Toon On A Swiss Roll?
By Nu Mad
Updated Sunday, 29th June 2008
Ex-Toon star Marc Hottiger has urged United to firm up their interest in Swiss hotshot Eren Derdiyok, the 20-year-old FC Basel striker, who scored on his international debut against England in February.
Hottiger is now director of Academy coaching at Brad Friedel's Premier Soccer Academies in Ohio, USA.
1994/96 M.Hottiger 52/2 2
Swiss international signed after the 1994 World Cup. Simple, straight-forward full-back with no frills or fancy, but did well at the club. Moved on to Everton. Scored a cracking goal against Blackburn at Ewood Park in the FA Cup.
Marc Hottiger: "He is a very good young player who has all the right attributes to succeed.
"I like him because he is a hard worker and competes as a team player with plenty of pace to offer.
"He can score goals too and, as fans in England will know, he scored against them at Wembley earlier this year on his debut.
"Not every player can score at international level so early on.
"He also did well in the games he played for Switzerland during Euro 2008 and it all bodes well for the future.
"Knowing Kevin, I think Newcastle would be a great place for Eren to play.
"The strikers always work well with Kevin because he was a striker himself. People like Andy Cole, Peter Beardsley and, of course, Les Ferdinand were a big success during that time.
"Basel is a great club to recruit young players from and in recent years they have had Zdravko Kuzmanovic, who went to Fiorentina and did well, and Ivan Rakitic, who has shone at Schalke.
"Christian Gross has produced some good young players there down the years.
"I think that Eren has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League at a club like Newcastle.
"It was great. Kevin Keegan was a big, big player during his time and, for me, it was a great thing to sign for Newcastle under him.
"I remember my debut in Glasgow at the Ibrox tournament - we played
Manchester United and beat them on penalties.
"I scored the winning goal to send Newcastle into the final and the fans were always great with me.
"But it was the way we played football that was so good under Kevin.
"I always try to come to Newcastle once a year and people always come up to me for a talk - they all remember those years.
"We had a great team spirit back then and I hope that Kevin is as successful again.
"They have some great players there already like Michael Owen and Nicky Butt, as well as a good goalkeeper in Shay Given."
