Rumour Mill: City Close In On Spanish Striker?

The dust has barely settled on the events of last Sunday, and already preparations are being put in place for the 2012-2013 season, and the defense of our title (read that sentence again, it sounds good doesn't it?).  


According to the press it is our forward line that could be getting a reshuffle.  Sergio Aguero will remain in all likelihood, and I imagine Mario Balotelli will most likely stay as well, so it is the futures of Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko that remain in the balance.  The pressing rumour today is of a deal being wrapped up for Spain and Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente, a strange decision based on the players we already have.


Llorente is a good striker, in fact he's better than that, he is an excellent striker.  He gave Manchester United no end of trouble in their Europa League meetings, he was a dangerous part of a very skilful attacking unit.  At 6'5 it is pretty easy to see where his strengths lie, he is lethal in the air and has good strength and presence to go along with it; although likening him to Andy Carroll would be doing him a disservice, he is very adept with the ball at his feet, and  with his excellent technique it is no surprise that he is such a regular for Spain, he doesn't appear out of place playing with the World Cup holders.

Spanish tabloid/rag AS are reporting today that a deal is almost done, as with all players in Spain there is a release clause in his contract, the figure in this case is around £29million and the paper claim City are ready to offer this sum to secure his services.  They go as far as to suggest that discussions have already taken place between the club and his brother Chus, who acts as his agent and representative.  


Clearly an expensive deal to finance, but on a player who would certainly be a good performer, my question though is over how necessary he really is?  The report in AS claims that City view Llorente as the perfect partner for Aguero (something which may suggest the end of Tevez in Manchester), so the suggestion being they want to partner Kun, with a powerful tall forward; now I may be wrong but I am pretty certain we have one of those already on our books.  

Even with his vital goal on Sunday, the writing appears to be on the wall for Dzeko.  Gauging by his celebration and enjoyment of victory on Sunday, I would say he has strong feelings for the club, and this would suggest to me that his poorer performances this season have not been down to lack of effort, more a lack of confidence.  A return of 19 goals in 40 games this season is one that would be deemed successful by many, but there are still many doubters over the players ability.  It wasn't just his own performances that were impressive, when he was partnered with Aguero for the opening months of the season, the team were playing their best football, all this suggests to me that we already have the perfect partner for the Argentine, or at least a very good one.


To sell a player with that scoring record, and who scored such a vital goal to win us the title would be a mistake in my eyes, but lets put the Dzeko issue to one side for the time being, what about Llorente?  Well as I say, he is a high quality striker, and would arguably be an upgrade on the Bosnian but at 27 I am not sure he represents value for money when we already have the aforementioned player who has arguably a better scoring record over his career.

Prior to the last 2 campaigns, Llorente has notching up about 11 goals a season, and whilst in more recent years this has improved (18 in 2010-2011 and 17 in 2011-2012) I am still not sure if he is worth the gamble at that price.  I can't help but feel that should we spend £30million on a new striker, it should be on someone different to what we already have.  Cavani would fit the bill nicely or even Robin Van Persie, but for me, as good as Llorente is, i'm not sure he would be that much of an improvement on Dzeko.

Rumour Mill: Round Up Of Friday's Press Rubb....Stories

A fair few bits and bobs in the papers today, some of which are worth the time of day, some of which aren't even worth being wrapped around your sausage and chips.  Picking the wheat from the chaff isn't overly difficult in a few of these cases, but lets get on with it.


First up is the ongoing Nigel De Jong saga, Italian sporting website Tuttomercatoweb have tested my language skills (google translator) this morning and are reporting that Liverpool are keen to move for the Dutch destroyer.  In recent months the midfielder has started to get back to where he was last season, but he is still not one of the first names on the teamsheet as he has been in times gone by.  He still offers plenty, but whether he is content to remain a squad player is unclear, and on top of that the issues with his contract still persist.  De Jong has one year remaining on his current deal, an offer was on the table last Summer that was turned down, and it appears that an improved one is not forthcoming.  The Italian sports site reckons that King Kenny (or whoever makes the transfer decisions since the departure of Comolli)  would be prepared to offer around £15million, which to be honest would not be a bad deal considering he could theoretically leave for nothing next Summer.

Personally I would like to see him stay, he is a real fan favourite and has shown total commitment to the cause even during his contract troubles, I am sure a middle ground could be found to tie him down.  As for the Liverpool side of things, whilst De Jong is a top player in that position, it is one area that they already have quality, although he has been out all year Lucas does a very similar job and is an extremely good player so whether anything comes of their supposed interest remains to be seen.


De Jong is actually an important part of the next story as well, although this time he isn't the star! Step forward chimp like Tottenham flying machine Gareth Bale.  This one is splashed across the back page of The Mirror and surely that should tell you all you need to know about its credibility.  As I write this piece, the following quotes are spreading like wildfire on twitter:

"Gareth Bale is a fantastic player. But I don't think he will leave a big team like Tottenham,".

Make of that what you will, is Roberto trying to out 'Redknapp' Harry? The fact is that Gareth Bale probably will leave Spurs (one of many) should they miss out on Champions League football, and I would certainly have him at City....but not for the figures suggested in todays Mirror.  The paper reckon we are going to offer the ridiculous figure of £40million....plus Emmanuel Adebayor.....and Adam Johnson.....oh and Nigel De Jong as well.  To be quite honest if we did make that offer, Spurs would be absolute fools to not take it, but to offer that sum of money and then potentially 3 players worth about another 40? No chance!

Now to throw in a quick one before the main event!  Back to our Italian friends Tuttomercatoweb, and the future of Brazilian 'fullback' Dani Alves.  To keep to the point, he won't be joining City this Summer or any time soon.  He has been linked to us numerous times over the past few years, particularly during his protracted contract negotiations with Barcelona, but it is now reported that he wishes to stay in the Catalan capital for a while longer.


I can't see I am overly disappointed personally, we already have one fullback who struggles with the defensive side of his game (Kolarov) and I am not quite sure we need another, besides, with the marauding Micah Richards and the warrior-like Pablo Zabaleta I really don't see that area of the field as one that needs strengthening in the slightest.


Now for the big one...Eden Hazard!  It has been a very eventful few days for the Belgian, and there could now be the biggest indication as to where his future lies, well, at least geographically.  According to the rumour mongering French newspaper L'Equipe the wingers next move will definitely be to England, counting out the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, and more precisely, it will be to Manchester...which club though is still unknown.


Allegedly he was at the derby on Monday and more intriguingly there are claims that his people were entertained by the City delegation at the recent Wolves game.  These 2 events have led some in the media to suggest that we are in pole position for his signature, but I doubt it will be as straight forward as that as the United hierarchy are though to be extremely keen on securing him themselves.  Mancini and Vieira have flown to France on a couple of occasions to watch the 21 year old and both are said to have been extremely impressed.  

The decision for the player is relatively simple, he knows should he join City he will be part of a squad, but he will also earn more money and arguably be challenging for more honours, where as at United he is guaranteed to be a starter week in and week out.  The other advantage that we posses is the posse of French speakers we have, as well as the presence of his national captain Vincent Kompany.  Personally I expect the Hazard saga to run and run, but I would be very surprised if he ended up anywhere but Manchester, and if I had to pick, i'd say I can see him holding up the blue shirt in the near future.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Eden Hazard But Were Afraid To Ask!

A lot of names get thrown about every year, there are some players that just live on the back pages, permanently linked with that 'big' move.  For the last few years Eden Hazard has been one of those people, and over that time pretty much every football fan has stated how much they admire him, and made claims about how much he would be of benefit to their particular team.


Not to question the knowledge of other fans, but it does lead me to wonder how many people watch Ligue 1, because to have the knowledge of the player that people claim to have, they must watch Lille an awful lot!  I will hold my hands up and admit that 12 months ago, I was one of those people, I wanted Hazard at City, but I wasn't entirely sure why.  The hysteria around him had got so high, everyone wanted their club to sign him, but if you asked said fan whether he was right or left footed, they would in many cases be unable to answer you.  For that reason, I am going to spread the word, and make it clear just who Eden Hazard actually is, and why he'd be a great addition to the City squad.

We have all read the following admiring quotes from Mancini in recent days:

"I like Hazard a lot. He's a good player, he's young and he would do great things in our team...Given his technical qualities, City would be the perfect destination for him. I know him and have been following him for a long time. He's a player a lot of teams want.".

So what is it about the player that would make us such a 'perfect destination'?  To be quite honest from what I have seen and read the kid has it all.  Capable of playing on either wing, he has that prized asset of being pretty two footed, he may naturally use his right, but he is equally adapt on his left, he is also comfortable playing centrally behind the forward line.  He creates chances no matter where he is playing on the pitch, and he is also not shy of scoring himself, notching up 16 league goals (and 13 assists) this season in 33 appearances, not a bad return for an attacking midfield player.

The Belgian certainly doesn't lack self confidence, some may deem him cocky, but others, and more importantly those that have worked with him believe it is more positive than that, he believes in his own ability and at 21 that is crucial.  The midfielder was fast tracked from the Lille academy into the first team squad at just 16 and became the youngest ever professional player in France.  Hazard is lauded for many parts of his game, he is searingly quick with and without the ball, and with supreme dribbling ability he can create something out of nothing in a flash.  His technical ability is hugely impressive as well, he has a fine range of passing and an excellent strike.  He has been likened to some of the very top players in the global game, similarities between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not wide of the mark, the scary thing is that he is probably ahead of where they were at his age.  


All is not so positive however, there are a few drawbacks.  A very important consideration is that whilst he has been dubbed a 'defenders nightmare' and has appeared unplayable at times, this is in a league which does not reach the standards of the English top flight.  There have also been negative suggestions regarded his self confidence, his former manage at Lille Claude Puel, gave some warnings when speaking to BBC Sport:

"Eden's strength is that he never doubts himself...He has so much self-confidence. That enabled him to reach a high level very quickly, but now it's holding him back because he's not pushing himself enough....He has everything he needs to become truly a great player, but he has to understand talent alone isn't enough. You have to work as well and he'll only make the next step if he moves to a more competitive environment.".

This attitude is mirrored by former Arsenal great Emmanuel Petit:

"I always feel short-changed with Hazard...Hazard is a diamond but he needs to be polished by the right jeweller.".

National manager Georges Leekens has also questioned Hazard and suggested that he has a lot more work ahead of him if he wants to be one of the games greats, but, the facts is that noone denies the potential that he possesses.  There is the chance he could go the same way as many of these kids who are told they are world beaters only to stutter, but if that can be overcome he clearly has the potential.

Why though would City be such a good fit?  Well we know that Mancini has a knack of getting the best out of certain players, the improvement of Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards and Gareth Barry confirm that his coaching techniques are of a good standard, so I am confident that he could get the player on the right track and keep him there.

Tactically it is somewhat of a no brainer, we have very little natural width in our squad, Adam Johnson, maligned by many, is in my mind not as bad as many make out but whether he has the ability to ever be a top player I am unsure, Hazard definitely has that though.  Yes, he has a penchant for cutting inside something that makes us tremendously narrow at times but with his 2 footed ability he would always keep defenders guessing as to which way he was going to go.  Perhaps his biggest asset to us as a club though is his pace.  Other than our fullbacks we are not an overly pacey side and that is something that the Belgian would definitely provide, he would commit defenders, and beat defenders, and his playmaking ability could be a joy to watch alongside the likes of Silva, Aguero and Nasri.

Competition for his signature is obviously strong, he has been linked with Arsenal for years, but whether they could compete financially seems unlikely, United are very interested in his signature, as are Spurs and Chelsea.  Clearly we could offer the best deal, but with Real Madrid sniffing around we could face stiff competition there.  In fact it could be the Spanish giants that offer our biggest competition with the clubs sporting director, Zinedine Zidane, saying that he would sign the player 'with his eyes closed'.

Hopefully that has offered a little insight into the much talked about youngster, I think it is crucial to take the positive of the player, there are clearly drawbacks, but the kid is 21 and has the world at his feet, it would be strange if he wasn't a little bit overly self confident.  I personally can see him at City, and the player dubbed 'the right footed Messi' by ex-Marseille coach Rolland Courbis would light up Eastlands and the Premier League in my opinion, a truly mouth watering prospect.

Rumour Mill: 1 in, 1 out?

The Daily Mail today gives us 1 'story' and one total 'non-story' but lets run with it! The 'Fail' are reporting that City are going to make a Summer move for Spurs midfielder Luka Modric, and then they are running an altogether more believable story about the end of Nigel De Jong, claiming the writing is on the wall for the Dutch destroyer.


The crux of the Modric story seems to be based on nothing more than here-say, still that probably means its more accurate than about 90% of the other stories in the paper.  The author of the piece has taken direct quotes from the manager (that were interestingly given to The Sun and not to the Mail) and cobbled it together into an article suggesting a move for the Croatian is a near certainty.  To be fair, the Italian's comments are pretty flattering and show clear admiration for the player, but whether it is anything more than that remains to be seen:

"Luka Modric is an outstanding footballer, a great player….He is definitely one of the best in the Premier League….It is by no means easy to get him because he plays for a big club, Tottenham. It is unlikely that they would let him leave...We are lucky to have another great player from these parts in Edin Dzeko….I have worked with quite a few players from these parts — not just Croatians, but Bosnians, Serbs and Montenegrins….I have many friends among them and I am very proud of it….They are really something special and they mostly play with invention and creativity."

Firstly, as with the botched Vieira interview this week, we have no idea what questions were asked to lead to this response, he could have been pressed for his opinions of the player, and he has admittedly given an incredibly glowing report, but does that mean we will be splashing the cash on the midfielder this Summer?

My initial thoughts are no.  Not that he isn't a quality player, but with Nasri, Silva and Yaya Toure who can all set up attacking moves from the middle of the field it just seems an unnecessary signing to me.  As Bob pointed out in his statement, to convince Spurs to sell him would take a huge amount of money, Chelsea supposedly failed with a £40million bid last Summer and since then the he has signed a new deal.  For the money involved we could sign a far better player and probably in a position that we actually need to strengthen, someone who can give us some natural width certainly wouldn't go a miss, Eden Hazard anyone?

Now for the more believable nugget picked out of the Mail back pages.  It regards the future of Nigel 'The Lawnmower' De Jong.  Whilst the same article talks of a bumper pay day for Silva putting him in the top earners bracket alongside Toure and Tevez; it also states that there will be no new offer for the defensive midfielder.  City offered De Jong a deal last Summer but it was rejected, it is believed he has taken advice from Kia Joorabchian, a man who is about as unwanted at City as Fergie.  The rumour goes that Joorabchian made De Jong aware of what others were earning, and this apparently has left the Dutchman keen to earn more.  

The paper claims he decided to hold out for a new deal, something that could be likely, but they go on to say that the initial offer is now no longer on the table, meaning if he isn't sold this Summer he would be able to leave for nothing in 12 months.  I wrote some months ago about how ineffective the 27 year old had looked this season, but it is fair to say that in recent weeks he has started to look back to his old self.  I wondered at the time if it was the stop-start nature of his season that had held him back, he was injured for a while and then came in and out of the team, which to be fair even the best players struggle with.

Now that he is beginning to reach his best again though, I am still unsure as to whether we really need him.  Last season our team was set up to be tight at the back, and NDJ was crucial to that, but this year, with our more offensive style we need ball players and that isn't something that De Jong really has in his game.  Having said that there are not many better 'destroyers' in world football and losing him would be a real shame.

Essentially though money talks, De Jong is no longer a regular starter and he shouldn't be holding the club to ransom in terms of a new wage, a raise sure, but to put him in one of the top brackets would be crazy.  If a deal can't be agreed, then he is a very saleable asset, and in the days of FFP any money we bring in for Nigel can be spent in other areas where we are perhaps more lacking.  So seriously, Hazard??

Rumour Mill: City Add Another Belgian?

Insanely short post today, but potentially an interesting one as it appears another youngster has joined the ranks.  According to the Daily Mail we have completed the signing of a 15 year old Belgian defender, so yes I think you can definitely assume this is one of the future.


Information is scarce on Mathias Bossaerts who is currently at the academy of Anderlecht, but a little digging online revealed these quotes from the Belgian Under 16 coach Bob Browaeys:

“He is one of the biggest talents from his generation....He resembles Vincent Kompany, he is a physically strong and modern defender. I’m not surprised that a club as Manchester City is interested in him.”

Clearly any player likened to Vincent Kompany has a lot to live upto, but if he can develop as expected he could be an excellent addition and will only strengthen us going forward.  With compatriots Boyata and the City captain already on the books he should fit in without any trouble.

We are blessed with several good young defenders, with Dutch starlet Karim Rekik, who arrived last Summer, impressing and midlands boy Reece Wabara close to the first team squad things are looking pretty good in that department, and obviously with FFP in mind this recruitment of young talent is essential to our continued growth as a club.

Rumour Mill: City To Swoop For Long Term United Target?

Right! It is time to move on from Carlos Tevez, lets just see what happens there and move onto newer more exciting things...some hot transfer rumours!


It is pretty clear by this point that the man Roberto Mancini wanted to bring in this January was Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi, however convincing him to leave his boyhood club was always going to be difficult.  It would now appear that the Italian international will see out the rest of his career in the capital after he signed a new contract, effectively ending our interest.  Clearly this suggests that Bobby has identified a new midfielder as being crucial to the sides ongoing development and according to reports in recent days the club are now ready to put plan b into action.

The man they are apparently looking to is Spanish international and incredibly highly regarded Javi Martinez.  The Spaniard began his career at Osasuna but never appeared for their first team, he was snapped up by Athletic Bilbao for €6million in the Summer of 2006 at the age of just 17.  The defensive midfielder became a regular in the team from his debut season and has been more or less an ever present.  


The Sun (as well as numerous other media outlets) are claiming that we are ready to offer £25million for his services, now that might sound steep but when you consider that the 23 year old already has a World Cup winners medal and that he has been courted by the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United it begins to look a little more realistic.  


There are however a couple of stumbling blocks, there is the competition from other clubs, but it is thought that the presence of David Silva (an international colleague) could help persuade him to move to the blue side of Manchester.  The other issue is the price, it is said that the money men at Eastlands are unwilling to offer more than £25million despite Bilbao expecting a figure closer to £34million which is stated as the release clause in his contract, it remains to be seen whether there is any chance of meeting in the middle.

In footballing terms, Martinez would be a great addition, the box to box player would be able to take some of the strain off the shoulders of Yaya Toure and clearly he is of the very highest quality and for that reason, he would be a superb acquisition.  It is always interesting to note that this season the Spanish international has been deployed as a central defender on a fairly regular basis and that is another quality that should make him an attraction proposition.


In many ways I would prefer to have Martinez than De Rossi, he might not be as good as the Italian yet, but at 23 he has the vast majority of his career ahead of him and I believe he would have a better understanding of our style of play and for that reason I think he could be the ideal man to supplement our midfield.

Rumour Mill: United 'Wonderkid' To Cross The City?

Don't worry, it isn't Ravel Morrison, but according to numerous press reports fellow United youngster Paul Pogba could be on his way to the blue side of Manchester.


The midfielder was bought from French club La Havre 2 years ago in exchange for a few Mars bars and a twix.  The actions of United were questioned and in fact the players former employers reported the Old Trafford team for making an illegal approach for the player.  Ultimately Sir Alex Ferguson and the club were cleared of any wrong doing, but could all that work be for nothing?


This isn't just rumour mongering from the tabloids, there has been mooted suggestions for months that all was not well for Pogba at United and with 6 months remaining on his contract there is no sign of him renewing.  Whether it is a lack of first team opportunities or just greed on the part of the player and/or his agent isn't exactly clear, but for some reason negotiations appear totally stalled.

What is known though is the reputation that the 18 year old has.  His name has been thrown about for over a year now with members of the press and United fans telling anyone that would listen that he is essentially the second coming.  Maybe it is the sceptic in me, but I do have a couple of doubts over that, I am sure he is a good player and he could be as marvellous as people tell me, but if he was that good would he not have made more appearances for the first team than he has? Sir Alex is not normally afraid of throwing young players into the mix if they are good enough, so why not the Frenchman?


Either way the story seems to be gathering momentum.  The basic facts are these, from January onwards the player will be free to discuss a deal with any clubs that wish to sign him, there would be a fee for United, set be a tribunal, however traditionally the figure awarded is always incredible small (as happened to us with Sturridge).  The Independent believe that negotiations between player and club are not showing signs of successful conclusion alerting many interested parties.

The list of suitors appears to be long and contain many of the biggest clubs in Europe, with Arsenal, Inter and AC Milan all monitoring the situation closely.  The paper though reckon it is City who might have the best chance of agreeing a deal with the player, and that is down to the presence of Patrick Vieira, Pogba's hero.  The 18 year old has been likened to the World Cup winner on numerous occasions and there are definite similarities in their game.  Vieira plays an important role in player recruitment at City and should Roberto Mancini green light a move for Pogba the former Arsenal man will no doubt be involved.


Clearly if the combative midfielder is as good as people claim his signature would be a real coup, but as far as I am concerned there could potentially be a darker side to this story.  I do wonder if we are being used by the player and his agent to secure a larger pay packet for the youngster at Old Trafford.  This interest from City and other clubs could force United to offer him a much improved financial deal than the one currently on the table.  There is no evidence to support that, but it is definitely a possibility, if it is the case expect to see numerous 'Wonderkid Snubs City' headlines splashed across the back pages.

If we focus on the positive however it would be a move that I would approve of (as if my input is worth anything!), we need to change our player recruitment model with FFP in mind and securing top talent at a young age for a good price would be extremely beneficial.  This one is definitely worth waiting on, and we will see just how far the influence of Paddy can reach.

Sunday Rumour Mill & Internationals Roundup

Well its an international break, yawn, so not a massive amount going on to be honest, England somehow beat Spain yesterday without touching the ball more than about 12 times, is this incisiveness or just luck? I personally can't make up my mind on that one.  Of note to City supporters were solid performances from Joe Hart, James Milner and Gareth Barry when he came on, but perhaps most pleasingly was a superb game from Joleon Lescott who other than one mistake, read the game perfectly and managed the Spanish attacks very well, he has clearly learnt a huge amount under the tutelage of Roberto Mancini.  David Silva played the first half and was replaced at half time, he was reasonably assured without being overly breath taking, to be honest I was just pleased to see him withdrawn as to not risk injury.

Away from England, Sergio Aguero suffered a recurrence of the injury he first had against Blackburn, it doesn't look like being too serious and he is now unlikely to feature for Argentina at all on this break, hopefully he will return to Manchester soon.  Edin Dzeko didn't have the best time with Bosnia only drawing 0-0 at home to Portugal, they play the reverse leg on Tuesday night and I can't see them getting much. Things weren't much better for Aleksandar Kolarov who saw red when he was playing for Serbia, Stefan Savic also had an unenjoyable evening as Montenegro lost 2-0 to the Czech Republic in their World Cup qualifier it really was a mixed bag for the City boys.  

One of the real bright sparks though was Super Mario hitting his first goal for Italy in their 2-0 victory over Poland, it was a bit of a stunner and can be seen here.

Away from international football and onto more important matters there are a few City stories doing the rounds today, I suppose it would be best to get Carlos Tevez out of the way first.  As we all know he has fled back to Argentina to see his family, a strange notion since his advisers claimed his family were settled happily in England about 10 days ago, but oh well!  It is The People covering this one today so I suggest you take all of this with a pretty large dollop of salt.  They reckon that the Argentine will remain in his home land and risk being sued rather than return to Manchester.  I am fast losing interest in this story, the sooner he is out of the club the better, the paper reckon that Inter Milan are readying a £30million bid in January, my fingers are crossed, good riddance Carlos!

Whilst Tevez is hardly a forgotten man (hopefully he soon will be) Nedum Onuoha certainly is.  I have never been entirely sure what Bobby as got against Neds but he clearly doesn't rate him, the only thing I can come up with is his attack on the manager on Soccer AM last year...an Italian never forgets.  Whilst I don't think Onuoha is good enough for a team at the top of the table, I think he has enough to be a member of the squad.  It does sadden me slightly that his career at City never came to anything, he is a true blue, but the writing has been on the wall for a while.  According to the Manchester Evening News, QPR and West Brom are queuing up to resurrect his career with both sides linked to £3.5million moves.  It would appear a near certainty he will be on his way soon and I wish him all the best and hope he can find that form and ability he demonstrated early in his career.

Finally today we are dealing with reports of a player coming in, and an exciting one too.  The Metro are covering the clubs chase for German international Marco Reus.  The player has been in prolific scoring form in Germany for his club Borussia Monchengladbach and this has lead to a call up to the national side. He has scored 8 times in 10 appearances so far this season and there is thought to be keen interest in the player from Arsenal as well as City.  Mike Rigg, the clubs technical director spoke to German newspaper Bild saying:

"I know Marco, because I like him a lot...He is one of the most talented players you have in Germany and we have watched him very often.".

The Metro claim that Arsene Wenger has already been in contact with the players club after being tipped off by Jens Lehmann.  It is believed that because of a clause in the players contract he could be available next Summer for £15million, it has also been suggested that should Monchengladbach show willing to sell Bayern Munich will enter the race for his signature as well.  There is no certainty in this story, but he is a top prospect and just the sort of player that we should be linked with.

Rumour Mill: Two New Starlets Set To Sign?

Normally there is not a lot to say about domestic football during an international break, but player recruitment appears to be continuing apace this week if the tabloids are to be believed.  It appears that youth development is the order of the day with City supposedly close to capturing 2 of the most exciting prospects in world football.


With the recent unveiling of the new training and youth development centre there is a clear model being created to ensure the long term success of the football club.  With Financial Fair Play and all that goes with it, the days of building new teams every year by throwing money about are gone, and as much as we know that these new rules were put in place to maintain the status quo and stop teams like us achieving anything, it would still be preferable to do it by youth development as opposed to huge spending.

Over the last 18 months to 2 years we have recruited some top young players Karim Rekik, Denise Suarez and Joan Roman have all joined the club as well as many others.  It now appears that this new policy is set to continue with possibly two more youngsters arriving.

The more concrete of the two stories comes from Sky Sports who claim that 17 year Raul Mendiola will fly to Manchester on Saturday to complete a move to Eastlands.  Interestingly he currently plays for 'Arsenal FC' who are based in California, they are clearly linked to the Emirates club and it would be somewhat of a coup should City managed to secure his signature as it appears they could do.  The Mexican forward (who could also play for the USA) has been a prolific goal scorer at youth level and was named 'US Development Academy U15/16 Player of the Year' two years in a row....what a world famous accolade.  


City sent scouts to watch him play in the 2011 Generation Adidas Under 17 cup and were thought to be incredibly impressed with his ability.  Recently Mendiola has been training with MLS giants LA Galaxy to further improve his game ahead of a move to Europe.  He has been tracked by numerous clubs, but speaking too TopDrawSoccer.com he more or less confirms that there is a big possibility of a move:

"I'm pretty excited...It's one of the top clubs in the world...I've been told that there's a possibility that I could be loaned out to (Espanyol) in Spain for a year, or I could stay with Man City.".

Everything seems pretty much in place on this one and personally I am pleased to see us making moves for these top quality young players.  The quotes suggest talks have progressed well and hopefully this one could be wrapped up over the weekend.

The second possible signing is Belgian youth international Zakaria Bakkali.  The 15 year old is a striker who is currently on the books of PSV Eindhoven in Holland, much is expected of the Moroccan born forward, in fact hilariously The Mirror dub him 'The Best Young Player in the World', I suggest that description is taken with a pinch of salt.

The newspaper go on to claim that a move will be sorted in the next few days, there is no indication of money but they do describe the transfer as a 'big money deal'.  

I suppose there isn't really much more to say, hopefully these 2 deals will come off and the expansion of our youth development set up will continue.  We all want to see big names coming in from time to time but if we can start to bring through these youngsters from a young age it will help the club massively and help us go from strength to strength and build upon this solid base that we are currently demonstrating.

Rumour Mill: Sunday Round Up

It seems that you can't keep City off the back pages, sadly today it is still just one story that those on Fleet Street are focussing on, that is the situation with want-away irritant Carlos Tevez.  Yesterday may have brought a thumping good victory and an exceptional performance from everyones favourite bad boy Mario Balotelli but there is still only one story in town.


I was hoping to have some different topics to bring together, but sadly they are relatively thin on the ground, you can normally count on the Sunday papers for some ridiculous rumours but there is really not a lot going on, so if you are sick of reading about Carlos Tevez, I suggest you move along after the first story.

Let's start with the only non-Tevez story then, and it is back to an old favourite, the future of Adam Johnson.  Despite Roberto Mancini making it abundantly clear in preseason that the young winger is going nowhere, there are still murmurings about his future at the club, and it seems to be Liverpool that he is constantly linked with.  To be fair this story does come from CaughtOffside.com so any shreds of credibility die right there but it's still worth having a (quick) look at.  As far as I know, the website in question is essentially a blogging site for people who are 'in the know' and they really do churn out some rubbish.  The moment this story loses all credibility comes when the writer claims that Johnson has been left out in the cold by Mancini, ignoring the fact that he has been injured for a few weeks and returned to the starting 11 as soon as he was deemed fit enough, quality research right there.  For what its worth, the website report that Liverpool would be prepared to pay around £18million for the England international, it wouldn't be bad money because AJ isn't as good as the media hype machine would lead you to believe, but we won't sell him to Liverpool in January and nor should we.

Right, OK, Tevez then, where to begin?  First up is a story from the Sunday Mirror who are reporting that he will be on the way in January with PSG and Inter Milan the most likely destinations.  There is nothing particularly interesting in that but there is also a transfer fee mentioned, quite where it comes from is unclear, plucked out of the sky I would suggest, but that doesn't mean it isn't hard to agree with.  They are reporting that the bids coming from Italy and/or France would be around £25million, someway short of the £40million that the club was holding out for this Summer.  I think really we would be foolish to expect any more than that, and I also think they are the most likely destinations as well, throw Malaga into the ring and they may not be far off.  The players temperament has ensured we will make a loss on the player but to be honest I just want rid by this point.

In the same newspaper everyone's favourite imbecile has also been talking about City, Joey Barton has branded the club that gave him more opportunities than many would and gave him the career he has today a 'soap opera', sorry Joey, are those grapes a bit too sour for you?  He goes on to claim that the Tevez situation was 'only a matter of time', just like it is 'only a matter of time' before you smack a teenager again Joey?

To continue on Tevez it is perhaps strange to see the Daily Star on Sunday so firmly behind City.  They reveal that the club have stopped the Argentine flying back to his home country this weekend as they prepare for a high level meeting on Monday.  They go on to debunk any myths that the City squad might side with Tevez, and in particular Pablo Zabaleta, they claim these rumours are untrue and nothing more than a smear campaign being put about by certain people in the media as well as the players camp.  Encouragingly they also state that the clubs owners are believed to be firmly behind the manager and disgusted with the actions of the players, lets hope that is the case.

Last by by no means least is Micah Richards who has given an interview to The People stating quite simply that Tevez was in the wrong.  It has become plain to see this week that some sections of the media have struck up some sort of agenda against Mancini and been claiming that the players weren't supporting him, well these quotes from Richards certainly begin to prove that to be the fabrication that it quite clearly is.  The same paper also reckon that Tevez will infact be suspended for 6 weeks and fined upto £1.5million, hearsay, but lets hope its true!


Hopefully next Sunday we will have something other than Tevez, but I expect this one to run on a little bit yet, anyway enjoy your Sunday Roasts and don't forget to check back in the week for more.

Rumour Mill: Sunday Round Up

Sundays are about more than just roast dinners, a normally pretty tame game on Sky and falling asleep in front of La Liga at about half 9, it is also the one day of the week that the 'other' newspapers and the Sunday editions get their chance to shine and I suppose because more papers are sold on a Sunday we get the best rumours, or should that be the most ridiculous rumours.

I thought to keep on top of things, it might be an interesting idea to round up some of the City related ones each Sunday from now on just to see if any of them come to anything, so without further hesitation, so lets get on with it.

First up is something from goal.com (OK, so i'll be grabbing nonsense from around the web as well) who have got some quotes from everyone's favourite melting candle 'Arry Redknapp.  The Spurs manager is no stranger to discussing his transfer targets brazenly and when it comes to our very own Emmanuel Adebayor he is no different, the soon to be England manager spoke about the Togolese striker after his sides demolition of Wigan yesterday:

"Yes, if he keeps going like he's going. I'd love to keep him around, he's been excellent so far so let's hope he keeps it up.

"I don't know [if it will be possible]. We don't pay his wages and I think that would be the problem. God knows what he earns, I don't even know what we pay towards his wages, only the chairman would know that. I bet he's not cheap.".

I think most City fans would like to see Adebayor out of the club, and now that we have moved on I don't think many blues would mind him going to the Lane.  The problems remains however that the striker is a 6 month player, whether 'Arry will be so keen towards the end of the season remains to be seen.  On top of that do any of us believe he will be willing to cut his wage demands?  I certainly don't...

The Mail (Fail) On Sunday have gone pretty City heavy today, in fact the rest of the transfer rumours come from that very publication, and I would suggest and also hope there is nothing in any of them.  They kick off by claiming that we will be returning to our feeder club at the end of the season and move for Dutch striker Robin Van Persie, who managed to reach 100 goals for Arsenal yesterday.  The thrust of the article seems to be that with the Dutchman seemingly stalling on a new contract, his club could soon be in the same position they were in with Samir Nasri.  I would put very little credence into this one personally, the Mail are hoping for lightning to strike twice with them aiming to get the exclusive.  Nasri left to win things, and that is reasonable, but Van Persie appears to be Mr Arsenal at the moment and with them finally spending some money I highly doubt Wenger will allow his contract to run down.

Quite what it is that Ross Barkley has done to result in the media extolling him as the saviour of global football I am unsure, I must have missed something but everyone keeps telling me that he is in fact the new messiah and will make Lionel Messi look like Barry Conlon.  Obviously the tv and newspapers would never get over excited about a young player (Dean Marney, Danny Rose, Mark Noble to name just 3) and make them out to be something they quite patently aren't, who would suggest such a thing?  I am not claiming Barkley to be a bad player, I just don't know what this fuss is based on, anyway to get back on topic, the Mail reckon we are readying a £30million for the 17 year old, yes MORE than we paid for David Silva.  The youngster is highly thought of at Everton and has apparently played well for England at youth level and Bob Cass of the Mail claims we are locked in a 3 way tussle for the midfielder with Chelsea and Manchester United stating that the dire financial situation at Goodison will ensure that Moyes and co have to sell... I won't hold my breath on this one.

The final nugget of transfer gold revolves around the future of another South American wonder kid, yes, thats right, the overly cocky and generally irritating Brazilian striker Neymar is being linked with City again!  As anyone who has read my rants on here before will be fully aware I am not the biggest fan of the 19 year old.  I always defended Robinho and said that all in all his career in Manchester was not the huge let down that some people would have you believe, he scored plenty of goals and entertained and thrilled in equal measure.  Neymar on the other hand just doesn't appeal to me at all, I simply don't see him cutting it in England and if the histrionics of Robinho annoyed you, Neymar will take it to a whole other level.  The deal that the Mail claim is in the offing is for about £50million and will equal the figure that Madrid are prepared to offer.  The paper reckon that he is a player that Mancini has personally told the clubs hierarchy that he wants believing him to be the best young talents in the world, not sure I buy into that personally, he doesn't strike me as a 'Mancini player' in any way shape or form, and for that money I am sure we could get someone who won't be moaning about the English weather and going on strike within 18 months.

Finally for a none transfer story, possibly the least reliable paper in existence, The People, are suggesting that our future CEO will be none other than City legend Niall Quinn after his success at Sunderland.  As much as I would love that to happen I am not sure how realistic it is, he may have worked closely with Marwood before, but I can't help but feel our owners might be looking for more of a businessman as opposed too a football man to fill that role.  Even if they did fancy Quinn, whether he has sufficient reputation I am unsure, he may be a big name in the British game, but how good he will be at selling City to a young Kid from Costa Rica, Chile or Kenya I am unsure.

That pretty much wraps up the Sunday papers, there may be a few other things bouncing about, but I think those are the most interesting ones.  I don't see any of them coming to anything, but what the hell do I know?!?!