Die Wölfe have made a €9 million offer for Petric, he of 20 goals in 41 matches this season.  This is all necessitated by Milan’s flirtations with Edin Džeko.  Naturally, Petric, his agent, and HSV management all replied “Fuhgeddaboudit.” So far.

But what happens when Wolfsburg comes back with an offer of €14 or  €16 million, or more? They have that kind of cash to splash around now that they are in the Champions League next fall.  Didi Beiersdorf was a bit more coy when that question was posed to him. His response? Let’s see the offer on paper before we decide what we are going to do.  Wolfsburg, for their part, have a second option lined up:  Luca Toni.

Petric was a key acquisition for HSV last summer, and with the departure of Olic, I would find it very difficult to believe that HSV would let one of two remaining strikers on the roster be sold. But I thought that about Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong, too.

De Jong did not return with the team to Hamburg following the conclusion of the training camp in La Manga, Spain (he travelled to Manchester for a physical) and did not play in yesterday’s 3:0 victory over Hansa Rostock. And as a complete aside, has there been a more precipitous fall in recent memory than Rostock? Two years ago they were in the 1. Bundesliga, then were relegated after last season, and now are in danger of being relegated from the 2. Bundesliga. Yikes.

So our attention now can turn to three topics: 1) New transfers; 2) the DFB-Pokal match versus 1860 Munich on Tuesday; 3) the Bayern match on 30 January.

For new transfers, there have been a number of rumors reported in the comments of the last post regarding players from Belgium, notably Steven Defour of Standard Liege and Lucas Biglia of Anderlecht.  In today’s online edition of Kicker.de, the name of Stade Rennes defensive midfielder Stephane Mbia was bandied about and HSV are reportedly negotiating a transfer. From what I found on the Rennes club website, I like this Cameroon international. Mbia is 22 years old and is under contract with Rennes until 2012. Mbia has been capped 12 times scoring 3 goals, and his national coach says he is the real deal/next big thing/all that and a bag of chips/etc. He is also being scouted by Newcastle (who isn’t?). Christian Paulson and Demy de Zeeuw are still rumored to be in the mix.

As for the Cup tie with 1860, Ivica Olic still does not know his status following the red card in the Hoffenheim “friendly” last week. A suspension looks likely, but since the match was a friendly (and not a DFB sponsored contest), there is some speculation that only a fine to be donated to charity is in the offing. Mladen Petric sat out the Rostock match with a sore calf, but is expected to train and play versus 1860 Munich.

That’s all well and good, but what should HSV do with the dough? I’d love to hear your comments on:

•Replacement for De Jong. The name we continue to hear is Mark van Bommel of Bayern, but lately we also are hearing Christian Paulsen of Juve, *and* newly trialed Marcel Ndjengs (formerly of ‘Gladbach). The old Demy de Zeeuw rumor from the fall doesn’t appear to have any legs, so I don’t know what to make of it. Personally, I’d love to see Van Bommel.

•Replacement for Olic. My good friends at the Abendblatt say that Serb striker Milan Jovanovic of Standard Liege would be a good fit and is available for around €7M. I have *no* idea on this one.

•Any other moves before the 30 January match at the ‘Bank with Bayern. I think we need some additional depth on defense. When Alex Silva comes back, he may take De Jong’s spot (he was outstanding there while De Jong was rehabbing his knee) and we may be looking for more defense. There is another rumor swirling around that Rafael van der Vaart may be coming back to the fold, but it wouldn’t be until this summer.

Bear in mind that Alex Silva is out until approximately the first week of February and that Atouba is done for the year.

MoPo opines that De Jong and Hamburg should take the money and run.  I am really confused about how I feel about this. For one thing, I think we’ve got a side that can challenge for a CL posiition–seriously, Hertha is only ahead on goals, so any slip up by them and we are in the qualifying spot, and how will Ibisevic’s knee injury affect TSG’s chances of hanging at the top? For another, I am just getting over VDV’s and Kompany’s transfers (and now Olic’s)–I don’t know if I could take it if De Jong leaves too (he has always been one of my favorites). BUT, the money the Citizens (rather, the sheikhs) are offering is almost as much as the fees paid for Kompany and VDV combined.  And HSV have already targeted Mark van Bommel (what is this Dutch roulette?),  Christian Paulsen of Juventus, and old target Demy de Zeeuw as a potential replacements, and have already trialed former ‘Gladbach midfielder Marcel Ndjengs. Not too shabby. Could HSV qualify for the CL with either MVB or Paulsen manning De Jong’s midfield spot? Probably.

Quick Hits:

•Yesterday was BMJ’s 53rd birthday. Cheers!

•If you haven’t heard, Olic and Carlos Eduardo got into a fight in the friendly versus TSG (HSV won 2:0). Seems Eduardo took offense to Olic’S very hard charge when he was without the ball near the touchline. Both guys were given straight reds and now are left waiting to see if the DFB will suspend them.

•Alex Silva’s hernia surgery was successful.

Olic has indicated that he would like to stay with HSV, but has grown increasingly frustrated with the pace of negotiations with Hamburg, and recently instructed his agent, Gordon Stipic, to open negotiations with other clubs. It was thought that there would be no suitors from the Bundesliga, mostly due to Olic’s perceived high price tag, but Bayern publicly expressed interest, and according to the Bild story, interest has turned into an offer. Said story indicates that Olic has agreed to a 3 year contract with a one-year club option. Financial terms of the contract were not leaked. 

Despite the dubious source of the story, there are many details in the story that make it seem legit, to wit:  Olic’s German wife, Natalie, has no desire to leave Germany (thus excluding clubs like Liverpool, Valencia, and Juventus); Bayern have a place in the starting XI for him and $/€ with the impending departure of Lukas Podolski; Olic’s desire to play Champion’s League football; And, the fact that this would be a completely free/gratis transfer for Bayern.  As Jan wrote in the comments of the original story last week, this may be an attempt by Stipic to force HSV at the bargaining table, but it’s looking more and more like Olic will be plying his trade elsewhere come August.

Olic’s current contract expires in June, and he is free to sign with a new club during the January transfer window. To date, the negotiations have stalled, and other clubs have been circling, notably Liverpool, Juventus, and Valencia. According to a story today in the German football paper Kicker, Juventus and Olic have come to terms and Olic has agreed to a 4 year contract at “more than €3.7M per year”. Olic’s agent, Gordon Stipic, stated that nothing has been agreed to, and no contracts have been signed.  Olic has publicly stated that his first choice was to remain in Hamburg (he and his wife built a house in Hamburg and have made it their permanent home), but recently told Bild that he is now open to offers from other clubs.

Wow. On the one hand, HSV have had it coming by not getting Olic re-signed sooner. On the other, the silly season is upon us nigh, and this may be the first load of BS that we see on this subject.