Good afternoon and welcome to this live blog! Here we will keep you informed of the latest news on the transfer market, reporting both rumors and definitive transfers.
Transfer El Azzouzi Canceled at the Last Moment A significant setback for PEC Zwolle player Anouar El Azzouzi. After a good season in the Eredivisie, the 23-year-old midfielder was well on his way to Austria Wien, but the million-dollar transfer has been canceled at the last moment by the club from Vienna. After missing out on the Champions League, the Austrians have less money to spend, and therefore the transfer was no longer financially feasible. El Azzouzi had already passed the medical examination at Austria Wien. (Source: De Telegraaf)
Raúl Steps Down After Six Years at Real Madrid Castilla Raúl is leaving as coach of Real Madrid Castilla. The 47-year-old former striker was in charge of the Spanish powerhouse’s second team for six years. Spanish media reported last week that the club icon would be leaving. Raúl was reportedly frustrated by the lack of opportunities to advance to the main team. Real presented Xabi Alonso yesterday as the successor to the departed Carlo Ancelotti. It is unclear where Raúl will continue his career. (Source: Real Madrid)
Ten Hag and Leverkusen Considering Flekken Bayer Leverkusen has had Mark Flekken in its sights for weeks, and even after the arrival of coach Erik ten Hag, the Brentford goalkeeper remains a transfer target. The German top club sees the Orange international as a replacement for the 35-year-old Lukas Hrádecky. There is no agreement yet between Leverkusen and Brentford for the 31-year-old Flekken, who is under contract with the Premier League club for another two years. Notable detail: Ten Hag and Flekken are both assisted by Sports Entertainment Group (SEG). (Source: Kicker)
Valente Reportedly Agrees with Feyenoord Luciano Valente has reportedly reached a personal agreement with Feyenoord. The FC Groningen midfielder is of interest to the entire Eredivisie top, but now seems to have set his sights on the Rotterdam club. FC Groningen and Feyenoord would still have to agree on a transfer fee. Reportedly, the 21-year-old Valente could move for around 6 million euros.
The arrival of Valente at Feyenoord is related to the possible departure of Antoni Milambo. The attacking midfielder has reportedly already reached an agreement with Premier League club Brentford. Feyenoord would demand an amount of approximately 20 million euros for the twenty-year-old Milambo, who is under contract in De Kuip for another two years. (Source: ESPN)
Maxim Dekker Extends Contract with AZ AZ has broken open and extended the contract of Maxim Dekker. The 21-year-old defender, who comes from the youth academy, is now under contract until mid-2029. The youngster will play next season with shirt number 4, the old number of Bruno Martins Indi, who left on Monday. “Maxim has the stature of a player who can play in our starting lineup,” says director of football affairs Max Huiberts. “We have the confidence that he will do that a lot in the coming years and can show even more often what he is capable of.” (Source: AZ)
Heerkens Definitively New Technical Director of Willem II Freek Heerkens is definitively the new technical director of Willem II. The former defender had already fulfilled that role on an interim basis in recent months. The 35-year-old Heerkens is supported by technical advisor Adrie Koster (70) and technical coordinator Sam Strijbosch (30). “It has gone quickly, but the confidence I receive from the club and the conversations with people inside and outside Willem II have convinced me to take this responsibility,” says Heerkens, who played for the Tilburg club from 2013 to 2024. (Source: Willem II)
Director Bruggink Leaves FC Twente Arnold Bruggink is immediately resigning from his position as technical director at FC Twente. Veteran Jan Streur will take over his duties. “I have given everything for FC Twente for over two years. This wonderful club, which is deep in my heart, deserves that. But this job goes on 24 hours a day, never stops,” Bruggink explains.
“In the past period, I also realized more and more that the content of the position does not fully suit me. That mainly breaks me physically. I am happy that Jan Streuer will take on more tasks. Together with the very capable people that FC Twente has, he can continue on the chosen path.”
General director Dominique Scholten was already aware of Bruggink’s situation. “We have no choice but to accept Arnold’s decision. First of all, this decision is extremely annoying for him, but also for the club and me personally. Arnold is an extremely pleasant personality, great to work with, and he knows what he’s talking about.” (Source: FC Twente)
Milambo Reportedly Agrees with Brentford Antoni Milambo has reportedly reached a personal agreement with Brentford. The attacking midfielder from Feyenoord would like to move to the Premier League club, but the Rotterdam club is in no hurry with the transfer. The Eredivisionist would only want to cooperate with a deal once there is more clarity about transfer target Luciano Valente from FC Groningen. Director Dennis te Kloese said earlier that Feyenoord will not sell Milambo for 16 million euros. (Source: 1908.nl)
FC Utrecht Signs Murkin as Fourth Reinforcement FC Utrecht has strengthened itself with Derry John Murkin. The 25-year-old left-back comes from Schalke 04 for a reported 1 million euros. Murkin, previously active in the Netherlands at FC Volendam, signs with the Domstedelingen until mid-2029. The Englishman is already the fourth reinforcement for the club after Davy van den Berg (PEC Zwolle), Mike Eerdhuijzen (Sparta), and Dani de Wit (VfL Bochum). (Source: FC Utrecht)
Yamal Set to Extend Contract with FC Barcelona Lamine Yamal is likely to sign a new contract with FC Barcelona today. The seventeen-year-old attacker is reportedly extending his contract by five years until the summer of 2031. The new deal is a top priority for the Spanish national champion, as Yamal has already grown into a world-class player. The wonderkid has scored 25 goals and provided 34 assists in 106 games for Barça. (Source: Fabrizio Romano)
Chelsea Eyes Young Orange Striker Emegha Emanuel Emegha is on Chelsea’s list. The London club wants to take over the 22-year-old striker from Young Orange from Strasbourg in the summer of 2026. Chelsea and Strasbourg have the same owner with Todd Boehly, so an agreement is expected. Emegha, who is under contract in France for another two years, scored fourteen goals in Ligue 1 last season. The former Sparta Rotterdam player is missing from Young Orange at the upcoming European Championship due to an injury. (Source: VI)
Ronaldo on the Front Pages In many countries, Cristiano Ronaldo is immediately on the front pages after his cryptic message, including the Spanish MARCA. According to the Spanish medium, the Portuguese wants to play in the Club World Cup, but it is not yet clear for which team.
Striking Message from Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo is almost always in the news, and after this message, the stream of rumors surrounding the Portuguese star will certainly not diminish. Is he referring to a farewell to Al-Nassr? Or does this message have nothing to do with that?
We hope to find out soon. The fact is that the forty-year-old Ronaldo has an expiring contract in Saudi Arabia.
Rallis Leaves sc Heerenveen Dimitris Rallis’s time at sc Heerenveen is over. The twenty-year-old striker has an expiring contract and has decided not to accept a new contract offer from the club. Rallis comes from the sc Heerenveen academy and played 23 times in the Eredivisie this season. (Source: Instagram Dimitris Rallis)
Van den Belt Could Go to FC Twente Thomas van den Belt could exchange Feyenoord for FC Twente in the short term. The clubs have agreed on a transfer of the 23-year-old midfielder, who was active on loan last season for the Spanish CD Castellón. Van den Belt still has to agree to a transfer to the number six of the past Eredivisie season himself. (Source: 1908)
Gakpo on Bayern’s List A striking rumor from Germany! Cody Gakpo is reportedly on the wish list at Bayern Munich, which may lose Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sané this summer and is therefore certainly looking for a replacement. According to German media, the Orange international would cost around 50 million euros, but it seems unlikely that Liverpool and Arne Slot will cooperate with a transfer at that amount. (Source: Sky Sports Deutschland)
Deal Between De Bruyne and Napoli Accelerating Yesterday it became known that the transfer-free Kevin De Bruyne is in talks with Napoli about a contract. A day later, his arrival seems almost complete. Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis told Italian media that De Bruyne would very much like to come to Napoli and that the Belgian has already bought a villa in the Naples area. “I had contact with him, his wife, and their nine-year-old son via a video call this morning. That looked beautiful. But it is not yet in black and white,” said De Laurentiis. (Source: Rai Sport)
PSV Women Sign Transfer-Free Rijsbergen A reinforcement for PSV Women! Liz Rijsbergen (23) is making a transfer-free move to Eindhoven, after her contract expired with national champion FC Twente after last season. The eighteen-time international of Young Orange made her return last April after twelve months of injury and hopes to regain her old form at PSV. (Source: PSV)
Inter-Coach Inzaghi Denies Lucrative Transfer Who is telling the truth? According to Italian media, Internazionale coach Simone Inzaghi could make a lucrative transfer to the Saudi club Al Ahli after the Champions League final, but Inzaghi has referred those stories to the realm of fables on Monday. “There are always requests from Italy and abroad, but I think it would be crazy to think about that now. It’s the same every year,” said the coach. We will definitely know more after Saturday!
Leverkusen Confirms Liverpool’s Interest in Wirtz Various media have already reported it, but now Bayer Leverkusen also confirms it: Florian Wirtz is of interest to Liverpool. “They would like to have him,” says sporting director Simon Rolfes during the presentation of trainer Erik ten Hag as the new head coach of Bayer Leverkusen. “But he is still our player. We will see how it ends.”
Dekker Stops Anouk Dekker is ending her football career. The 38-year-old defender won the European title with Orange in her own country in 2017 and silver at the World Cup in France two years later. She played 87 international matches. From 2007 to 2015, Dekker played for FC Twente, with which she won three national titles and one KNVB Cup. (Source: FC Viktoria Berlin)
Martins Indi Leaves AZ After Five Seasons on a Free Transfer Captain Bruno Martins Indi leaves AZ after five seasons on a free transfer. The 33-year-old defender played 126 matches for the Alkmaar club. It is unknown where the veteran will continue his career. “Bruno is the personification of a true professional. In addition, he also had an eye for the development of his fellow players,” says director of football affairs Max Huiberts. (Source: AZ)
‘Ajax Candidate’ Reiziger Extends with Young Orange Ajax fans no longer need to count on the arrival of Michael Reiziger. The former defender has extended his contract with Young Orange until mid-2027. “I am very happy at the KNVB. It is a good organization to work for, you work with absolute top quality in the Netherlands. I am also happy that we can announce this before the European Championship starts,” says the national coach, who was also mentioned as a possible successor to Francesco Farioli at Ajax. (Source: KNVB)
Xabi Alonso Experiences Arrival at Real as Coming Home Real Madrid officially presented trainer Xabi Alonso to the outside world today. The coach, taken over from Bayer Leverkusen, has “big plans” with the Spanish powerhouse. “It is a day that I will have on my calendar for the rest of my life,” said Alonso. The former midfielder won five prizes with Real between 2009 and 2014, including the Champions League in 2014.
“I have been away from here for a few years, but I think the bond with Madrid and the fans has never been broken,” continued the 43-year-old Spaniard. “When I stepped in here an hour and a half ago, it felt like the beginning of a new era.” Alonso has little time to make his mark, because Real will participate in the Club World Cup in the United States from June 18. (Source: Marca)
Van der Hart on His Way to South Africa Mickey van der Hart is about to continue his career in South Africa. A three-year contract would be ready for the thirty-year-old goalkeeper at Cape Town City FC. Van der Hart leaves sc Heerenveen on a free transfer after two years. Initially, he would be the second goalkeeper behind Andries Noppert, but Robin van Persie – now coach of Feyenoord – put Noppert on the bench. That choice led to outrage in Friesland. In the second half of the season, Van der Hart was mainly a substitute again. (Source: Leeuwarder Courant)
Excelsior Takes Tielemans to Eredivisie Mathijs Tielemans is going to the Eredivisie with Excelsior. The promoted Rotterdam club is definitively taking over the 23-year-old midfielder from Vitesse. He has already been playing for Excelsior on loan since January. “Next season will be my second year in the Eredivisie. I want to show what I have in store. With a stable plan and this offensive playing style, we can show great things,” says Tielemans. (Source: Excelsior)
Ten Hag: ‘Leverkusen is European Elite’ Erik ten Hag is looking forward to his new coaching job at Bayer Leverkusen. “Leverkusen is one of the best clubs in Germany and belongs to the European elite,” says the 55-year-old Ten Hag. “The club offers great working conditions and the conversations with the management have impressed me.”
Sporting director Simons Rolfes is pleased with the cooperation with the trainer. “Ten Hag is an experienced coach with impressively much sporting success. He dominated Dutch football with Ajax and achieved success with Manchester United under difficult circumstances.” (Source: Bayer Leverkusen)
Ten Hag Continues Coaching Career at Leverkusen Official! Erik ten Hag is the new trainer of Bayer Leverkusen. The 55-year-old coach has signed for two years. He is the successor to Xabi Alonso, who has moved to Real Madrid. Ten Hag has been without a club since his dismissal at Manchester United in October. He has also previously worked as head coach at Go Ahead Eagles, the second team of Bayern Munich, FC Utrecht, and Ajax.
Bali United Confirms Arrival of Johnny Jansen There is the confirmation! Johnny Jansen will be coach of Bali United next season, which finished eighth in Indonesia last season. The former trainer of PEC Zwolle is taking Ronnie Pander and Jeffrey Talan with him as assistants. “Our goal is to bring Bali United back to the top four or top five,” says Jansen. (Source: Bali United)
Eriksen Looking for New Club: ‘Nothing Concrete Now’ Christian Eriksen said goodbye to Manchester United yesterday after three years. The transfer-free midfielder is now looking for a new club. “I don’t know if there is much to choose,” said the 33-year-old Dane, who has a past with Ajax. “After my vacation, we will see if a good proposal comes. It can go quickly in football, but there is nothing concrete now.” (Source: TV3 Sport)
Johnny Jansen on His Way to Bali United Johnny Jansen has reportedly quickly found a new club after his departure from PEC Zwolle. The fifty-year-old trainer would sign for one year with Bali United. Jansen was also a candidate to become head coach at Roda JC or assistant trainer at SC Cambuur, but is therefore choosing an Indonesian adventure. (Sources: De Stentor and RTV Oost)