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Couldn't find the relevant thread to put this in but makes for interesting reading, certainly a player id welcome at city , looks very talented..

By Paul Clennam

Manchester City are prepared to blow their Premier League rivals out of the water with a £30 million bid for Southampton starlet Luke Shaw this summer, Goal understands.

City first registered their interest in January and the subject of Shaw's availability was broached again when Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino attended the Under-21 Premier League clash between the two clubs at the Etihad Stadium earlier this month, with elite development squad coach Patrick Vieira also present.

The Manchester giants were encouraged by the nature of the talks and are now increasingly confident of seeing off a host of rival suitors to secure one of the hottest properties in English football.


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10/1 Man City are 10/1 with Paddy Power to be Luke Shaw's next clubManuel Pellegrini has earmarked the left-back spot as a key area of improvement for his side, with neither Gael Clichy nor Aleksandar Kolarov convincing the Chilean this season.

Shaw, 18, is regarded as the finest domestic talent of his generation and is battling Ashley Cole for a place in England's World Cup squad, having made his full Three Lions debut against Denmark earlier this month.

Chelsea are long-term admirers of Shaw - a boyhood Blues fan - and possess a geographical advantage over other interested clubs with the youngster's parents residing in Raynes Park, just a short drive from the club's Cobham training base.

However, the Blues' bid to capture the left-back is complicated by the fact that he is represented by Stellar Group, the same management firm who represent Cole, whose contract expires this summer.

City believe Cesar Azpilicueta's impressive performances since displacing Cole at left-back have made Shaw wary of summer move to Stamford Bridge.

David Moyes is also in the market for a new left-back as he continues to make plans for a summer overhaul of his Manchester United squad and has identified Shaw as a top target.

As reported by Goal, United made a £20m move for Shaw on January and the Premier League champions are expected to step up their bid to sign him in the next window.

Tottenham are also in the mix to sign Shaw and have launched a charm offensive on the player's family and representatives, who enjoy a strong relationship with chairman Daniel Levy.

Both Chelsea and United have made if clear through third parties that they are prepared to pay up to £25m to land the Southampton left-back, though City's intent takes the potential bidding to a new level.

Sources expect Shaw to join the club that Stellar advise him to, with all signs point to him leaving St Mary's Stadium this summer.

He's not as good as Kolarov

This one is a no brainer for me. I think it would best for him if he stayed at Southampton but if is going to move then we should be first in line. Great player in a problematic posistion, young and home grown. Ticks all the boxes for me.

Excellent if true. Young, English and very talented.
Very attacking and really fits our style of play.

Well we're certainly saying "fuck you" to FFP....

He is definitely a good prospect. Maybe we'd convert Kolarov to a left winger (as he puts in some great crosses) and keep Clichy as backup to Shaw?..

Saul Goodman wrote:Well we're certainly saying "fuck you" to FFP....

He is definitely a good prospect. Maybe we'd convert Kolarov to a left winger (as he puts in some great crosses) and keep Clichy as backup to Shaw?..

Not neccessarily yet.

We will sell one or two in the summer, there will be increaed revenue, & we should have a decent transfer budget. It's only if Platini & Co start to question our sources of income, that we need to start with the 'fuck you' tactics.

I'm doubtful ffp will survive in its present form anyway once the Bosman lawyer has finished with it.

Saul Goodman wrote:Well we're certainly saying "fuck you" to FFP....

He is definitely a good prospect. Maybe we'd convert Kolarov to a left winger (as he puts in some great crosses) and keep Clichy as backup to Shaw?..

Kolarov is NOT NOT NOT a left winger.
His game is all about arriving late and hitting crosses in first time. He can't do that when he's playing left wing.
If anything, Shaw who is still young could be turned into a left winger.
I reckon Clichy will be the one to make way as Kolarov suits Pellegrini's system better.

Saul Goodman wrote:Well we're certainly saying "fuck you" to FFP.... He is definitely a good prospect. Maybe we'd convert Kolarov to a left winger (as he puts in some great crosses) and keep Clichy as backup to Shaw?..

In the long term, if he's good enough to stick with for 10 years its a very good investment when u consider that's what Ferdinand and Rooney cost 10/12 years ago. If not we will probably get most of out money back from some other mugs.

Bridge'srightfoot wrote:

Saul Goodman wrote:Well we're certainly saying "fuck you" to FFP....

He is definitely a good prospect. Maybe we'd convert Kolarov to a left winger (as he puts in some great crosses) and keep Clichy as backup to Shaw?..

Kolarov is NOT NOT NOT a left winger.
His game is all about arriving late and hitting crosses in first time. He can't do that when he's playing left wing.
If anything, Shaw who is still young could be turned into a left winger.
I reckon Clichy will be the one to make way as Kolarov suits Pellegrini's system better.

Definitely this.Kolarov is an attacking full back who doesn't defend that well despite improvements this year.

I would take Shaw in a heartbeat but it won't be easy to get him in front of Chelsea as I believe he supports them. Shaw is a good attacking player as well but from what I have seen is also a good defender.

Bridge'srightfoot wrote:

Saul Goodman wrote:Well we're certainly saying "fuck you" to FFP....

He is definitely a good prospect. Maybe we'd convert Kolarov to a left winger (as he puts in some great crosses) and keep Clichy as backup to Shaw?..

Kolarov is NOT NOT NOT a left winger.
His game is all about arriving late and hitting crosses in first time. He can't do that when he's playing left wing.
If anything, Shaw who is still young could be turned into a left winger.
I reckon Clichy will be the one to make way as Kolarov suits Pellegrini's system better.

I agree that Kolarov suits Pellegrini's system better but he has just a year left on his contract whereas Clichy has three I believe. So do we renew Kolarov even if we buy Shaw or do we stick with Clichy who is also homegrown?

Moreno from Sevilla is a better full back, faster, defends better, gets forward well & would cost a lot less than Shaw + we've had some great deals from this club

What a load of bullshit and conjecture that article is - fucking joke

Foreverinbluedreams wrote:

Bridge'srightfoot wrote:

Saul Goodman wrote:Well we're certainly saying "fuck you" to FFP....

He is definitely a good prospect. Maybe we'd convert Kolarov to a left winger (as he puts in some great crosses) and keep Clichy as backup to Shaw?..

Kolarov is NOT NOT NOT a left winger.
His game is all about arriving late and hitting crosses in first time. He can't do that when he's playing left wing.
If anything, Shaw who is still young could be turned into a left winger.
I reckon Clichy will be the one to make way as Kolarov suits Pellegrini's system better.

I agree that Kolarov suits Pellegrini's system better but he has just a year left on his contract whereas Clichy has three I believe. So do we renew Kolarov even if we buy Shaw or do we stick with Clichy who is also homegrown?

Based on the contract situation it would probably be keeping Clichy as cover for Shaw or someone else.Unless of course MP really thinks Kolarov is what he wants/needs

Luke11993 wrote:
David Moyes is also in the market for a new left-back as he continues to make plans for a summer overhaul of his Manchester United squad and has identified Shaw as a top target.

Ha! Why do they even mention that loser?

Foreverinbluedreams wrote:

Bridge'srightfoot wrote:

Saul Goodman wrote:Well we're certainly saying "fuck you" to FFP....

He is definitely a good prospect. Maybe we'd convert Kolarov to a left winger (as he puts in some great crosses) and keep Clichy as backup to Shaw?..

Kolarov is NOT NOT NOT a left winger.
His game is all about arriving late and hitting crosses in first time. He can't do that when he's playing left wing.
If anything, Shaw who is still young could be turned into a left winger.
I reckon Clichy will be the one to make way as Kolarov suits Pellegrini's system better.

I agree that Kolarov suits Pellegrini's system better but he has just a year left on his contract whereas Clichy has three I believe. So do we renew Kolarov even if we buy Shaw or do we stick with Clichy who is also homegrown?

Clichy for the most part has underwhelmed, although he was decent - and even consistent - in the title run-in.
But he also seems to reserve his worst performances for the really big games - like the home tie against Bayern and the Cup Final against Wigan.
Having said that, Saturday's performance was encouraging - although obviously you'd need to take the calibre of opponent into account; and our defensive set-up.

But it wouldn't make sense to extend Kolarov's contract now with Clichy having three years to run on his, and a potentially better bet than either on the horizon.

The thing with Shaw - though - is that young English prospects are always going to be hyped up to an alarming extent: of course, he's looked great going forward, but how closely has his defending been scrutinised?
Liverpool picked their pockets at St. Mary's, recently, when Southampton played almost all the football, but Liverpool scored all the goals.
How culpable was Shaw, there?

And how culpable has he been in less high-profile games?

Bridge'srightfoot wrote:
Kolarov is NOT NOT NOT a left winger.
His game is all about arriving late and hitting crosses in first time. He can't do that when he's playing left wing.

Spot on!

Foreverinbluedreams wrote:

Bridge'srightfoot wrote:

Saul Goodman wrote:Well we're certainly saying "fuck you" to FFP....

He is definitely a good prospect. Maybe we'd convert Kolarov to a left winger (as he puts in some great crosses) and keep Clichy as backup to Shaw?..

Kolarov is NOT NOT NOT a left winger.
His game is all about arriving late and hitting crosses in first time. He can't do that when he's playing left wing.
If anything, Shaw who is still young could be turned into a left winger.
I reckon Clichy will be the one to make way as Kolarov suits Pellegrini's system better.

I agree that Kolarov suits Pellegrini's system better but he has just a year left on his contract whereas Clichy has three I believe. So do we renew Kolarov even if we buy Shaw or do we stick with Clichy who is also homegrown?

I'd say renew Kolarov's and let Clichy go.
The difference is that although they are the same age, Kolarov is on the way up whilst Clichy has slipped into a decline this season.

Would love to see Shaw with us, happy to keep either of Clichy or Kola.

Top young player. Would sort out the left back spot for the next 15 yrs. Id pay £35m tbh if thats what it took.

Keep Clichy, flog Kolarov, job done.

I don't think a young left back is worth 30mil. if we are to buy him, we need to sell one LB and buy at a reasonable price.