this year has been his best, but everyone last year knew he and Robben were being sh*t on by Real as it was all politics and nothing to do with their (very good) contributions. They simply decided it would be a new Galacticos era and most existing foreign talent would taint the new vision.
No one is saying VDV would be a bad for United, only that it’s fair enough to question Real’s assessment given what the prices they sold other players more recently. Though he has improved given more opportunity, it is still fair to bring up the fact that he still wasn’t an automatic first choice and that they are still willing to part with him.
Whenever I buy something of value, just because I weigh the pros and cons with the seller to get a fair price, it doesn’t mean I don’t want it. The same can be said regarding United and VDV.
Interesting comments from Pellegrini this morning, saying he wanted to keep Sneijder and Robben but was forced to show them the door