All quiet on the transfer front ahead of the big push

Despite the persistent Viktor Fischer rumours, the smart media seem unconvinced that there will be any big deals involving Danish players during the January transfer window

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Jan 22, 2014

Monitoring the media coverage of the January transfer window can feel like chasing an old wives book club around the village, and more often than not, unsubstantiated rumours prove to be just that. The Danish website tipsbladet.dk even has a sub-heading on its transfer page called sandsynlighed (probability).

So, one week before deadline day, in order to save you going around the rumour mill, we did it for you. Unfortunately, the biggest news this January – at least in the week prior to the usual furore before the window closes at midnight on January 31 – is that there is nothing that substantial to cling on to.

V for very unlikely
According to Portuguese newspaper A Bola last week, Manchester United – who have had a dismal start to their English Premier League (EPL) campaign – remain the favourites to sign the 19-year-old Ajax winger Viktor Fischer. United are reportedly preparing to make a €12m bid for the player, with a view to loaning him back to Ajax until the end of the season.

Fischer, who has risen to prominence over the last two seasons in 55 appearances for the Dutch champions, has been labelled as one of Europe’s most promising talents and has scored ten league goals this season, ably replacing his compatriot Christian Eriksen following his move to Tottenham Hotspur last summer.

Big bid will tempt Brøndby
Meanwhile, Ekstra Bladet has reported that Brøndby striker Simon Makienok, who has scored 26 goals in just 48 matches for the Copenhagen side since signing in March 2012, will only move for an “extraordinary fee” – which is thought to be anything in excess of 40 million kroner.

According to Makienok’s agent, the 23-year-old Dane is in “no rush” to leave his current club, but Brøndby would “find it difficult” to refuse a substantial bid. This would most likely come from EPL club Fulham, as it is now looking likely that Dimitar Berbatov will leave Craven Cottage before the end of the month.

Agger puts them straight
In the EPL, certain tabloids have gleefully reported how national team captain Daniel Agger might feel unsettled at Liverpool, citing how he has only made 13 appearances this season and linking him with a move to Napoli. Agger, who missed most of those games through injury, finally felt the need to put the record straight, telling Jyllands Posten: “I’m not thinking about moving at the moment – not at all.”

Also in England, Sky Sports has reported that Swansea City’s under-pressure coach Michael Laudrup is interested in signing English U21 and Blackpool player Tom Ince, a player in high demand last summer who eventually elected to stay with his father, Paul Ince, the manager at Blackpool. Laudrup certainly needs to bolster a squad that hasn’t won any EPL games since December 4, although the Swans did win at Old Trafford in the FA Cup at the beginning of the month.

And another subject of speculation is Aston Villa forward Nicklas Helenius, who only managed his first goal in England earlier this month in the FA Cup. The English media report that despite not playing regularly for the first team, Helenius is happy at the club but could leave on loan to gain some much-needed playing experience.

Cesar bound for Cyprus
Closer to home in the Danish top flight, it was confirmed earlier this week that FC Copenhagen’s goal-scoring sensation, the Brazilian striker Cesar Santin, will move to the Cypriot club APOEL Nicosia. The 32-year-old striker, who is the side’s all-time top scorer with 84 goals in 220 appearances, has just six months left on his contract with the Lions.

It is rumoured that he will be replaced by either Abderrazaq Hamed-Allah, a 23-year-old Moroccan striker who is currently playing in Norway, or the Argentine forward Franco Mussis. The potential signing of Mussis may fall through however, as his current club, the mid-division Argentinian side Gimnasia LP, are asking for 80 percent of any resale fee.

In other FCK news, Icelandic defender Ragnar Sigurdsson has been sold to the Russian club FC Krasnador for a fee of 22 million kroner, and it has been reported that summer signing Mohammad Abu will be leaving the club.

Away from the capital, BT has reported that FC Midtjylland manager Glen Riddersholm has secured financial backing from the club’s board to resign club stalwart Jakob Poulsen, should the 30-year-old be tempted to return to the side after a brief, uneventful stint at Monaco.

It has also been claimed that Esbjerg right back Peter Ankersen is in the final negotiating stages (he has yet to agree personal terms) of a 17 million kroner, four-year deal that will see him move to Austrian team Red Bull Salzburg next summer.

And finally there’s Freddy
On the continent earlier this month, it was rumoured that Galatasaray and Everton were among the clubs keen to sign Juventus player Frederik Sørensen, but the Italian publication Corriere di Bologna has suggested that his co-owners Juventus and Bologna would only consider releasing the talented 21-year-old for a fee of over 75 million kroner.