Kevin-Prince Boateng

Martin Jol is ready to add to his summer spending after bidding around £5million for controversial Hertha Berlin midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng.

The 20-year-old's attacking qualities have made him one of the Bundesliga's most talked about newcomers and he has attracted an offer from Sevilla as well as Tottenham.


But the Germany Under 21 star is renowned just as much for his outspoken approach off the pitch after calling himself the Ghetto Kid, in a reference to his upbringing in a poverty-stricken district of Berlin, and covering his arms in tattoos.

Hertha boss Dieter Hoeness responded to Sevilla's £2m offer for Boateng by revealing the club had received a £5m bid from another club, believed to be Spurs.

Boateng, who has a Ghanaian father and German mother, has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence during a run of 43 Bundesliga appearances and is rated one of the German league's most creative talents.

We've already got JJ, Zokora , Tainio and Huddlestone (You may also count in Taarbat ) .

If Jol still stand strong tht he needs to bring in anymore MC.
A Berbatov class should be the only option.

Let's open the cheque bk again.
Dun keep attention on those wonderkid and great potential youngers.
We've bought and we've got a lot in our reserve team .

Cor blimey - if we get him we'll have a Prince and a King - a right royal turn out were becoming

we used to have a queen but he buggered off to ars#nal... although as mentioned before, he might be tempted back given the strikers are bent and keane

The things people will say in order to post clever emoticons !

According to Hertha, the fee has been agreed. Hope we're still negotiating for Sneijder also


Tottenham are closing in on a deal to sign midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng from Hertha Berlin for £5million, writes Simon Johnson.

The Germans have accepted Spurs' bid for the 20-year-old, who was the country's young player of the year in 2006.

Sevilla had hoped to sign Boateng at the start of the week after offering £3.4m and agreeing terms with the player on a five-year contract.

However, Spurs have gazumped the Spaniards and been given the go-ahead to discuss the move with Boateng.

General manager Dieter Hoeness said: “We have agreed a deal with Tottenham.

“Their offer matches our valuation and there is no need for any more negotiations. We have given them permission to talk with Boateng.”

The only problem could be that Boateng had set his heart on joining Sevilla and was keen to play in the Champions League.

Looks like its a done deal.. its all over the net tonight.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/6895929.stm

Wht's the use of signing him at this moment?

It's really confusing me , as he plays in the centre or never line up with ML

From the point of Jol's view, Bale or o'hara will be trained as Spurs Left winger in the coming year. And also don't forget Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Lee, though they are not Left winger, I think that Jol will definitely use them to be Spurs left wing back. But I think that it is time for Jol to sell some players in SPurs. In my opinion, I will choose Ghaly and Mido. They are really black sheep in our spurs.

Borrowed from COYS...


...
I thought i'd clear things up for those of you who haven't seen Kevin Prince Boateng play. I watched him 3 times during the recent Toulon tournament in France. He played for a poor German team & suffered from the quality of the players around him. He also was reported to be carrying an injury.

vs Japan

Came on as a 2nd half substitute. He started on the left wing & was poor, giving away a series of fouls. He then moved to a CM position & was a totally different player constantly threatening the defence with short runs & neat little 1-2s. Had a very decent shot on target that was well saved.

vs Ivory Coast

He started in his proper CM position & absolutely ran the show. The Ivorians had the best defence in the competition but were totally mesmerised by KPB. It really was a masterclass & he set up chance after chance & could have had 4 or 5 himself but somehow the Ivory Coast kept a clean sheet. I went on a Ghanaian website the next day (KPB has a Ghanaian father) & they were absolutely drooling in the hope that he might choose to play for Ghana in the future but this seems unlikely as he has already turned down an offer to play for them in the 2006 World Cup.

vs France

The French were by some way the best side in the tournament & tore Germany apart at the back. KPB played in an advanced CM/ deep striker role & was by some way Germany's best player. Anything good that Germany did came from KPB.

So, to sum up. He is definitely an AM not a DM as some have mooted. He can't play on the wing either, he doesn't have the pace (faster than Huddlestone but not as quick as Jenas). He's a big lad & hard to dispossess & although he puts himself about a bit he isn't a great tackler & gives away quite a few fouls. He's decent in the air but not special in that respect. He isn't a natural finisher either. Where he excels is with his vision & creativity. He would be superb in a situation where there were 10 men behind the ball & you need to break down the defence. He does stuff that just baffles defenders. Not exactly tricks but rather plays balls that you just don't think are on & waltzes through defences with little short runs & clever 1-2s. He also has very good stamina. Remember I have only watched him when he has been not fully fit & surrounded by poor team-mates. Stick him behind Berbatov & Keane/Bent (possibly at the head of a diamond formation) & he's going to get a hell of a lot of assists. I think you're going to like this kid.

I don't believe that our book is closed for this summer's signings either.

I reckon (would love) us to still be negotiating with Sneijder or Petrov ... or both, if the balance is improved and the price, right.

After all, we do have X2 cover for every other position, so why not LM too, especially considering injuries (Petrov) ?

YP Lee is out injured and will not be available for the start of the season anyway.

I'm surprised to read other football Club supporters seemingly horrified questioning of Spurs' spending this summer.

As has been reported with Darren Bent's deal, I expect many, if not all our signings to be paid in 3 annual installments, hence;

Darren Bent 5.5 Mil
Bale 3.5 Mil
Younnes Kaboul 3 Mil
Kevin Boetang, say 2.5 (x2 installments)
Young Lad from Bilbao: probably 1/2 Mil tops.

Total cash-out, approx. 15 Mil.

Potential Sales:

Murphy 2 Mil
Mido: 3 Mil (x2 installments totalling 6Mil)

For arguments sake, I estimate we have spent APPROX 10 Mil (less impending sales).

There is still plenty in the kitty (with change) to comfortably invest another 10 to 15 Mil.

I'm loving every minute of it !!!!!!!!!!!

WE LOVE YOU TOTTENHAM WE DO
WE LOVE YOU TOTTENHAM WE DO
WE LOVE YOU TOTTENHAM WE DO
OOOOOOOH, TOTTENHAM WE LOVE YOU

Good posts Hairy. The analysis on KPB based on his performances in the U20 tournament are spot on as I watched a lot of it too. This lad could be very good for us. We've a hell of a squad now. Losing Spud Murphy, Fat boy Mido, Stroppy boy Ghally, and Routledge wouldn't be such a big loss. I'd keep Gardner if we don't get Davies. If we do then sell Gardner.

I still reckon we'll get SWP. I don't believe Petrov and Snijder are gonna come.

Bale picked up an injury last night but not too serious. Depending on the match, opposition, venue, etc, I see Bale, Taarabt, Malbranque and possibly SWP sharing LM duties next season. Overall things are looking exceedingly bright and Lilywhite. I'm confident of top 4 finish. And I trust the , bean counter Levy and Holy Comolli implicitly.


Potential risks preventing top 4 finish are: King's injuries, heightened expectations/pressure, anything preventing Berbatov from playing.

Roll on 11 August.

MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE,
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE,
AND THE SPURS GO MARCHING IN ON...........
GLORY, GLORY, ALELUYHA

The question is, whether this Boateng guy will be good enough to start? or is it yet another squad player? and how will the midfield next season look like?

I'm not over excited about Boateng. He strikes me as another Ghaly - okay squad player but doesn't bring anything to the first team.

I could be wrong.

We need to be spending +10m on a couple of high quality midfield players.

I'm still not convinced our midfield is capable of a top four spot. So much depends on Jenas and Zokora, both of whom are too inconsistent.

Depending on circumstances - competition, injuries, opposition, venue, etc. Any 4 from: Zokora, JJ, KPB, Malbranque, Lennon, Taarabt, Tainio, Huddlestone, SWP (?) but hopefully not Spud and Stroppy Boy.

Looks top 4 to me. They might have Faberge and Gerrard, respectively, but I don't think the Arse or the Scousers can compete with the list above.

I think we're getting ahead of ourselves a bit. We only recorded one victory against the top four last season - Chelsea at home.

Arsenal midfield ran riot over us both at Emirates and WHL. On paper, Lennon, JJ, Zokora and Malbranque looks a decent line up.

However, a top team has a midfield general that makes a massive impact. We don't have an impact player in midfield.

We will have a decent season because our forward line is probably the strongest in the league. Defence is adequate but the midfield....sorry, it's not the finished article.

I remain hopeful Jol will bring in some new faces before the start of season.

Done Deal?

Hertha accept Tottenham bid for Boateng

Hertha Berlin have accepted a bid for midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng from Premiership outfit Tottenham.

Sevilla were the first club to register an interest in the promising 20-year-old, the Spanish Primera Liga side lodging a £2.7million bid last week.

However, Tottenham then weighed in with a reported £5.4million offer to put the approach of the reigning two-time UEFA Cup champions in the shade.

Sevilla have since upped their offer, but Hertha general manager Dieter Hoeness favours the deal put together by the north London club.

'The offer from Sevilla never interested us,' Hoeness said. 'It was not enough, so we turned it down.

'We have accepted the offer from England and now the club and the player must reach an agreement.'

Boateng admits he was preparing himself for a move to Spain, but concedes that Sevilla's capture of Lens midfielder Seydou Keita, coupled with Tottenham's interest, has prompted a rethink.

'We were quite advanced with Sevilla,' Boateng told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.

'I have heard that (Seydou) Keita is joining, so I don't know if that has any effect on me.

'The Premier League is actually my dream league and now I am thinking about Tottenham.'

Boateng has made 43 first-team appearances in two years as a professional with Hertha, scoring four goals, and earned his first cap for Germany's Under-21s against England last October.

This is what some hertha and german fans on other football forums say about him.

Quote:
He´s not excactly an Central Midfielder...he can play everywhere in Midfield. He mostly played Right Wing and Attacking Mid for Berlin. This Guy is absolutly awesome...you´re lucky if you get him. I hope he´ll decide to play for Germany, Im still wondering why he didn´t got called up to the NT by Löw but Helmes and Trochowski did...


and...

Quote:
I've seen him play around 25 times. For Hertha BSC he mostly had to play right midfield (Yildiray Bastürk had the center position most of the time) but he wants to be a classic "No. 10", like he says. He has an aggressive playing style (Many cards when he was younger - Got better in the last 2 years), an outstanding technique and is double-footed (does this term exist in english?). He often tries long-range shots, but wasn't that lucky in his Bundesliga-career so far. He certainly has to improve his scorer abilities as well as his passing. Another problem was that he was injured last season and only played 17 Bundesliga matches (He still got more yellow cards than any of his team-mates). And i thought about it, but i've got not the slightest idea which other player(s) i could compare him to.

I wouldn't count on him being your new midfield-messiah next season, but with an experienced player next to him he has the potential to be first-class in 2-3 years.

double-footed (does this term exist in english?).

Either?

I should say that Lennon, JJ, Zokora and Malbranque is the recent line up on the midfield line in Spurs. However, I would say that JJ is not really sutibale to hold the position of MC. After viewing his performance in 06/07, I would say that he is playing like a shadow forward rather than MC. We really need another player like Carrick before to boost up the whole midfield. And I think that this season zokora should pay more attention on defence rather than attack.

While Malbranque is a weak left winger, Lennon on form down the right with JJ and Zokora is a pretty damn good start in my opinion. Yes Zokora should be more of a defensive midfielder (less so due to his surging runs - but more to do with his shooting abilities), but if you look back to last season - when Zokora made those runs, Jenas didn't follow with him - Jenas is a great box to box play and although his casual passing often frustrates - he and Zokora seemed to be developing a good understanding of when to cover for the other player. Both players don't mind getting stuck in - which is what we need - and I hope their understanding continues to develop. One massive problem for us last season was 1) jenas' injury issues and 2) BMJ's inability to settle with a midfield lineup. While there is so much attention paid to the striking pairing - the most important pairings on the field really should be the two in central defence and the two central midfielders. We certainly need good cover in these positions given we hope to be playing a 60 game season again - but rotation in those areas really doesn't work.

I've made a few predictions already this summer.

1). Darren Bent to finish top scorer ahead of Berbatov, Keane and Defoe.

2). Taarbart to make a big impact, similar to Lennon in 05'06.

3). Jol to play King in midfield ( not sure how frequent )

However, by the far the biggest impact on our season will be the form of Jenas/Zokora. They must deliver week in week out impressive performances.

You do not finish top four without dominating battles in central midfield. I'm not saying we'll have a bad season, I'm just saying no matter how good strikers and defence are, it will fall down if the midfield don't deliver. I maintain this is our weakest link and of most concern to me.

herer are some videos of Baoteng


http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=6421824

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1998917211

i think Boateng will be a great attribute for spurs but i don't really trust our youth system.

The only thing spurs do with young talent is present false promises and in the end leave the players in a worse position than when they arrived.

In the past 5 years have invested in decent young players e.g. Rohan Ricketts and Reto Ziegler, let me remind you that 2 years ago Reto was voted the Tottenham Hotspur Youth Player of the year. Throughout that year he performed amazingly and after that what does Mr Jol do, he leaves Reto out of the team from then onwards whilst loaning him out to Hamburg, Wigan and Samdoria.

I have no objections to Boateng joining Spurs but i hope he knows what he's getting himself into.

elden nice vids - with a midfielder its necessary to see what work rate he puts in throughout a whole game (I never seen him before) - but he can came in and scores as many of those volleys as he likes - schweeeet!