Updated Jan 30, 2011 7:16 AM ET 30/01/2011 11:29 +0100
The value of the offer remains undisclosed, but the German giants are hoping it will be enough to tempt the Potters into a sale. Tuncay has struggled to hold down a regular first-team place at the Britannia Stadium - although he has enjoyed a recent run in the side - but the Turkey international has always maintained he is happy at the club. Tony Pulis has also insisted the 29-year-old has a part to play at Stoke but speculation has rarely gone away that a transfer may be in the offing. Sunderland and West Ham have been linked with moves, but an official approach has now been made from Germany, according to German newspaper Bild. It remains to be seen whether Pulis will agree to let Tuncay leave - Ricardo Fuller could be on the move - but Wolfsburg are desperate to bolster their attacking options and could make the Potters an offer too good to refuse. Schalke are currently languishing in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table but are also understood to have made a move for Schalke's Jefferson Farfan as they seek to arrest their slump.
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 30 January 2011 11.24 GMT <li class="history">Article history
Andy Murray Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images Andy Murray handed a vibrant, hungry Novak Djokovic his second Australian Open title today in two hours and 39 minutes of truly wretched tennis.
At the third time of asking, the Scot could not win a set in a grand slam final. He did not even get close, as Djokovic won 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
This was one of the Scot's poorest displays in a long-time, perhaps on a par with his defeat by Stanislas Wawrinka in the US Open last year. He moved with the bounce of a sloth, served meekly and lacked any of the vim that had carried him this far.
Whatever ailed Murray he employed the Rafa Nadal no-defence defence, refusing to blame any injury.
On court, the evidence was clear. He did not like the tension in his racket or in his soul. He was leaden, sullen, beaten. He blinked, tugged at his leg, shouted at his mother, swore at the seagulls and whatever conversation he was having with himself would have been a very black dialogue indeed.
But his passion was misdirected; it was not his team or the seagulls who were losing this final; it was him.
Djokovic ignored it all. He served with outstanding consistency, blasted six aces past his static opponent, broke him seven times out of 18 opportunities and was rarely in trouble.
At least Murray did not cry this year, as he did when losing to Roger Federer in last year's final. Indeed, Murray looked for an instance in the glare of the lights as if a mild hysteria had invaded him, smiling with what surely was embarrassment on the podium.
"Try to keep it together this year," he joked, something he clearly could not manage during a match in which his opponent played classic Murray defensive tennis to grind him down.
Murray's post-match summary for the crowd was from the handbook of good manners. "You had an unbelievable tournament," he said to Djokovic, "and deserved to win. I look forward to playing against you in the future. I would like to thank my team "
And so on. In fact, at key stages of his meltdown he looked as if he wanted to strangle his team. "Calm down," he gestured after losing the first set; "Shut up!" he screamed, after losing the second.
Much will be made of his choking or otherwise; the ghost of Fred Perry will be exorcised. Neither is completely true. Simply, he struck Djokovic on a night when the Serb would have beaten anyone in the world maybe even a fully functioning Nadal or Federer.
He had already put Federer away in the semi-final; this was better than that; at one point he looked as if he would nil Murray in the second set, but the No5 seed battled hard to hang on to his credibility.
It's not history that weighs Andy Murray down. It's Andy Murray. There are too many of him.
The one who turned up at Rod Laver Arena was in few respects related to the buzzing, positive player who had come through six pulsating matches for his date with destiny, and he practically gift-wrapped this title for Djokovic.
Murray will come back. In what shape is an intriguing question. This will either further harden his resolve or send him into a funk. And not even he is sure which direction he is heading.
In boxing terms, he waited too long going for the knockout
Andy Murray reacts in frustration as he slips to a straight-sets defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final. Photograph: Barbara Walton/EPA So now we know that not even a knock‑up with David Cameron in the drawing room of No10 could inspire Andy Murray to the ultimate victory. More seriously, the dominant conclusion to emerge from his defeat in Melbourne today was that if he is ever going to win a grand slam tournament, he will probably need better help than he is getting.
To put it harshly, Murray gave less reason for optimism in defeat against Novak Djokovic today than he did exactly 12 months ago, while losing the final of the 2010 Australian Open to Roger Federer. Confronting the Swiss, he gave himself a glimpse of victory when he broke serve in the second set to go 4-2 up, capturing the break point with the shot of a lifetime. There were no such golden visions today, just a hard, sweaty struggle to retain a semblance of self‑respect against an opponent manifestly superior on the day.
The careers of Murray and Djokovic, born a week apart in 1987, have run on parallel lines since they first encountered each other on a tennis court at the age of 13. The Serb, however, has proved more adept at turning talent and promise into achievement. Two years ago, when Djokovic was winning his first grand slam tournament in Australia, it could be suggested that some players mature faster than others. Now, however, they are both 23-years-old in a young man's sport, and no further excuses can be made.
Today Djokovic surmounted an even more daunting hurdle, which is to win again. After winning in 2008, he fell back. But he has worked hard to strengthen his game, and his single-minded demolition of Federer on Thursday showed that he is worthy of his place among the world's top three.
Before the final Djokovic had enjoyed the advantage of an extra 24 hours' rest, thanks to a flaw in the Australian tournament's structure, and Murray was certainly looking frayed as the match went into its third set. However, these competitors know the conditions, and they have nothing to do but prepare for them. And although Murray had to work hard to get the better of David Ferrer in a four-set semi-final, Djokovic's task at the same stage was to eliminate the great Federer.
An even bleaker light is cast on Murray's failure by the statistical nature of the defeat: his three grand slam finals have all been surrendered in straight sets. Against Federer at Flushing Meadow in 2008 the score was 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.
In Melbourne against the same opponent last year it was 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. By comparison, today's 6-4 6-2 6-3 hardly suggests a man moving inexorably towards a rendezvous with destiny.
Like Tim Henman, the man from Dunblane has done wonderfully well to emerge from the slough of despond that is British professional tennis. In both cases, their success was achieved through bypassing a sclerotic system. Unlike the worthy but limited Henman, however, Murray has the talent to prevail at the very top. What he needs is the tactical preparation and the mental strengthening necessary to take the final step – and then not to be content with one victory but to go on and win again, as Djokovic has just done.
Coaches are clearly a problem for Murray. Since turning professional in 2005 he has worked with Pato Alvarez, Mark Petchey, Brad Gilbert, Miles Maclagan and Alex Corretja. The Spaniard, who had coached Murray during the clay-court season in 2008, replaced Maclagan last summer, on the understanding that there would eventually be a permanent replacement, but not before Australia this month.
This left Murray in the care of his mother, Judy, who leads the rest of a team comprising his friend and hitting partner Dani Vallverdu, his physio Andy Ireland and fitness trainer Jez Green. A second regular fitness trainer, Matt Little, was not around.
Murray does not enjoy travelling with just a professional coach. He has said that he prefers the company of people of his own age, with whom he can relax. But as his battle to stay in today's match reached its anticlimax in the third set, what use were they in hard, practical, professional terms? None of them could affect his inability to put more than 53% of his first serves into play, against Djokovic's 67%: a fatal handicap.
As his play grew more erratic, he cursed himself with increasing vehemence. At a crucial point in a match that was there to be saved, such passionate self-laceration represented a terribly debilitating waste of mental energy.
On the point of losing his third grand slam final, he should have been concentrating his attention not on the disappointment of the last point but on the possibility of the next, and on what he could do about it.
The world is full of tennis coaches, and somewhere out there must be one capable of providing the combination of discipline and encouragement necessary to focus the unruly instincts that undid Murray once again today. If necessary, they could take breakfast in separate rooms.
Andy Murray reacts in frustration as he slips to a straight-sets defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final. Photograph: Barbara Walton/EPA So now we know that not even a knock‑up with David Cameron in the drawing room of No10 could inspire Andy Murray to the ultimate victory. More seriously, the dominant conclusion to emerge from his defeat in Melbourne today was that if he is ever going to win a grand slam tournament, he will probably need better help than he is getting.
To put it harshly, Murray gave less reason for optimism in defeat against Novak Djokovic today than he did exactly 12 months ago, while losing the final of the 2010 Australian Open to Roger Federer. Confronting the Swiss, he gave himself a glimpse of victory when he broke serve in the second set to go 4-2 up, capturing the break point with the shot of a lifetime. There were no such golden visions today, just a hard, sweaty struggle to retain a semblance of self‑respect against an opponent manifestly superior on the day.
The careers of Murray and Djokovic, born a week apart in 1987, have run on parallel lines since they first encountered each other on a tennis court at the age of 13. The Serb, however, has proved more adept at turning talent and promise into achievement. Two years ago, when Djokovic was winning his first grand slam tournament in Australia, it could be suggested that some players mature faster than others. Now, however, they are both 23-years-old in a young man's sport, and no further excuses can be made.
Today Djokovic surmounted an even more daunting hurdle, which is to win again. After winning in 2008, he fell back. But he has worked hard to strengthen his game, and his single-minded demolition of Federer on Thursday showed that he is worthy of his place among the world's top three.
Before the final Djokovic had enjoyed the advantage of an extra 24 hours' rest, thanks to a flaw in the Australian tournament's structure, and Murray was certainly looking frayed as the match went into its third set. However, these competitors know the conditions, and they have nothing to do but prepare for them. And although Murray had to work hard to get the better of David Ferrer in a four-set semi-final, Djokovic's task at the same stage was to eliminate the great Federer.
An even bleaker light is cast on Murray's failure by the statistical nature of the defeat: his three grand slam finals have all been surrendered in straight sets. Against Federer at Flushing Meadow in 2008 the score was 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.
In Melbourne against the same opponent last year it was 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. By comparison, today's 6-4 6-2 6-3 hardly suggests a man moving inexorably towards a rendezvous with destiny.
Like Tim Henman, the man from Dunblane has done wonderfully well to emerge from the slough of despond that is British professional tennis. In both cases, their success was achieved through bypassing a sclerotic system. Unlike the worthy but limited Henman, however, Murray has the talent to prevail at the very top. What he needs is the tactical preparation and the mental strengthening necessary to take the final step and then not to be content with one victory but to go on and win again, as Djokovic has just done.
Coaches are clearly a problem for Murray. Since turning professional in 2005 he has worked with Pato Alvarez, Mark Petchey, Brad Gilbert, Miles Maclagan and Alex Corretja. The Spaniard, who had coached Murray during the clay-court season in 2008, replaced Maclagan last summer, on the understanding that there would eventually be a permanent replacement, but not before Australia this month.
This left Murray in the care of his mother, Judy, who leads the rest of a team comprising his friend and hitting partner Dani Vallverdu, his physio Andy Ireland and fitness trainer Jez Green. A second regular fitness trainer, Matt Little, was not around.
Murray does not enjoy travelling with just a professional coach. He has said that he prefers the company of people of his own age, with whom he can relax. But as his battle to stay in today's match reached its anticlimax in the third set, what use were they in hard, practical, professional terms? None of them could affect his inability to put more than 53% of his first serves into play, against Djokovic's 67%: a fatal handicap.
As his play grew more erratic, he cursed himself with increasing vehemence. At a crucial point in a match that was there to be saved, such passionate self-laceration represented a terribly debilitating waste of mental energy.
On the point of losing his third grand slam final, he should have been concentrating his attention not on the disappointment of the last point but on the possibility of the next, and on what he could do about it.
The world is full of tennis coaches, and somewhere out there must be one capable of providing the combination of discipline and encouragement necessary to focus the unruly instincts that undid Murray once again today. If necessary, they could take breakfast in separate rooms.