Within a matter of hours of the announcement that Premier League teams could resume training with all the precautions being adhered to, Manchester City players began to arrive at their East Manchester training ground.
Pep must have told ‘em to get their gear ready; have their car keys & footwear right by the front door and be ready for ‘the call’, in order to ‘get crackin’’ as soon as possible to prepare for the restart of the 2019/20 season, even though no date has been set as yet.
That sounds like ‘Pep-level thinking’ to me…
What else has been happening since my last post?
Not that much
really. Kyle Walker went wandering during
the lockdown period; breaking the Government’s rules for a 2nd time and
then all that followed in the news about the player’s ill-thought decision. He’s
not the only footballer to have done so and it all seems to have settled down
for now at least…
Various Premier
League footballers have come out in recent weeks and give their verdict on whether
the season should resume or not and, if so, when…AND, if so, in what format.
David Silva is rumoured to be one (legend) footballer who is almost out of contract
and who appears to have agreed to extend that-said-contract until the 2019/20
season is concluded…and the City Football Group
have added yet another football club to its global team; with Belgium’s 2003-founded
club, Lommel S.K., becoming the 9th
to join “the family”.
There’s probably been more but, to be honest, I
just feel like everything – and every radio & TV channel I listen to / watch,
sports-wise – is awash with speculation about ‘project restart’ an’ all things
Covid-19 related; leaving it hard to hear past that relentless noise at times.
So…
A bit
more on realistic transfer links, I thought…
Since my post on this very subject exactly a month ago today, I’ve been noting down a few
more transfer links whilst, at the same time, dismissing some almost instantly.
And, for
the ones that aren’t outrageous or, at least, unlikely; there is a bit of a
pattern in the 2 groups below with regards to position, age and contract
status.
Now…whether that means nothing at all and is just
coincidence; weather it means that Manchester City ARE actively looking for
these types of players and some journalist is diligently following our scouting efforts…or whether it’s journalists winding up their own rumour
mills by simply guessing what our club is in the market for, is up to us to try 'an work
out (or not if you don't want to).
Either
way, here they are…
Central
defenders
In date
order (of transfer link) and starting in the very south of South America, is just-turned
24-year old, Argentine, Lucas Martinez Quarta.
He’s 6’ 0” and his contract runs out in just over 12 months. Lacks a little
pace, which can be of some worry in the high-tempo Premier League and with so
many speedy attackers, but his anticipation, positioning, marking, tackling and
passing are all very evident indeed in the clips that I’ve watched. Looks good; good
age, shouldn’t cost much at all, by today’s standards, looks to be a Pep-type player and has, apparently, attracted the
interest of Inter Milan.
Chances
of making a bid: 6/10
From
Argentina to…Llangyfelach. This rumour only
surfaced about 9 days ago and both we and Manyoo
have been linked with Welsh international, Joe Rodon. To be honest, the stronger rumours are that the club from the borough of Trafford are more likely to go for and
land the 22-year old than we are and the stature of the player isn’t
necessarily something that our manager seems to go for…generally speaking.
Joe stands an impressive 6’ 4” and most definitely uses that to his & his
team advantage. But what’s really impressive in the clips that I’ve seen is his
anticipation / interceptions and that, along with other attributes, might just have
tweaked both City & Guardiola’s interest. A very good age; use to the ‘rough
& tumble’ of English football and despite…perhaps, not being quite as
fluid with the ball on the floor as Pep would like in his defenders to be; he’s
definitely no ‘big lump’ who can’t play that’s for sure! In fact,
Joe is described as a “ball-playing centre half”. I think we do lack a bit of height
at times and I wouldn’t rule out City going for this type of player. Contracted
to June 2022 and having only played league football in League 2 and the Championship (I think the
nearest he got to Premier League football was once having a place on the bench) I can’t
see him costing too much…again by today’s standards. But if we are keen
to get his signature, then I can see a bit of a bidding war brewing between us,
Manyoo and anyone else who might be keeping tabs on the young Welshman. Put
it this way, I can’t see him playing next season, whenever THAT’LL be, in a Swansea City shirt…
Chances
of making a bid: 5/10
And one rumour
/ link from the last 24-hours or so is possibly ‘one for the future’, should he
become a Manchester City player in the next few weeks / months of course.
Although, having said that, at just 17-years of age, Ravil Tagir has already played 23 league games for
his club’s (Altinordu F.K.) first team
in the Turkish 2nd division (TFF First League). Altinordu are, apparently, famed for concentrating a lot of
their efforts on youth development and, apparently, this lad’s talent has
attracted interest from, no less than, Borussia Dortmund; who we are alleged to-be-about-to go into battle with to get
his signature. Again, he’s young; once again he has a contract that has just 2
years left to run and the 6’ 0” - with still 4 years of growth left in him
- seems the type of player we’d go for; evaluate in the EDS
for a while and then loan out for ‘further assessment’. I’ve not seen any
footage of him as yet.
Chances
of making a bid: 7/10
So, for
this completed section, we have 3 recently-linked central defenders; all at
various ages that can most definitely be described as “young” and all who have
contracts that are due to expire in the next 12 to 24 months. Coincidence...or are there any flames under those smoke signals?
Next up…
Midfielders / Wingers / Forwards
It was
about 2 weeks ago when I first heard Mohammed Ihattaren’s name; an 18-year old, Dutch national from PSV Eindhoven. He’s played through the ranks of the
Dutch youth levels from Under 15s to Under 19s and has 27 league games in PSV’s
first team. I have watched video footage of him and he looks very fluid indeed on
the ball; very good feet, good, attacking interplay with his teammates, rides challenges
well with those quick feet and I can see him creating a lot of goals (and has 3 himself in those 27 league appearances too). His main position is
advanced, central midfield; he can and does drift wide and most certainly likes
to attack the opposition box. A talent that, with the right coach (I'm not saying he doesn't already HAVE the right coach), can
become a very, very good player indeed as the years pass. Would he / should he
get into our first team ahead of Phil Foden?
Perhaps not…and perhaps that’s why we sometimes find it difficult to
land / keep very young talent. Chelsea would
seem to be our main rivals in this case, although Inter and at least one other
are rumoured to be glancing over too. Once again, another young talent whose
club have allowed his contract to near the last 2 years (June 2022); a 24-month
period I often see as ‘the twitchy zone’ if your intention is to keep a player.
Chances
of making a bid: 6/10
23-years
of age and a contract that’s due to expire in June 2022. Here
we go again… Now
apparently, Milot Rashica is SURE to be playing his football in the Premier League next season (again,
whenever that’ll be)! Why?
Well, if you believe the press reports, West Ham,
Aston Villa, Brighton,
Wolves, Liverpool
and, yes, you’ve guessed it, Manchester City are ALL interested in the Kosovan
international. Nicknamed, “The Rocket”, Milot is classed as a left-winger,
although footage shows him playing a lot on the right as well as penetrating runs
through the middle. He is most-definitely an all-action, explosive
player! I’m not saying he’s a ‘heads down an’ run’ at pace player – he does quickly-interact
with his teammates – but he just seems SO driven to get to the oppo’s penalty
area / goal ASAP! That could well rule him out, as I’m not sure it’s the type
of player Pep likes. I know Guardiola has managed teams who have / have-had flying wingers with
pace but those players have other things in their lockers too. Perhaps
I’m already doing Milot a disservice. But I’ve put him ‘in there’ as, perhaps,
his dynamism might just add another dimension to our play / be of interest to
Pep and, as it seem likely we’re gonna lose Leroy Sane soon, the Werder Bremen flyer
could be the player to fill that gap.
Chances
of making a bid: 5/10
And
lastly, another talented winger, another youngster (will be 23 in August) but,
this time, one who has 3 years left on his current deal (with Bayer Leverkusen). Having seen footage of the
clearly-talented left winger (who can do a job on the right too); I can see why
Leon Bailey’s league stats include 19 goals
in 82 appearance, which is a really good, near-1-in-4 ratio for a
winger! He is so assured in front of goal. A powerful runner too who is sure to
create / assist too and I can see why he’s being linked with us as a possible
replacement for Sane. He’s a Jamaican international with 6 caps and 1 goal to
his name. Of course, everyone ELSE want him too, with Arsenal, Chelsea,
Liverpool and I’m sure I read others too who are supposedly circling in the
skies above BayArena. There’d be a bidding
war for sure but we would, of course, be raking in some cash for Leroy; so that
would give us some spending-power room.
Chances
of making a bid: 6/10
Well, I’m
sure as I’ve been typing this, they’ll have been another link or three OR, if
not, there soon will be!
As
usual, I’ll keep filtering out the apparent rubbish and might do another update
in a few weeks’ time. In the meantime, we all wait for the Tsunami of information to recede and when it does,
we can all look at what’s left of the beach and work out if we’re going to be
resuming the 2019/20 season; when and in what format.
Thanks
as always for ‘tuning in’ and stay safe wherever you are.
