• Premier League

Toon launch bid for Ajax's Anita - report

Kristan Heneage
August 11, 2012
Vurnon Anita is a product of Ajax's famed youth academy © PA Photos
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Newcastle have submitted a bid of €8 million for Ajax midfielder Vurnon Anita, according to reports in the Netherlands.

Anita, 23, is a long-term target of the Magpies, and it's claimed that a club delegation had flown to Amsterdam this weekend to continue negotiations. Earlier this month Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars confirmed the club did not wish to lose the midfielder, and that they had offered him a new deal.

Speaking to De Telegraaf, Overmars said: "We do not want to lose Vurnon. That's why we have made him an offer to sign with us until 2015 or 2016. The coaching staff has been very clear. Vurnon is very important for the team and we do not want to let him go.

"With his new contract he would be one of the highest earners at Ajax and his services will be appreciated."

However Anita, who has been capped three times by Netherlands, recently hired super agent Mino Raiola - representative of Mario Balotelli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic - in what many perceived as an attempt to secure a move away from the Eredivisie.

Alan Pardew has struggled to add to his squad this summer, with the manager this week urging fans to remain patient as the club attempts to secure new faces.

Pardew told the Evening Chronicle: "My message would just be to be patient. We've got a great side, and a great underbelly to the team. If we add one or two, or even three, we'll have a great squad."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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