An Exploration of the Wonders.

After a month without a laptop I have bought a new one – and Twente are now back and playing! This post will be able to show you the transfers we’ve made over the summer plus the players who have exited the club, as well as pre-season and the Dutch Super Cup Final v Ajax.

Transfers

It was a very good transfer window for Twente as various stars came in and other left for Twente. First with the players that left – the top of the page is just other players that have been released, mainly reserve players. The main departure was midfield dynamo Leroy Fer, who joined Arsenal for £7.5m – despite being a mainstay in my midfield last season, Arsenal made a bid out of the blue and I decided to sell. Next was Bas Dost who joined Atletico Madrid for £5m after having a shocker of a first season at Twente, a real flop, but I did make a £1.2m profit on him. Willem Janssen, Nikolay Mihaylov and Bart Buysse joined Schalke, Febernahce and Getafe respectively for £2.5m each, with all of them no longer needed due to my summer signings. Nicky Kuiper was also another unwanted LB and he joined Espanyol for £2.2m, whilst Daniel Fernandes joined Spurs after making just one appearance last season.

Now for the ins at Twente – I won’t show you the profiles of Bjelland, Svec, Lux or Wuytens as they have already been done in previous posts, but here are the profiles for the other signings;

Michel Vorm, £3.5m, Swansea City

After Swansea’s relegation from the PL many of their players were put up for sale – and star GK Michel Vorm was one of them. After battling off interest from rivals Ajax we made a major coup, paying just £3.5m for a GK rated 4 stars. He is straight away my No. 1 and has some good stats. I hope to get a good 3 or 4 years out of him as my No. 1.

Mark van Bommel, Free Transfer

Signed after his release by Milan, Mark van Bommel brings some much needed experience to the side. The 35 year-old can play in either CM or DM and is rated 3 1/2 stars. A major coup for the season, I’m hoping to offer him a player/coach role next season.

Vurnon Anita, £800k, Ajax

Another coup for Twente as I signed the versatile defender/midfielder Vurnon Anita from rivals Ajax for just £800k. Rated 3 1/2 stars he will be my LB for the season but can fill in if any problems arise in midfield – he can still become an even better player and his stats show that.

Maxi Lopez, Free Transfer

Another free signing after his release from Milan, Argentine striker Maxi Lopez has been brought in to provide competition for the two ST positions after the departures of Welbeck and Dost. With a 3 1/2 star rating he looks to do just that, especially after scoring 10 goals in 16 games for Milan last season.

Wesley Said, £400k, Rennes

Wesley Said was brought in as a young striker with bags of potential – or at least that’s what my scout told me. With a potential of just 2 1/2 stars, I’ll be looking to sell him in the next few years unless he proves to me he can fight for a place at the club.

John Guidetti, Loan UEOS, Manchester City

Young Swedish striker John Guidetti was brought in as a back-up striker and will mainly stay like that for the rest 0f the season due to his poor ability, just 2 stars, but he’s definitely a bright talent for the future.

Oscar, £25m, Internacional

Ah, the big signing of the summer, and oh it was massive. 20 year-old rising star Oscar signed from Internacional for £25m, possibly rising to £30m due to international appearances and he looks like a cracker of a signing. With 4 1/2 star ability and 5 star potential the Brazilian just helped his national side win the olympics and he will be a mainstay for Twente for many, many years to come. I’m especially pleased with his 17-rated Creativity and 16 flair, which will be crucial in his role of creating chances for the ST’s.

Kevin Mirallas, £3.6m, Olympiakos

Belgian striker Kevin Mirallas was Twente’s final signing of the summer as he joined for £3.6m from Greek side Olympiakos. After being offered him by his agent I couldn’t turn him down, especially with a recommendation of 3 1/2 stars. His best stats are his Technique, Flair and Dribbling, all 16.

Pre-Season

It wasn’t too good a pre-season for FC Twente as they claimed just one pre-season victory. We started off our pre-season with a tour of England, facing Fulham, Chelsea, Blackburn and Bolton. We drew 2 and lost 2, so not too bad. We then came back for one game before the annual ‘The Twente Tournament’, beating AC Milan 2-0, with Maxi Lopez scoring on his debut versus his former club. The Twente Tournament didn’t go too well though as we came last, losing to Inter and Porto 1-0 each.

Dutch Super Cup Final, FC Twente v Ajax

For the second year in a row FC Twente faced Ajax in the Dutch Super Cup Final but after last seasons 4-1 win for Twente it was all changed as they lost 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Despite this being just a one-game cup I wanted to win, and it started well as Walter Montillo fired a low thunderbolt from 20 yards into the bottom corner with 25 minutes left. But Ajax took the game to ET as they grabbed an equaliser 3 minutes before HT, Peter Wisgerhorf heading home from Eriksen’s cross after some sloppy defending. Into the penalty shootout and Montillo, Plet and Janssen all missed as Twente crashed to defeat.

Champions League Group Stage Draw

With Twente winning the league last season they were automatically drawn into the CL Group Stage as a 3rd seed. Here’s how the draw panned out…;

Arsenal, Shaktar Donetsk and Anderlecht – a horrible group! I think really Twente need to be aiming to try and nab 3rd place for the EL, but I believe we could really push and try and take 2nd place, and that would be a great achievement for the club. The first game is away in Ukraine at Donetsk and a really tough opener – but I look forward to seeing how Leroy Fer is doing in an Arsenal shirt.

So a fairly mixed pre-season. Fantastic signings but the loss in the Dutch Super Cup Final dampened it, but we need to get that to the back of our minds and focus on the season ahead – I want to reclaim both the Eredivisie and the Dutch Cup!

Thanks for sticking with me and sorry for this long break!

Cheers,

Dan.