***Transfer Rumours Thread*** [ALL RUMOUR TOPICS MERGED]

[Mark (Blue Army)]

Manchester City finally set to tie up £17m Aleksandar Kolarov capture after overcoming last-minute Lazio hitch

Manchester City's long-awaited capture of Lazio left back Aleksandar Kolarov looks finally set to be wrapped up.

City are understood to have long since reached an agreement with the player, though negotiations with his Italian club proved trickier to crack.

Real Madrid and Juventus also showed interest in the Serbia international, but Sportsmail revealed last week that City had agreed a £17million fee with Lazio.

Reports in Italy suggest an announcement is imminent, especially if the Rome side can agree a deal with Parma to make Luca Antonelli his replacement.

Kolarov is expected to join up with City on their American tour before the end of the week.

dailymail.co.uk

[blootoof]

Manchester City finally set to tie up £17m Aleksandar Kolarov capture after overcoming last-minute Lazio hitch

Manchester City's long-awaited capture of Lazio left back Aleksandar Kolarov looks finally set to be wrapped up.

City are understood to have long since reached an agreement with the player, though negotiations with his Italian club proved trickier to crack.

Real Madrid and Juventus also showed interest in the Serbia international, but Sportsmail revealed last week that City had agreed a £17million fee with Lazio.

Reports in Italy suggest an announcement is imminent, especially if the Rome side can agree a deal with Parma to make Luca Antonelli his replacement.

Kolarov is expected to join up with City on their American tour before the end of the week.

dailymail.co.uk

I hope we get this fella. Apart from bein a top attackin full-back, he looks like a right nutter.

[KinkyKinkladze]

Balotelli, £23m apparently.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... telli.html

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Man City in talks with £30m Brazil World Cup star after Milner deal stalls

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Ma ... 32017.html

He has looked pap for both Benfica and Brazil. I certainly hope this is not true.

[Goaters 103]

Man City in talks with £30m Brazil World Cup star after Milner deal stalls

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Ma ... 32017.html

He has looked pap for both Benfica and Brazil. I certainly hope this is not true.

It is in the Mirror mate, so I think we are ok!

We shouldn't be going near Brazilians with a 10foot pole. £30m for a guy who cant even get in what was not exactly Brazil's strongest team? No thanks - would rather have Milner and for the record I'm not fussed about getting him either. If we arre paying £30m we need to be getting finished article players who are proven commodities at the top level.

[avoidconfusion]

Balotelli, £23m apparently.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... telli.html

What a bargain that would be.

[ant london]

Balotelli, £23m apparently.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... telli.html

What a bargain that would be.

he's no Philip Lahm but I want him at City

[john@staustell]

Balotelli, £23m apparently.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... telli.html

What a bargain that would be.

he's no Philip Lahm but I want him at City

Getting a bit Python-esque now. "We are the knights who say - "LAHM"". Arrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[avoidconfusion]

Balotelli, £23m apparently.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... telli.html

What a bargain that would be.

he's no Philip Lahm but I want him at City

Oh no you didn't !

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Man City in talks with £30m Brazil World Cup star after Milner deal stalls

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Ma ... 32017.html

He has looked pap for both Benfica and Brazil. I certainly hope this is not true.

It is in the Mirror mate, so I think we are ok!

We shouldn't be going near Brazilians with a 10foot pole. £30m for a guy who cant even get in what was not exactly Brazil's strongest team? No thanks - would rather have Milner and for the record I'm not fussed about getting him either. If we arre paying £30m we need to be getting finished article players who are proven commodities at the top level.

Exactly.
No matter how much money we have got, at that price range you should be looking at definite starters who would walk in our starting line up.

[Mike J]

just hope this balotelli fella is worth the risk. never seen him play but heard is a special talent.

[john@staustell]

just hope this balotelli fella is worth the risk. never seen him play but heard is a special talent.

While some people continually argue nonsense with me that our youth players are still 'developing' when we push them out the way to Swindon and Bolton at age 20/21 (when it's clear they'll never be a top 4 player as long as they have a hole in their arse), this guy is still 19 and has played a lot of games in a multi-Champion Inter side, and made a big contribution as well. Is it a gamble when we could afford it?

It would be a big gamble for Sir Taggart, but for City it's a question of whether he would be just a good player for us, or in 2 or 3 years the best striker in the league and the world.

[Mike J]

just hope this balotelli fella is worth the risk. never seen him play but heard is a special talent.

While some people continually argue nonsense with me that our youth players are still 'developing' when we push them out the way to Swindon and Bolton at age 20/21 (when it's clear they'll never be a top 4 player as long as they have a hole in their arse), this guy is still 19 and has played a lot of games in a multi-Champion Inter side, and made a big contribution as well. Is it a gamble when we could afford it?

It would be a big gamble for Sir Taggart, but for City it's a question of whether he would be just a good player for us, or in 2 or 3 years the best striker in the league and the world.

i dont care how much money he costs, i know we can afford him. but if he acts the with us the way he does at inter then id rather we went for someone else.

how would you feel if he went on live tv and put a rag shirt on?

[Ted Hughes]

just hope this balotelli fella is worth the risk. never seen him play but heard is a special talent.

While some people continually argue nonsense with me that our youth players are still 'developing' when we push them out the way to Swindon and Bolton at age 20/21 (when it's clear they'll never be a top 4 player as long as they have a hole in their arse), this guy is still 19 and has played a lot of games in a multi-Champion Inter side, and made a big contribution as well. Is it a gamble when we could afford it?

It would be a big gamble for Sir Taggart, but for City it's a question of whether he would be just a good player for us, or in 2 or 3 years the best striker in the league and the world.

The only question is his temperament not his talent. He's good enough talent wise to walk into our team now. As far as talent goes if Robinho cost us £30M then this bloke already has more ability now than Robinho, as Balotelli can do most of the same things but is bigger, stronger, faster & can also take free kicks.

The question is; can Mancini control his behaviour & attitude & will he be motivated to be the best if we give him £5mil per year at 19? Mancini obviously thinks so & he knows the player wheras we don't. If Mancini's right, we have a bargain, if not he may lose his job at the end of it. I trust he probably knows the lad well enough to guage it correctly.

[ant london]

The question is; can Mancini control his behaviour & attitude & will he be motivated to be the best if we give him £5mil per year at 19? Mancini obviously thinks so & he knows the player wheras we don't. If Mancini's right, we have a bargain, if not he may lose his job at the end of it. I trust he probably knows the lad well enough to guage it correctly.

I was watching this video of him last night.....although my Italian isn't amazing I can follow what it's about. He has been studying for his A-Level (equivalents in Italy) over the last couple of years and is on record about the fact that he'd like to go to university.

The guy interviewing him is evidently some renowned Italian TV joker and has him doing football skills (keepyuppys, sealion headers, push ups etc) whilst quizzing him on general knowledge

Super Mario appears to find it all quite good fun and is happily doing it in very good spirits

As you can see, it is titled "Ballotelli - Enfant Terrible"

He clearly has a reputation as being a handful (rightly so from reports) but he looks like he has a different quite likeable and fun aspect to his character which, for me, makes him not quite the "huge gamble" being reported.

I certainly couldnt imagine Sturridge or, say, Anelka doing a TV piece like this.....

Also...the video shows him cropping Cristiano Ronaldo when he was playing for the munes.....and then telling him to HUSH...so he's already on the right track!

[youtube]co5d795Ie4k&feature=related[/youtube]


Oh also.....in the quite famous incident between Roma and Inter this season, Balotelli had taunted Francesco Totti all match. Apparently calling him "grandad" constantly whenever he passed him. Totti then got sent off for a "challenge" on Mario and allegedly racially abused him

[youtube]a0Zsd38GssA&feature=related[/youtube]

Francsesco Totti absolutely denies using a racist insult against Mario Balotelli. The Roma captain revealed how he was provoked by the Internazionale youngster during the Coppa Italia.

“From the first moment I stepped on to the pitch, Balotelli provoked me,” Totti said in the magazine Diva e Donna.

“He even said ‘Yo granddad! You are finished!’”

The Roma talisman responded by chasing down the 19-year-old Inter striker and viciously swinging a kick at the back of his ankle.

This led to a red card and a four-match ban, but there were also allegations from Balotelli’s agent of racist insults.

“I made a mistake and I know that, but I never used a racist epithet. Never,” insisted Totti.

“I feel very alone right now. Thankfully my life-long friends are with me, the children and my wife, Ilary.

“I made a mistake, but I was provoked.”


I rather like him already.....get him in

[trueblue64]

Just in......

Football Editor:
According to reports in Italy, the proposed meeting between Mario Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola and Manchester City planned for today has been postponed. City are ready to pay 35million euros (£29.4m) for the Inter Milan striker, but Balotelli's demands of a five-year deal for an annual salary of 4.5million euros (£3.8m) are proving a sticking point.

[Ted Hughes]

The question is; can Mancini control his behaviour & attitude & will he be motivated to be the best if we give him £5mil per year at 19? Mancini obviously thinks so & he knows the player wheras we don't. If Mancini's right, we have a bargain, if not he may lose his job at the end of it. I trust he probably knows the lad well enough to guage it correctly.

I was watching this video of him last night.....although my Italian isn't amazing I can follow what it's about. He has been studying for his A-Level (equivalents in Italy) over the last couple of years and is on record about the fact that he'd like to go to university.

The guy interviewing him is evidently some renowned Italian TV joker and has him doing football skills (keepyuppys, sealion headers, push ups etc) whilst quizzing him on general knowledge

Super Mario appears to find it all quite good fun and is happily doing it in very good spirits

As you can see, it is titled "Ballotelli - Enfant Terrible"

He clearly has a reputation as being a handful (rightly so from reports) but he looks like he has a different quite likeable and fun aspect to his character which, for me, makes him not quite the "huge gamble" being reported.

I certainly couldnt imagine Sturridge or, say, Anelka doing a TV piece like this.....

Also...the video shows him cropping Cristiano Ronaldo when he was playing for the munes.....and then telling him to HUSH...so he's already on the right track!

I've seen that one before & thought the same!

It's up to us lot to make him feel at home if he signs & help Mancini get the best out of him. If he takes to Manchester, we're on a winner he'll catch the City bug.

[Goaters 103]

As Italian players do not have a storied track record in the Prem, and he appears to have a fuse as short as Joey Barton (thanks Joey), am I the only one out there who doesn't want Balotelli?

I'd be quite happy for us to look elsewhere tbh. Im sure for £30m plus we can find someone a little more reliable who hopefully doesn't need babysitting 24 hours a day like this guy seems to require. Mancini will have enough on his plate next season without worrying about "super" Mario every time his mobile rings.

[brite blu sky]

would agree with that ant.. a lot of players wouldn't entertain that.
He probs takes his football very seriously and puts the effort in, so his temperament probably kicks in when that is questioned. Which is kind of what happened with the Inter fans in that match at the end of the season. Tbh Bellemy would be exactly the same in similar circumstances. I like it, marks him out as a winner who knows what he wants.
After all the sh*t that went down at Inter, he is getting a fresh start at City, he will have learn't something from it and will welcome the fresh start. Mancini knows him as the manager who gave him his break, so i rekon if he settles in well at City and likes what he gets he could be a real force for us.

getting a real sense that we are starting to build something a bit special

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

would agree with that ant.. a lot of players wouldn't entertain that.
He probs takes his football very seriously and puts the effort in, so his temperament probably kicks in when that is questioned. Which is kind of what happened with the Inter fans in that match at the end of the season. Tbh Bellemy would be exactly the same in similar circumstances. I like it, marks him out as a winner who knows what he wants.
After all the sh*t that went down at Inter, he is getting a fresh start at City, he will have learn't something from it and will welcome the fresh start. Mancini knows him as the manager who gave him his break, so i rekon if he settles in well at City and likes what he gets he could be a real force for us.

getting a real sense that we are starting to build something a bit special

It's not just Inter fans though. Some of the Inter players have been highly critical of his behaviour. That's his teammates.