Future Talk: The Simon Kjaer Story

By: Steven | March 27th, 2009

We always expected Edy Cavani to turn out as our greatest asset for the future, but ever since we signed Simon Kjaer (pictured above, to the left of The Joker) we know better. Kid’s only nineteen, but is already turning out to be one of the most talented defenders in all of Europe. Big teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, Milan and Juve are said to be chasing the Blonde Bombshell, and it seems like just a matter of time until he leaves Palermo to pursue a career that will most likely lead up to the biggest teams in Europe.

The reason I’m writing is, is because of a copy of Tuttosport that landed on my workdesk this morning. (Why do girls in stockings and high heels never land there…) Our beloved Juventus-paper brought an article on Kjaer’s future at Juve. It seems like this is the offer that Juve is preparing: Juve would be prepared to offer the 12 million that Kjaer’s agent mentioned as the asking price. They would also let Kjaer stay in Palermo for one more year on loan, and really take him after the end of the 09-10 season. Added to that would be a one year loan of promising midfielder Albin Ekdal.

I know this is just a rumour, but as there’s no Serie A this weekend and these rumours seem to pop up a lot lately, I wanted to ask you guys about your opinion on this. Here goes mine.

I say no. And there’s several reasons for that. First of all, 12 million isn’t enough. Let’s not forget that we got 20+ for Amauri, a guy of 30 years old with a bad knee, brought in as a sub for Trez. Kjaer is young, he’s amazingly talented and hasn’t suffered any serious damage yet. Second, I don’t like the whole loaning Ekdal thing. Kid’s got a bright future ahead of him, just like Lanzafame, plays the same position (I think) as Lanzafame, and see what happened to Lanzafame. Added to that, Ekdal is unproven. He hasn’t rocked Bari for a year.

The last thing I wanted to point out about this rumour, is that this might be exactly the right time to start building our very own legend. Selling Toni and Amauri was logical: these guys had a certain age, did well for the team and their money was needed to build the squad. Now, as we are building the squad, it would be a shame to sell one of our most important assets. At only 19, this kid could be a part of our rush to Serie A’s top four. I mean, the combination of proven and experienced players like Bovo, Moris and Micco and the young guns Edy, Kjaer, Abel and Mortadella (yeah, I like that name better) could be the base for success. I’d love for Kjaer to become this team’s leader for years to come: playing his entire career here, and then getting a staff job. I know I’m dreaming, but at some point, you have to single out one player that could lift your team to another level and NOT treat him like merchandise.

Do I have too much time on my hands? Maybe. Does the thought of possibly losing Kjaer get me all emotional? Maybe. All I know is that I don’t want to see the Danish Dynamite go…