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Baan resigned to losing trio

FEYENOORD technical director Rob Baan expects Danish striker Jon Dahl Tomasson and the midfield duo of Australian Brett Emerton, and Ivory Coast international Bonaventure Kalou to all leave the Rotterdam club at the end of this season.

The Rotterdam-based club are four points behind Ajax in the KPN Eredivisie table and have a one goal advantage for Thursday's second leg at home to Italian giants Internazionale in the Uefa Cup semi-finals.

Despite this season's good fortune, the club has moved to try and replace the trio's impending departure from De Kuip.

Baan said: "Emerton has said since the signing of his contract that he sees Holland as just a step. Kalou has also said that."

Baan has warned interested clubs last month that Emerton would not leave the side cheaply, after receiving offers that were unacceptable to him and Feyenoord for the Socceroo.

Belgian Under-21 international Thomas Buffel and former Newcastle United player Brian Pinas are expected to return to the club next season but with Feyenoord a result away from the Uefa Cup final, Baan is currently also looking at players in Argentina.

He added: "Due to the lower currency, players there (in Argentina) are very interesting to us."

Meanwhile, defender Pieter Collen's nightmare season continues after breaking his hand in a youth match on Monday.

The match was the first for Collen, after a five-month lay-off with a stomach injury.

Collen joined the Rotterdam side last summer from NEC Nijmegen and has only played eight matches this season, five of them in the Champions League first group phase last autumn.