Flying Kiwis – The Transfer Window #1
With the Confederations Cup been and gone, most All Whites are plotting their way back into the new club season now. Winston Reid’s gonna be leading the backline for West Ham, no doubt about that. Chris Wood, with all the turnover at Leeds, might have a decision on his hands but that’s a topic for a larger investigation. There are plenty other Flying Kiwis whose club situations might not be entirely to their likings though and a fair few of them have been on the move. Therefore dig right on into this, the first sweeping update on the transfer dealings of kiwi footy players during this European offseason.
Tyler Boyd – CD Tondela (Portugal)
Tyler Boyd’s been a season and a half in Portugal ever since he left the Wellington Phoenix. Although he has appeared twice for the first team of Vitória Guimarães, playing a total of 74 minutes and picking up a yellow card in Portugal’s Primeira Liga, he’s overwhelmingly been plugging away with the reserve team a division down. Still, he’s been a pretty handy asset for the B side, scoring 8 goals with 5 assists in the last season.
Not enough to get him straight into the top side but enough that he’s earned himself a chance to show what he can do in the top flight. A few clubs have asked about taking him on loan this season. Tondela, Chaves and Moreirense were all named on Guimarães Digital. All three finished in the lower half of the table last campaign but Chaves, the best of them, were deemed too tough for Boyd to be getting regular footy with so they were flicked. Instead his agent has now negotiated a move to Tondela.
Coincidence here is that Nick Ansell, the Aussie defender, just signed for them from Melbourne Victory so there’ll be a little A-League flavour there for sure.
Tondela could use the attacking help too, they’re a team that really struggled for goals last season. Top goalscorer in the league was Venezuelan Jhon Murillo who scored five and he was only there on loan (from Benfica). They survived relegation by a single goal - Arouca were relegated with -24 GD, Tonny staying up with -23. That’s how close this thing got. After 22 straight weeks in the relegation zone Tondela won their final game of the season and, bingo, that was enough to secure a third straight season in the Primeira Liga. Now Boydo’s there to try get them to a fourth.
Myer Bevan – Vancouver Whitecaps 2 (Canada/USA)
WFC2 head coach Rich Fagan: “Myer is a modern striker with good height, balance, pace, and intelligent movement. He is strong with both feet and can play as a lone striker or in a tandem. He is also willing to work incredibly hard for the team defensively. We are excited to work with Myer and look forward to helping him reach his potential.”
Sweet as, you already know that Myer Bevan signed with Vancouver Whitecaps. Happened right around the time of the Under-20 World Cup where he was probably New Zealand’s best player. Soon as that tourney finished he was on the plane to Canada where he linked up with the Whitecaps 2 squad, getting into training in mid-June and going more or less straight onto the bench for their next game. The second game he even got a run as he was subbed on in the second half.
Rich Fagan again: “I was really excited for him. He had a great World Cup. In all the games he played in, he made a difference. He was a little bit unlucky at times, but I think he made the most of that opportunity.”
The Whitecaps 2 side also happens to have Deklan Wynne and Francis de Vries on their roster, two more kiwis to chill with – plus Ben McKendry was eligible for NZ before preferring his more familiar Canada for his international stints, though he’s more embedded in the first team these days as is bloody Bernie Ibini, once of Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners in the A-League. Wynne has appeared for the firsts one time, making his debut shortly before heading off to the Confed Cup, but he’s otherwise a regular for VW2. De Vries has been injured but tends to be there or thereabouts when fit and now Bevan looks like he’s gonna get plenty of chances. This is pretty cool – New Zealand’s favourite American-based Canadian reserve team.
Nik Tzanev – AFC Wimbledon (England)
from: Flying Kiwis – May 16
Hey, there’s some good news there. Former NZ U20 rep Tzanev getting himself a proper deal with the Dons after spending time with their U21s late on in the season – and doing well enough to get a first team match day squad call-up on the last day of the season. The 20 year old had been with Brentford for a few years but didn’t get a second pro contract after rising through the ranks there.
Wimbledon manager Neal Ardley: “Nik came in to play for the Under-21s at the back end of the season and he impressed everybody. We want Nik to continue his development with us and his addition strengthens our options in the goalkeeping department.”
The Dons just came of a season where they started poorly, steadied themselves nicely in the mid-table of the third tier and then finished kinda slack once safety was assured. They’re talking up a big play at promotion next season though and Tzanev may not be in line for too many first team chances in the meantime but he signs not long after the club just released established number one gloveman James Shea, who has played over 100 times for them. They’ll be planning on bringing in someone new there but with the position open right now a strong preseason could mean plenty.
Quick note on AFC Wimbledon, this isn’t the same club as the Wimbledon that Vinnie Jones once played for, this is the team that was founded by disgruntled fans of that club in 2002 after that team was relocated to Milton Keynes – now re-established as Milton Keynes Dons. They started out in the ninth tier of English footy and this last season was their first in League One. It’s been a crazy rise and Tzanev isn’t the first kiwi to get on that train – back in the non-league days they came close to promotion in 05-06 with a top scorer named Shane Smeltz. Current Football Ferns coach Tony Readings also player there once upon a time.
Nik Tzanev: “To be a part of the first-team squad motivated me to keep going and try to get more opportunities. I am getting to the stage now when that is what I need to be doing. I know about the history of this club and the fans – it is an amazing club.”
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Holland)
The standout player for the All Whites at the Confederations Cup, Thommo’s now a household name among kiwi footy fans. He was already rather famous in Holland, where he plays for PEC Zwolle, after scoring a double in a cup final triumph over Ajax a couple seasons back. Thomas can play in central midfield, as an attacking midfielder or as a winger on either side, he’s super versatile and Zwolle have made good use of that. But Zwolle aren’t exactly a powerhouse of Dutch football, they’re sort of like a Bournemouth – hardly any money but good at identifying talent and punching above their weight. Relevant point here is that they’re a selling club… or they would be in a league with more money floating around.
Thomas to ELF Football: “My contract expires next year. Everything I read says my contract runs until mid-2019 but that's not true. I signed a new contract then [March, 2016] and I also expected it would be extended but it expires in 2018. Only a few things were modified in the contract.”
So we’ve got a player great form who’s just showcased what he can do at the Confederations Cup following a few years of impressive development and his contact has one season left playing for a club that struggles to hold onto its best players? Yeah, read between the lines.
PECZ Technical Director Gerard Nijkamp: “There are two options. One is to sell for a pretty fee to a nice club. If that doesn’t happen then we want to extend his contract by one year. We discussed this with him and he’s not unsympathetic. When he returns, we’ll talk.”
Also keep in mind that Zwolle are coming off a mostly terrible season where they had to fight off relegation most of the way and will have a new manager this next term (Jon van’t Schip!). Plus Thommo has expressed his wish to play at a higher level, to use Zwolle as a stepping stone, in several interviews in the past. Former Netherlands striker Pierre van Hooijdonk sure reckons he’s got the right stuff.
Stefan Marinovic – SpVgg Unterhaching (Germany)
All Whites numero uno Marinovic has had a hell of a twelve months. He was one of the team’s stand outs at the Confederations Cup in Mexico, making a number of impressive saves while also looking, as you want most of all from your keeper, remarkably assured. He’s only 25 years old and goalies tend to play well into their late-30s. Not a bad time to put yourself in the shop window.
However the transfer rumours go back way before the Confeds – no scout worth a damn is recommending a player based on three games. Luckily then for Stefan he’s been absolutely dominating for his club lately. SpVgg Unterhaching were a fourth tier club in Germany, playing regional football. They’re now a third tier club about to play all over the country because they straight up demolished their division last season. They won the thing by 20 spare points and Marinovic was superb in keeping 17 clean sheets in 28 league starts (only conceding 13 goals along the way). You could imagine then that conceding four to Portugal for NZ was a little unfamiliar.
Marinovic’s contract with Unterhaching ends on June 30. If he wants to stay he’ll almost certainly get an extension but having trialled with Wolverhampton Wanderers during the German winter break, courtesy of Peter Taylor, he should have plenty of options and Marinovic is coming into the time in his career where he’ll expect to be making the jump. A leap up one division might not be enough for him – even if it does mean he’ll finally get breaks for international windows.
So one way or another Marinovic will have some transfer news on the horizon. Nothing yet but just sneakily Wolves have been linked with a few goalkeepers this window so you know they’re in the market.
Max Crocombe – Salford City (England)
Ah look, another goalkeeper getting a deal. Quite a cool one too because Salford City are the team owned by a bunch of Manchester United legends. Singapore businessman Peter Lim (who also owns Valencia) has a 50% stake and the other 50% stake is split between 10% cuts for Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt (remember Gary Neviller getting a managerial gig with Valencia? Yup.).
Salford only narrowly missed out on promotion to the National League last season as they went out in the playoff semis on penalties to Halifax Town but that effort came on the back of two straight promotions and they’ll be one of the favourites to rise another step this season too.
Having played for New Zealand through the age groups, Crocombe signed in 2010 with Oxford Town as a teenager and signed a professional deal in 2012. He had to be patient for opportunities though, only ever playing six times for the first team there (although he kept three clean sheets in a row to closet the 2012-13 season). Instead Crocombe has played most of his football during loan spells with Nuneaton Town, Barnet and, most successfully, Southport. That latter stint saw him start 25 times for Southport during the 15-16 National League campaign, keeping seven clean sheets despite playing for a team that’d end up in the bottom half of the table.
Crocombe left Oxford to pursue more first team footy but with Carlisle United last season he was pretty much exclusively the reserve goalie, only playing four times all in the EFL Cup. The move to Salford means a drop to the sixth tier of English football, the National League North, but with previous number one Jay Lynch leaving the club he should walk into a starting role and it’ll be for a team that’s as stable as you’re gonna get at this level. It’s one step on the ladder below where he had his best spell at Southport but this’ll be for a more dominant team targeting promotion. Should be fun.
Moses Dyer – Northcote City (Australia)
Fresh from captaining the NZ U-20s into their World Cup knockouts (it got ugly in the end, but that’s not really Mo’s fault), it’s been a busy few weeks for the young All White. Cheeky little trial in Denmark with Vejle, this after showing his stuff for Norwegian side Arendal a week or two earlier.
Winston Reid famously built his career up in Denmark after moving there as a kid and there are actually several kiwis playing footy in Scandinavia at the moment. Nikko Boxall and Brock Messenger play in Finland; Dan Keat, Tyler Lissette and Steven Old play in Sweden, as did Craig Henderson until recently; and Football Ferns Ali Riley, Hannah Wilkinson (both Sweden) and Kirsty Yallop (Norway) all ply their trade in that part of the world too. Would be nice to add another to the list in Dyer, who so far has spent his career playing NZ Premiership and some club stuff in Aussie. Only 20 years old though so heaps of time to get something done and he’s clearly willing to do the hard yards to get a contract. Neither of those two teams he trialled with play in their country’s first division but you’ve gotta get your foot in the door one way or another.
Moses Dyer to Agderposten, June 6: “I asked FIFA for a flight ticket to Norway and Europe [after the U20 WC]. I've played in New Zealand and in Australia, but it is very far away, so I hope to get a contract here in Europe. Now I am at least here, so there are more teams that can notice me. I want to play here and use Arendal as a springboard.”
Henry Cameron - Unattached
Around the time he first played for the All Whites, Henry Cameron was on a real rise. Called up out of the blue for a friendly against Oman thanks to a kiwi mother (gotta love a kiwi mother!), he was an 18 year old who’d already played 27 times over a season and a half for League One’s Blackpool. He’d risen through the academy ranks and now here was an international debut.
Well, he lasted 42 minutes before he ripped up his ACL and it was a long way back from there.
Cameron’s only played three times for Blackpool since, this season settling for three cup appearances, totalling 103 minutes, and that was it. A short-term loan to non-league Telford United was designed to get him some game time and he couldn’t make an impact there either. He did manage a second cap for the All Whites, coming on as a substitute against America in Washington back in November, but after heading off with the NZ Under-20s for their World Cup he fell out of the starting XI there as well. All of this is a long winded way of saying that injury really threw his career off course.
Blackpool were relegated to League Two in 2015-16 but came straight back up through the playoffs. When the team contract decisions were announced at the end of the campaign, Cameron was one of the ten players released. It now sounds suspiciously like he’s about to move to Ireland.
There'll be more transfer dealings where this came from, had to save a couple jokers for next time. Give the Cache a thumbs up of encouragement by clicking on an ad, chur.