Schalke confirm Van der Vaart interest
June 10, 2012
Schalke manager Huub Stevens has confirmed the German club are in talks with Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart's representatives.
Despite Van der Vaart's insistence that he is not looking to leave Spurs, his agent Robert Geerlings recently confirmed that the Bundlesliga side were interested in the Netherlands international.
And Stevens, who coached Van der Vaart at Hamburg back in 2008, admitted he would love to be reunited with the former Real Madrid midfielder.
"His qualities are tremendous," Stevens told Voetbal International. "Schalke won't say no to Van der Vaart, I still know him from our mutual stay at Hamburger SV and would like to join forces with him again. We are in contact with his agent. I'm on holiday right now, but I'm in touch with Schalke general manager Horst Heldt on a daily basis about our plans.
"I don't know how Raf himself feels about a return to Germany. I haven't spoken him yet, he's with his mind on the Euros. His agreement with Tottenham is still running, so it seems that we have to pay a transfer sum in case he would come.
"Let's be clear: if Raf really wants to come, he's more than welcome. If we have this opportunity to contract him, which looks quite reasonable, we won't miss our chance. The attacking midfielder position, it is possible to shuffle within our squad. Julian Draxler, for example, is only 18-years-old, while Van der Vaart is a very experienced player."