Bundesliga Transfer Deadline Day 2012: The Last Day Of Action In Germany

Rafael Van Der Vaart Finalizes Move To Hamburg

Rafael van der Vaart is the newest member of Hamburg after passing a medical that finalizes his move from Tottenham Hotspur to the Bundesliga club. HSV already have a photo with him holding a Hamburg shirt.

Es ist offiziell! Herzlich willkommen zu Hause, Rafael van der Vaart! twitter.com/HSV/status/241…

— Hamburger SV (@HSV) August 31, 2012

That roughly translates to: "It is official, welcome Rafael van der Vaart". Yes, we speak bad German too.

van der Vaart spent three years with Hamburg before moving to Real Madrid in 2008. Two years later he moved to Tottenham and now after two years in England he is on his way back to HSV, where he is still considered a legend.

Hamburg has been chasing van der Vaart all summer, but were put off by the price that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was demanding. The transfer fee has not been made public, but reports suggest that it is between £10-12 million.

Recent purchases by Spurs made van der Vaart surplus at the club. Moussa Dembele and Gylfi Sigurdsson pushed him aside and if the rumored transfer of Joao Moutinho comes through then he would have really been without a home.

Now he is at Hamburg, where the 29-year-old is wanted and can help a team that really needs it. They are not all that dangerous in the attack and the Dutchman will give them a much-needed punch.

Ibrahim Afellay Joins Schalke On Loan

Ibrahim Afellay has found a home, at least for one year. Barcelona have agreed to loan the Netherlands international to Schalke, concluding his summer-long search for a club.

Afellay joined Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven in 2010, but never quite settled in at the Camp Nou. Despite starring at PSV and joining Barcelona in the best form os his career, he only made 34 appearances for the Blaugrana as injuries and a lack of form derailed the career of a player who many thought would become a superstar.

Schalke sounds like a good move for Afellay. There he will get to play under Huub Stevens, who was his manager at PSV and who he maintained a good relationship with. Now 26 years old, Afellay desperately needs to rejuvenate his career and he should be able to do that at Schalke, where Stevens will provide him ample opportunity to earn the playing time that he has lacked since joining Barcelona.

Bayer Leverkusen Will Not Sell Andre Schurrle Or Lars Bender

Neither Andre Schurrle nor Lars Bender will be sold, according to Bayer Leverkusen's sporting director. The pair had been linked to moves away from the Bay Arena for much of the summer.

Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Völler in Süddeutsche: "We have decided that @andre_schuerrle & L. Bender will not be sold"

— raphael honigstein (@honigstein) August 31, 2012

Bayer looked poor in their season opening match versus Frankfurt. They struggled at the back and were beaten 2-1 by a team that few expect great things from the season. Whether that loss made Bayer realize that they could not afford to sell two of their best players is speculation, but it sure didn't help the chances of their being sold.

Schurrle has been linked to Chelsea all summer with the rumors really heating up over the last week. The 21-year-old is one of Germany's brightest young talents and Chelsea wanted to bring him in as part of their youth revolution.

Bender has been linked to several clubs, but the interest never seemed as intense as Chelsea's for Schurrle.

Rafael Van Der Vaart's Agent Confirms Hamburg Move

Looks like the reports from Bild have some substance after all. Rafael van der Vaart's agent has confirmed that the enigmatic Dutch midfielder is indeed heading to HSV:

Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart's agent confirms the player is on his way to Hamburg for a medical …

— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) August 31, 2012

The earlier rumour was that Hamburg and Tottenham Hotspur had agreed a €13 million deal for the 29-year-old, who played at the Imtech Arena between 2005 and 2008 before heading to Real Madrid on a big money deal that never quite worked out. If he passes the medical, there's still the matter of agreeing a contract, but with Spurs' wage structure being fairly reasonable as Premier League sides go, there shouldn't be that much of a problem in getting van der Vaart signed to a new deal.

It's a good bit of business for Tottenham, too -- they'll have earned £40 million between van der Vaart's departure and the sale of Luka Modric to Madrid.

Bundesliga Transfer Deadline Preview

The summer transfer window is about to close, so we take a look at Germany.