Anita agent’s Toon bid story sounds like cobblers so far

Posted on June 9th, 2012 | |

It has been reported by various organs that the agent of pint sized Ajax defender / midfielder, Vurnon Anita has “confirmed” that Ajax have received an offer from Newcastle United.

The agent, Harry Lulofs, allegedly told Newcastle United website, “NUFC Fans”

“Newcastle have made an offer between £5-10 million. I cannot give you the accurate figure, but Ajax have received a written offer.”

“They are very satisfied with the guy [Anita] and want to keep him. Newcastle have been watching him for a long time and really want to sign him.”

“This is the first offer Ajax have received for Vurnon and we’ll soon see how they react.”

“After next week, he [Anita] will be back from holiday and I will meet people at Ajax with him and his dad.”

When quizzed on whether there had been interest from other clubs, Lulofs supposedly confirmed that there were no other offers as yet, but that ex Norwich manager, Paul Lambert expressed an interest before he packed his bags for the Midlands, adding:

“The only other Premier League club to get in touch was Norwich. Paul Lambert called me to ask about him. Now he has moved to Aston Villa, so maybe they will be in touch. I don’t know.”

Now I can’t say that I’m 100% sure, but this doesn’t sound quite right somehow. I have watched a little of Anita playing with Ajax. Though I was looking mostly at Ajax’s Jan Verthonghen at the time, he seemed to be a very tidy player, if rather small for a Premiership full back or defensive midfielder (he’s 5’6″). Whilst it’s true that he is a Dutch capped player (sorry), that his value may very well appreciate considerably in the future, and it has also been reported that he has a €15 million release clause in his Ajax contract, the lower end of Lulof’s figure sounds like the most realistic estimate of the player’s current value.

So how long is it since Mike Ashley and Newcastle United put in a first bid in for a player which was actually over the odds? It wouldn’t have shocked me if the Magpies had put in a far lower bid as an opening gambit, could could it be that this is this just an agent’s shadowplay to drum up some further interest and drive up the price for his player? As I write, I’m not sure but it does smell rather fishy.

But in case it isn’t, here’s a video of Anita in action to whet you whistles. Much like the player himself, it is short, but perfectly formed. Though it doesn’t show much of his defensive skills, just a few goals. Being mostly a defensively minded player, he hasn’t been hugely prolific in that regard. Since graduating from the reknowned Ajax youth academy in 2005, Anita has scored seven goals in 137 appearences for the sons of the gods. His current Ajax contract isn’t due to expire until the end of June, 2014.

Vurnon Anita in action on Ajax TV.

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