I’ve been holding off posting a Blog entry because,
well, I’d just be as guilty as the press for spewing out the same, regurgitated
speculation.
But a few things do seem to be edging towards the
final stages (I’ll stop short of saying
"conclusion") and so, here goes…
Heads or tails?
Roma, we are told,
are unwilling to release the Moroccan central defender until they secure a suitable
replacement, which is very understandable.
Benatia himself has,
allegedly, refused to travel to pre-season training with Roma. I’ve said this before, do we really want a player who
appears to have let last season’s high-praise go to his increasingly-sized
head; a player who appears to be treating his club with the utmost disrespect?
Then we have the, ‘I
don’t want to join Manchester City ’ defender from Portugal
Mangala himself has
been quoted as saying that he’d prefer a move to London or, the silly, ill-informed lad, Stretford . So, similarly, I say again;
why are we bovering with him?
But bovering we
would appear to be and now that France have been knocked out of the World Cup, I’m sure we can expect the picture to
become clearer in the fortnight ahead; as Mangala made public a while ago that he would not
be discussing his future until France participation in Brazil had ended one
way or another.
Apart from his
outspoken wishes to join either Jose Mourinho
or Louis Van Gaal instead of Manuel Pellegrini, something which isn't going down
too well with a few Manchester City fans of course; the French central defender
does appear, at least, to be far more level-headed than the Moroccan.
Eliaquim has only just turned 23 years of age too and, so, has 4 years on Mehdi.
Of the two I
personally hope we get Mangala. But if it starts to look like he’s going to drag his
feet and / or repeats again his desires to go elsewhere, then I hope we have
options 3 & 4 lined-up to pounce on before too long (see my list of possible alternatives).
As for Chelsea &
Manyoo’s interest in Mangala – both ARE looking to strengthen that area of
their respective teams. However, £32M+ might be too high even for Chelsea as
they continue to spend big on other areas of the pitch, while Manyoo’s interest
in Arsenal’s Thomas Vermaelen appears to be increasing; a far cheaper option for the
free-spending, apparently FFP-immune outfit
from M16.
Not quite there…
The Bruno Zuculini
move isn’t happening as quickly as was first suggested. However, there doesn't
appear to be any hitches and, we are informed, he should complete his medical
in Manchester
I did fear, briefly,
that the release of the news that we were to loan the Argentinean out
immediately to either Villarreal or Deportivo La Coruna for the season had put the player off. But I
don’t think that 'mini heart flutter' was justified and City will be hoping, I’m
sure, that 'Zucu' gets some good European exposure at a decent level before pushing
for a first-team place at City. Sounds like a good’n; a high-energy, defensive
midfielder with goals in him too.
The ‘N’s. Will N stand for No?
“Negredo is going nowhere” (and similar) were the quotes splashed all
over the Newspaper advertising boards across Manchester
Then I wake up this
morning to news that the player now actually wants to leave and that City will
be willing to let him go IF someone coughs up £25M. Rumours just won’t go away that the Spaniard doesn’t like life in Manchester
I hope that’s not
the case; a pre-shoulder injury Alvaro was a joy to watch and seemed perfectly
suited to life in the Premier League. Besides,
with sick-note-Sergio we’d have to scrap like
mad to find a replacement for Alvaro before the end of next month; even with the promise of a fully fit and ‘ready to
show’ Stevan Jovetic.
Then Nastasic appeared to be drawing interest from Juventus. First it was supposedly an enquiry to loan
him for the season, which quickly moved on to a willingness to part with £8M
for the Serbian central defender.
Matija himself will
need some careful monitoring too – a mystery leg injury took the whole of last season
to clear up; the 21-year old only made it back to match fitness in time to play
in a post-season match in Abu Dhabi.
Competition in the
Premier League will be even tougher this season and with our owner’s wish to
improve in the Champions League this season,
we’ll need our full compliment of players.
Unless we’re going to have an
unhappy Spanish striker on our hands then say “No” to both of these City.
Midfield moves?
Javi Garcia has, once again, been linked with a move
away from the Etihad. If true, not only won’t I
be sad to see him go – despite some
minor improvement last season – I think it makes perfect sense.
If we are to lose a
defensive midfielder then we may well be gaining an attacking one in the form
of Everton’s Ross Barkley. It’s not the first time the England international has been
linked with a move to City and seeing as Manyoo and Liverpool
are snapping up young, English talent (namely from Southampton);
we would be very wise to do so too.
Not for the first time…
There appears to be
scrap brewing amongst several Premier League Clubs for Barcelona
Whether all this is in
preparation for a Yaya (replacement) fall-out
or whether it’s to swell our attacking options even further will, I’m sure,
unfold in the next 4 to 8 weeks.
Capacity reduction announcement
