Toon £4m deal for Douglas this summer?

Posted on April 11th, 2012 | 62 Comments |

Douglas Franco Teixeira - Newcastle United target?
Rumours gaining strength?
The Dutch press appears to offer further suggestions that FC Twente’s Douglas is bound for Newcastle United this summer, although perhaps the most pertinent question is whether or not we lose any of our current stars this summer too.

Further to an article I posted last week about Newcastle’s interest in FC Twente’s Douglas Franco Teixeira, the Dutch football magazine ‘Voetbal International’ has said that the 24 year-old central defender is indeed likely to switch to Newcastle this summer.

They suggest that a fee of €5m (£4.12m) has been ‘prepared’, which is about half the figure I mentioned in the previous article (which I got from the ‘Transfermarkt’ site). This makes sense I suppose as he will in fact be out of contract this summer.

According to Voetbal International, Douglas wants to wait until late August to make the switch though. This is because he will then have spent 5 years playing his football in The Netherlands and can become a naturalised Dutchman, thus allowing him to play for The Netherlands’ national team, which is apparently his aim.

It’s probably worth pointing out that this is still very much in the category of a rumour but it seems to fit nicely with our requirements and our recruitment policy and I have a feeling in water about this one.

Given the recent performances of Williamson and Perchino and our current run of 3 clean sheets, Douglas may face a fight to earn a starting place, particularly when Steve Taylor comes back from injury. However, if – as is looking increasingly likely – we qualify for European football next season we’ll need some sort of depth to cope with the volume of games.

Then again we might struggle to hang on to some of our players if the big spenders come a-knocking. The profiles of the players like Hatem Den Arfa and Papiss Cisse are understandably high at the moment and you can be sure that other clubs will be taking notice.

There has also been some discussion about whether or not Demba Ba is happy with his recent role on the left of a front three (although is it just me but did we look more like a 4-4-2 in the first half of the Bolton game?). Ba was apparently unhappy at being substituted on Monday, about which Alan Pardew said:

“Demba was upset when I brought him off as I had just had a go at him about something.

“I was trying to get a reaction from him, if I am honest. I want him to be angry and fight.

“He will come out fighting. I know Demba, and I have no worries about him.

“He, Shola, Papiss and Hatem have massive roles to play for us between now and the end of the season.

“It was not Demba’s day, but it might be in two weeks’ time.”

It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Ba in the summer. I must admit I have some trepidation about the summer transfer window and will be grateful if it closes without us losing too many star players.

NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10). Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.

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Comment on this post

62 Responses

  1. Defo played a 4-4-2 in the first half but Ba looked heavy legged all thru, so I think he need a rest & hopefully aguinst Stoke, he’ll be back to his goal scoring self….

  2. “although is it just me but did we look more like a 4-4-2 in the first half of the Bolton game?). Ba was apparently unhappy at being substituted on Monday, about which Alan Pardew said:

    “Demba was upset when I brought him off as I had just had a go at him about something.

    “I was trying to get a reaction from him, if I am honest. I want him to be angry and fight.

    “He will come out fighting. I know Demba, and I have no worries about him.

    “He, Shola, Papiss and Hatem have massive roles to play for us between now and the end of the season.

    “It was not Demba’s day, but it might be in two weeks’ time.”

    Aye, Ba was very withdrawn, more midfield than forward, Hugh.

    I don’t know why Pardew has to drag it all out in public though. If I had a boss, I would regard it as a breach of trust if he kept informing the media about all our personal goings on. I would want to get away from all that and work with someone who was more discreet. Just my opinion though.

  3. “According to Voetbal International, Douglas wants to wait until late August to make the switch though. This is because he will then have spent 5 years playing his football in The Netherlands and can become a naturalised Dutchman, thus allowing him to play for The Netherlands’ national team, which is apparently his aim.”

    Says here he’s now got his passport and is now an official Nederlander as of November, last year. He must have to wait a few months to become “naturalised.”

    http://www.twentefm.nl/streeknieuws/26701/0/paspoort-voor-douglas-franco-teixeira.html

    Netherlands coach, Bert van Marwijk also seems to welcome the move. If he were to sign for Newcastle United, then he got some Dutch caps (not the contraceptives), and if he was in the Premiership shop window too, his value would almost certainly increase, which could be in Mike Ashley’s thinking.

    “The most important thing for me was that I wanted to hear from Douglas himself that he wants to play for Holland. He has convinced me of his intentions, but I haven’t made any promises. He’d be an interesting option for Oranje though if he indeed gets Dutch citizenship. He would add something to the team,”

    http://www.goal.com/en/news/2898/euro-2012/2010/09/23/2133179/twente-defender-douglas-admits-hed-be-honoured-to-play-for

  4. Douglas is indeed a dutch national he finished his integration process which takes a year and a half to complete.as stated you have to be resident in holland for 5 yrs in order to comply.
    His main reason for switching to dutch citizenship was as he says himself is because all his friends and also his daughter are dutch .
    Good signing nonetheless.i live in holland and he’s highly rated over here.

  5. cloggybob says:
    April 11, 2012 at 11:57 am

    “Good signing nonetheless.i live in holland and he’s highly rated over here.”

    Ah, hence the “cloggybob.” Thanks for the info. I’ve been trying to follow Jan Vertonghen at Ajax in the Eriedivisie, but I don’t know a great deal about this Douglas gadgie.

  6. worky,

    surely AP’s comments regarding Ba are an attempt to cool the jets of the usual suspects & prevent some kinda angle into the psychology of our team & the run in ’til the end of the season.
    ‘They’ll’ be trying whatever to help spuds & chelsea finish where ‘they’ feel they ‘should’.
    I think it’s fair to say that most pressmongers won’t be supporting Newcastle, though they may pay some lip-service to the idea, as plucky triers or some such guff!
    :)

  8. Also,

    ‘the big spenders’ idea will have to be adjusted to fit the new fifa rules from next season.
    So,
    the traditional top 4/5 spenders will have a dilemma, offer big wages to prize top players from ‘less successful’ clubs, which is the normal course, yet have to balance their books according to said new rules.
    Yes, they can offer euro football, mostly, but will they still be able to go further into the red to bankroll it?
    Interesting times!

    :)

  9. Clint / Worky now Hugh’s going on about 4-4-2 :-)

    Seriously beginning to question my sanity. Looked 4-3-3 to me, at least Ben Arfa was more ‘free’ on the right side and Ba looked slightly left sided. Watching the line up from goal kicks etc we had a bank of three in the centre, with Mark Davies glued to Cabaye. Certainly was more rigid in the middle due to Bolton’s five man midfield and us missing Tiote.

    Either way I hope Pardew doesn’t revert back to 4-4-2 unless the opposition really warrant it.

  10. Jimbob,

    me & you & worky have this one right mate.
    Soz Hugh!

    :)

    It’s given HBA the opportunity to drop well back & actually defend too, then pick the ball up from 60 yards out, takes it past one, rides a tackle from another…etc etc.

    :lol:

  11. Jimbob,

    AP actually used the word ‘fun’ when asked about CL places.
    Saying we can just enjoy our football & have some fun… Or words to that effect.
    The chains are off, that could alter if we get down to a couple of games left & crucial points are required like.
    Though, i’d just carry on & see where it takes us, it could be the making of this teams overall, long term strategy.

  13. Yep Clint, and I think it’s clear the team we have have better chemistry within a 4-3-3. A ball playing centre back would be a great addition in the summer, dunno much about Douglas, but I like the look of Vertonghen at Ajax.

    As much as I think Krul has been superb, the lad’s distribution needs improving dramatically. It’s all very well and good punting it up field, but if you watch Joe Hart he can pick out a pass, Krul doesn’t very often. If he gets that sorted, and the back four get a little more confidence when in possession of the ball, we are nearly there.

    Of course we need some new additions and the overall squad depth needs strengthening, but I see no reason why we can’t do that this summer with Carr probably already got his list of targets and recommendations ready.

  14. A complete aside here (not deliberate), but it is worth noting that when Alan Pardew came in as manager, many voices were arguing that no “top manager” would take the job at NUFC. Well, less than 18 months later and I bet you that many managers both in the Premiership and abroad would take the job if offered now. Surely we are being seen as a well run club going places. An incredible turn-around in just a few years. Call it luck or intention, it is a fact.

  15. Even though Saylor may be back, we are in desperate need of a good CB.
    To play either Perch or Williamson there is an act of desperation, as niether can do the job.
    And of course there should be plenty of playing time for all three CB’s, as Colo gets a bit long in the tooth he will not play so many games possibly and there’s no reason why platooning three good CB’s could hurt, as players get constant niggling injuries.

    Necastles Pardew could be a surprise choice to replasce Arry ?
    We can only hope !

  16. Paul, if ever there was an example of how you don’t need to spend over the odds for players and still buy quality, we are a leading example. Much how Arsenal used to be.

    I am sure many managers would love the job, but remember Newcastle United have a reputation of sacking managers quickly. Some see it as a no win scenario up here, look at how many managers we’ve had. Pardew said a lot of people in the football world called him “mad” for taking the job, that isn’t just to do with Ashley though.

  17. I know Pardew will take credit for anything positive that accurs.
    On tactical lineups,
    the side that was penciled in against Bolton, by all news media outlets was a 4-5-1, now HBA had by that time forced himself into the side and was probably expected to play as a winger.
    But ended up playing on the right of both Ba and Cisse, a two strikers plus a winger, all up front.
    He was so effective and by now impossible to drop, in which case was probably told to just go out there and do more of the same, which he has been doing since.
    I believe most give Pardew too much credit for knowing what he’s doing, perhaps if he had played HBA earlier in the season, we could have done even better.
    I recall SBR’s frustration at Robert’s lack of any defensive effort, but he at least understood, his over-all contribution in assists and goals was irreplaceable.

  18. We also have to remember that Collo is getting on a bit so having a few lads in there to fight for places will be good for when he eventually crosses the line and becomes “slower than a week in jail”, which may not be too many seasons away…

  19. Clint/Jimbob, on the 4-4-2/4-3-3 thing, you may be right. I was watching the game on a scrappy, unreliable feed where the guy streaming it changed channels about a dozen times. It just looked to me – in the first half – like Ba was playing more centrally than usual and Jonas was covering the left wing. It seemed different the second half, more like the 4-3-3 we’d been playing in previous games.

    I won’t bet my favourite hat on it nor lose any sleep over it though.

  20. jimbob @13,

    aye mate, Krul dist. is way off sometimes, though he did roll it out a few times recently, for HBA’s goal the other day being a good case in point.
    Aye, i like the look of Vert. too, proper player & seemingly tough too.

  21. Paul,

    good point mate.
    & timely.

    Newcastle, the club, are definitely turning a few heads now on various fronts, not least, players fancying the idea of playing for us. It really helped our situation the way we treated HBA, that’s gone over real well in France, for instance.
    We’ve pushed on & made the place much more appealing. The crowd helps too.
    AP has had balls enough to dig in & give it a proper go, proving that if you work within your means, knuckle down, get good coaches in & buy well…

  22. Most managers wouldn’t have had the nerve in the first place. That for me, is AP’s greatest achievement.

    ‘arry didn’t dare.

  23. chuck,
    there’s no way in this football world that you could call the line up 451, what with Ba & HBA as midfielders?
    Na!
    It was 433.
    bolton packed their ‘D’ & parked the bus which congested it. But they couldn’t do that all game. They need points, so when they opened up the 433 became way more effective.
    They still didn’t win the midfield battle with a 541.
    As they became more offensive they were bound to suffer, which is exactly what went down.

  24. derek,

    Colo still managed some great speedy track backs, coming back off the injury list.

  25. Jimbob @16 – True, we have had too many managers in the past decade but perhaps we are now in for a much more solid term, especially if AP continues to push at the top end of the table and succeed with the odd cup run.

    As said before, what AP appears to be very good at is man-management. As for tactics, he’s letting his “flare players” do what they do best. No great footballing brain is needed to figure that one out.

  26. Yea,
    i don’t know much about Douglas either, but i’m assuming that he’s the one ‘without a spade in his heed’?

    I’ll get me coat.

  27. The past is the past with regards managers.

    If a club sticks with someone, backs ’em, let’s ’em get on with it. The players start to play for him ‘cos they’re his team. That builds confidence, & so it goes.

    Most of the managers in our relegation season were interims & stand ins.
    kk was a mistake, CH stood in, JK was the only one who’d take it at the time, Shearer stood in, with dowie.
    CH picked up the pieces the next term & showed what was possible.

  28. Clint, that certainly tells the tale of life under Ashley. But even before Ashley we had a reputation of hire, sack, hire, sack.

    Hopefully as you say mate that’ll not be the case any more.

    Paul, agreed mate, and letting his flair players play in a system they gel in is going to benefit everyone in the long term.

  29. jimbob,
    we did mate, but i would argue that a lot of ’em had too much bravado & didn’t have what it takes to manage Newcastle & therefore failed.
    A lot of boardroom mistakes have been a trademark of this club for many, many years now, it’s not new, is it?

  30. AP has built from the back, hasn’t he, as CH did before him.
    Both defenders.
    That’s the way it should be done, hard to beat 1st, then develop the attacking side. But the most interesting thing has been a desire to utilize the midfield again.
    I reckon we do have more than one form now, about time.
    The midfield has been changing all season long & it’s still done it’s job generally.
    The squad has bought into the team ethic & more importantly, so have the flair/name players.

  31. Something lost on that tactical genius lawrenson, who on motd, praised our ‘solid’ midfield three. Not realizing that it was new again for the bolton game.
    Git!

    :)

  32. Clint, it stems from ownership back then and I agree with you. Poor choices from the owners have caused the club to have no success (trophies) for a very long time.

    I hope to witness us win something as I’m sure many do. I still find it bizarre people saying they’d rather qualify for Europe than win a cup.

    I’d take a trophy over finishing 5th.

  34. CLiNT FLiCK says:

    “AP has built from the back, hasn’t he, as CH did before him. Both defenders. That’s the way it should be done, hard to beat 1st, then develop the attacking side.”

    As in “Fortiter Defendit Triumphans” Clint?!

  35. jimbob,

    aye,
    i think i’d like a cup about now too.
    Europe brings extra cash in & prestige, but a cup is a cup.
    Bring it on.

    Paul,

    my latin is a little rusty mate, so yea, i think so?
    @
    :)

  37. Now Alan Hansen has discovered that Newcastle exist. I don’t know how to do links but the interview is on the BBC Football website. What next, Lawro will predict we will against a top half team?

    After 40+ years of supporting NUFC I have inevitably become fatalistic and can’t help but think that all this media love is setting us up for a fall.

    Come on Newcastle, prove me wrong.

  38. GS says:
    April 11, 2012 at 6:54 pm

    “Now Alan Hansen has discovered that Newcastle exist. I don’t know how to do links”

    GS, just copy the full address from the top of your browser and paste it into a comment on here!

  41. Clint,
    I never said it was a 4-5-1, what i stated was all of the media had us supposedly lining up that way.
    Was it a 4-3-3? quastionable, looked more like Benny just started to roam, up front with the two strikers (the Bolton game) but he was on the right and thats where every attack came from, if it were a true 4-3-3 then Ba would have played opposite him on the left.
    Anyway IMO it was all unintentional, but being it worked and being he cant sit Benny anymore , he has apparently given him freedom to roam.
    What other choice does he have, he’s gonna do it anyway and better to take credit for it.
    Mans a genius !

    As for your statement Both Pardew and Hughton were defenders, therefore both began building from the back.
    Our defense was good untill Saylor got injured and there were no real fill ins, and got worse following Colo’s injury.
    So my point is where do you get the idea Pardew built from the back ?
    Does’nt make sense.

  42. This is becoming a joke. Perfectly good Wigan goal just ruled out.

    Man U and Chelsea get all the calls, so I guess we will be playing the Ref as well when we go to Stanford Bridge.

  43. chuck,
    you just killed your own point there mate.

    We were good at the back ’til Saylor got crocked.
    So, therefore we were good for 11-12 games?

    Yet after a blip just after, we now find ourselves in the top 5 still.
    Not bad for a crap team with no defence like.
    Are you knocking Raylor, Simpson, Santon, Jonas, Williamson & Perch’s monumental defensive effort chuck?
    That’s a bit of a slight, to say the least mate.

  44. Mostly heavy defeats for the losers today. Wigan is going to be a tough place to get points. They face Arse next, hopefully they’ll be good and dejected after that match.

  45. I’d like to know the stats at Wigan since Maloney came back in March ? They have improved considerably with him in the side.

  46. BTW,

    did anyone happen to notice kaboul’s wild kick out at a norwich player on motd?
    Wonder if he’s being retospectively banned?

    Thought not!

  48. Did you see Balotelli on Song, Clint? If that don’t get retroactively banned I don’t no what will. I love the sport, but the FA is completely fubar. That kinda shite would never fly in the states. We’re big fans of retroactive penalties regardless of who saw what at the time.

  49. Stephen C says:
    April 11, 2012 at 10:56 pm

    “after all people in that area are good at dragging people down and burning everything people have worked hard for into the ground.”

    I remember when they did it in Newcastle, Stephen. They were setting fire to the shops on Armstrong Road, apart my brother’s arcade, and he actually wanted it burning down. they were hoyin’ petrol bombs around and one of the local villains, who shall remain nameless, said “leave that one, it Larry’s, man!” He was foamin’!

    Eeh! I’ve forgot, Stephen! I didn’t send that reply to you! Really, really sorry about that! I’ll do it tomorrow at the latest.

  50. Is Bassong on loan at Wolves or did spuds flog him? If so, anyone know what they got for him? Guessing it wasn’t close to what they paid us for him.

  51. when was that worky?

    must have been before my time, unless you are referring the the two wembley fa cup final defeats.

    i can remember the meadow well riots, but that was when i was a school kid and obviously not in newcastle, but north shields.

    and what reply? if it is about the arsenal tickets etc. i think i vaguely remember sending you an email about that.

    i was going to send you another to see if you will need tickets for next season if so how many. i will need to find some season ticket holders who wont be going. so at least give me notice so i can start to hunt some out now.

  53. no ban b/c a linesman “saw” the incident. What a f3ckin’ joke that is. The FA are completely incompetent. Good players get hurt and these idiots suffer nothing for it.

  55. Stephen C says:
    April 11, 2012 at 11:24 pm

    “when was that worky?”

    Same time as Meadow Well, Stephen. I recall that I had a GTI at the time, but you couldn’t keep one for five minutes up there without some thieving Geordie get trying to nick it. One of my mates I was staying with in Lemington had the most powerful German air rifle you could get for car thieves, and he shot one of them twice in the arse when he was trying to nick mine, and he just kept on gannin’! Gadgies on the dole would sleep in your car for a fee it was so bad. Thatcha’s Britain.

    Anyway, we shouldn’t get all haughty about Tottenham. ;-)

  56. AndyMac:

    If you think Pardwho is doing a bad job, take a look at the reserve side that played Arsenal and tell me who is even close to playing for the first team?

    With our injuries, the squad is threadbare and yet we have won 5 in a row.

    You might counter that Pardew should have had better backup. But given the resources, I think it’s hard to argue he has produced surprising results.

  58. Stephen,

    Aye, you were asking about the design of you website’s shop, but I think you need to integrate a good template for the whole site properly before you start fine tuning it.

  59. workyticket says:
    April 11, 2012 at 11:57 pm
    Sorry, Major’s Britain (just).

    well it could be worse worky we could be revisiting thatchers Briton through a front bench of major and hague.

    oh i forgot we are. it makes you wander who is running the show, the old boys or the two new boys.
    my bet is still on the old boys. something about no public spending rings a few anti-thatcherites alarm bells.

    do i hear the tap of pole tax? mmmm no but they could always privatize the NHS and do us all a favor. how about an NHS excess instead? we pay the first £250 for treatment.

    you heard it here first.

    and worky can you remember that old advert telling people to lock your doors? why do you think it was a magpie was stealing everything?

  60. CLINT
    Am i knocking Simpson, Raylor, Santon,Perch and Williamson.
    Ermm ! did i say i was, or are you asking ?
    If you are asking, i would say playing Jonas @ LB was a mistake.
    Perch can play as a full back, but not as a CD.
    I think by now everyone knows why i dont rate Williamson.
    And dont understand why Santon was benched for Jonas ?
    My tude concerning Simpson, i have made it clear on here that i consider him a decent RB.
    As for Raylor, a mediocre journeyman, without a defined role, other than filling in, like being chosen ahead of HBA on left wing and being chosen ahead of Santon @ LB.
    And people wonder why i question Pardew and his choices.
    If thats your opinion of how to build from the back,with the likes of the above, then we are in bigger trouble than i thought.