Celtic linked with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink

[Mac 10 †]

Celtic linked with World Cup duo

Celtic have been attributed with an interest in Ukraine midfielder Anatoliy Timoshchuk and Holland striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.
 
Timoshchuk, 27, plays for Shakhtar Donetsk, while Vennegoor of Hesselink, also 27, is with PSV Eindhoven.

Donetsk general director Sergei Palkin told the Daily Record: "There was a call to express Celtic's interest, they have not yet made an offer."

Meanwhile, Van Hesselink's father said: "We have a meeting with Celtic."

Both men featured at the World Cup, with Timoshchuk, part of the Ukrainian team which reached the quarter-finals in Germany, while Vennegoor of Hesselink was a substitute in the second-round defeat by Portugal.

Palkin continued: "Peter Lawwell (Celtic chief executive) called me. We are now waiting for them to send us an offer in writing.

"If we get an offer which meets a real valuation of our captain's worth, we will not stand in his way.

"I told Mr Lawwell about a previous offer from Feyenoord which was not acceptable and he now knows the price that would be acceptable to us."

Vennegoor of Hesselink's father, who is also the player's agent, added: "Both parties know what is on the table and I think it looks good.

"Personal terms will not be a problem and it is up to the clubs to agree on a fee."

Does anyone (mainly ppl on here from Holland) know how much this guy would cost for us to buy?

[HD]

i heard some other teams wanted him but they all said he was too expensive
not sure about the price tho
he didnt play much last season

[Sweet & Tender Hooligan]

The Daily Record went to press with an exclusive yesterday that Celtic were about to enter into negotiations with Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. In a week of depressing defeats and unfulfilled transfer hopes a signing of the magnitude of the extravagantly named Dutchman would be a huge boost for a beleaguered support.

Rather than unsubstantiated "insider", indirect claims, the Record has actually published a quote by Vennegoor Snr, the players father and agent. According to the man himself, "We have a meeting with Celtic tomorrow. Both parties know what is on the table and I think it looks good. Personal terms will not be a problem and it's up to the clubs to agree a fee."

So before we enjoy the amusement of watching the singing section coming to grips with the hugely improbable, "Walking in a Vennegoor of Hesselink wonderland", let us give you some background on the latest Celtic target.

"So good they named him twice" or The ETims guide to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.


Gordon Strachan has been making much noise about presence, about the need for a centre forward that puts a bit of fear in the opposition. We have, of course Miller, Zurawski and Beattie but no out and out target man, a big battering ram if you will where the pace and guile of our other forwards may be insufficient. Step forward, Jan Johannes Vennegoor of Hesselink.



Vennegoor is 27 years old, 6 foot 3 and a half, almost 15 stone, and has never had any truck with total football. No interest. Doesn't want to play "in the hole", doesn't want to be a creative link up man. All he wants is this...................Put him in the 18 yard box, ideally even the 6 yard box, give him the ball and he'll put it in the back of the net. It’s all he does and all he wants to do. The Germans have the best word for his kind. They'd call him a Mittelstürmer. Nominally a centre forward, literally a "middle stormer".

Before we get to the football though, we should of course, get the name out of the way. Firstly, Hesselink isn't a place. Idiots.” Of" in Dutch, we are assured by those who know about such things, means "or" in English. So in English he'd be known as Jan Vennegoor or Hesselink. Still daft? Of course but here’s why. His granny was the last of a proud Dutch farming family called the Hesselinks. When she married her husband, Mr Vennegoor, the name would be lost. The couple made a pact and from that day forward all their offspring would be called both names, Vennegoor or Hesselink. See??? Moving swiftly on...........

Vennegoor started his career as a professional at his home town, or indeed home region club, FC Twente Enschede in the east of Holland. Coming through from the youth team as fresh faced 18 year old the big fella was something of an instant hit for the "Tukkers" as they Twente crowd, brilliantly, call themselves. Over the course of the following 6 years Vennegoor started 142 league games and scored in 59 of them. This kind of form was inevitably going to attract the attention of a bigger club than the Tukkers and it did, namely, the Boeren, or to you, PSV Eindhoven.

In the summer of 2001 Vennegoor moved south to PSV for almost 6 million quid, the Dutch giants beating off interest from Italy and, it was rumoured both Manchester United and Newcastle. In his first season Jan brought his scoring boots with him and netted the best part of 30 goals for PSV in all competitions. The Dutch press started slavering and again Manchester United were mentioned to be sniffing around. The next two seasons were a disappointment though with the big striker not managing to hit double figures in league goals in either season. Two years of that was enough for PSV to contemplate hawking him off to the nearest bidder but a number of incoming transfers failed for the Eindhoven team and they held on to Vennegoor. He repaid their faith by finding the net almost 30 times in the following season.

It would be fair to say that not everyone is absolutely convinced about big Jan. His appearances for the Dutch national team have been sporadic, mostly as a sub and his goals tend to be functional rather than spectacular. After a pre-season schedule that thus far has yielded just 2 goals in 7 games, Celtic supporters however would welcome goals of any flavour, and what's not in doubt is that Vennegoor could provide them. There's no disputing that he's a legend at Twente and a bit of an icon for the PSV fans too but its time to move on and it would seem that Celtic are firmly in the frame as a destination.

It remains to be seen if Lawwell and Strachan can persuade the player to move to Glasgow but if he does he should provide a very useful foil for Zurawski and Miller, and should be no slouch when it comes to putting his own name on the scoresheet. If you're in any doubt how's this for a statistic. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink has scored more goals in the Dutch Top Division that any other active player.



Doesnt really answer your question though. lol