So who's actually going then ?

[Douglas Higginbottom]

I think City would like to move on Jovetic, Dzeko and Nasri for certain which I see as leaving us with 2 main strikers and Iheanacho. Nasri to be replaced by either De Bruyne or Isco and if we are lucky we add Sterling and one of Pogba and Wilshere.

[dick dastardley]

if theres one player i would like at city it would be Isco, hes a talented youngster who would improve us over nasri for sure.

[Ted Hughes]

Just in case folks haven't read what Dzeko's agent had to say:

"When you read the media, it looks like all clubs want Dzeko!" Redzepagic told Nezavisne. I've also heard some of Bosnian league teams are after him!.

"Every day he is linked to some other club: first it was Atletico, than Juventus, now Roma, Chelsea... It is all rumours that go on during every transfer window. I am bored of repeating those stories are not true.

"He hasn't rejected any offers because there were no offers! And that is the whole truth! Edin has contract with Man City until 2018 and is happy at the club.

"Many things influenced his performances last season, like the two injuries he had, but he has no reason to be unhappy in the club he won four trophies with. So the chances of him leaving are - none!"

[Ted Hughes]

Rumours that Jovetic has agreed a 5 year deal with Juve.

[phips]

Rumours that Jovetic has agreed a 5 year deal with Juve.

damn, they're splashing the cash. Dybala, Mandzukic, and now Joveti (if true).
guess Tevez is off and they're not convinced at all with Llorente and prob will look to sell. wonder if it also means Real is activating their buyback option on Morata as well.

[Blue Since 76]

Rumours that Jovetic has agreed a 5 year deal with Juve.

damn, they're splashing the cash. Dybala, Mandzukic, and now Joveti (if true).
guess Tevez is off and they're not convinced at all with Llorente and prob will look to sell. wonder if it also means Real is activating their buyback option on Morata as well.

Could be, as they have no other saleable assets. Nope, definitely no other players they could sell for big money.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

Rumours that Jovetic has agreed a 5 year deal with Juve.

damn, they're splashing the cash. Dybala, Mandzukic, and now Joveti (if true).
guess Tevez is off and they're not convinced at all with Llorente and prob will look to sell. wonder if it also means Real is activating their buyback option on Morata as well.

You could well be right.

I know that Ted once seemed to rate him to some extent, but I've always regarded him as a complete waste of shipping space.

IMHO he's about as much use on a football pitch, as the lamp-post outside our house..........although the lamp-post might have better ball control.

If he were ever to become available, someone such as Pulis might be mildly interested.

[PrezIke]

Navas being moved is the good shout on the down low I didn't think of.

Not sure why Dzeko will stay, but I guess if Jovetic is gone he can fight with Bony for 2nd choice striker. How many starts that will be next season is up for debate as I am feeling like we are less likely to go with two strikers like we did last season and the success we showed late with Sergio on his own. I also feel Bony is the better fit to partner with Kun anyway. I thought it sounded like Roma were very set on signing Big Ed anyway?

[Ted Hughes]

Rumours that Jovetic has agreed a 5 year deal with Juve.

damn, they're splashing the cash. Dybala, Mandzukic, and now Joveti (if true).
guess Tevez is off and they're not convinced at all with Llorente and prob will look to sell. wonder if it also means Real is activating their buyback option on Morata as well.

You could well be right.

I know that Ted once seemed to rate him to some extent, but I've always regarded him as a complete waste of shipping space.

IMHO he's about as much use on a football pitch, as the lamp-post outside our house..........although the lamp-post might have better ball control.

If he were ever to become available, someone such as Pulis might be mildly interested.

I think he's a potentially superb target man, well I don't know how old he is now & may be he's past it but go back a few years &.I think he was really fucking good. I & don't understand how he's got in this position, but he seems like a square peg in a round hole there.

Some of his touch play for Bilbao was sublime.

[phips]

Rumours that Jovetic has agreed a 5 year deal with Juve.

damn, they're splashing the cash. Dybala, Mandzukic, and now Joveti (if true).
guess Tevez is off and they're not convinced at all with Llorente and prob will look to sell. wonder if it also means Real is activating their buyback option on Morata as well.

Could be, as they have no other saleable assets. Nope, definitely no other players they could sell for big money.

you're right. the Dybala-Mandzukic-Jovetic central midfield trio will be immense and a great replacement for Pogba.
just think of it, those three putting in tackles in midfield behind Kingsley Coman. unstoppable.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

Rumours that Jovetic has agreed a 5 year deal with Juve.

damn, they're splashing the cash. Dybala, Mandzukic, and now Joveti (if true).
guess Tevez is off and they're not convinced at all with Llorente and prob will look to sell. wonder if it also means Real is activating their buyback option on Morata as well.

You could well be right.

I know that Ted once seemed to rate him to some extent, but I've always regarded him as a complete waste of shipping space.

IMHO he's about as much use on a football pitch, as the lamp-post outside our house..........although the lamp-post might have better ball control.

If he were ever to become available, someone such as Pulis might be mildly interested.

I think he's a potentially superb target man, well I don't know how old he is now & may be he's past it but go back a few years &.I think he was really fucking good. I & don't understand how he's got in this position, but he seems like a square peg in a round hole there.

Some of his touch play for Bilbao was sublime.

I think you're spot on about him being a square peg etc.

Perhaps Bilbao was the perfect set-up for him but now, at thirty or so years of age, his best days might be all in the past.

Perhaps also it's my antipathy towards big tall 'target' men which doesn't give him the credit he might deserve, but I still shudder at the thought of that type of player of the ilk of Toshack, Wyn and Ron Davies, Niall Quinn etc etc.

Give me the Francis Lee type any time.

[Ted Hughes]

I thought Wynn Davies was fucking great.

[iwasthere2012]

I thought Wynn Davies was fucking great.

In fairness, the Toshack/Keegan partnership was pretty effective too.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

I thought Wynn Davies was fucking great.

In fairness, the Toshack/Keegan partnership was pretty effective too.

Still didn't like it though; not my taste in football at all - same goes for Wyn Davies although, to be fair, he wasn't too bad for that one season in 1971/72 when playing for City. Mind you, he had some great players around him.

One of the most ludicrous scenarios of this type was when England played Wales in the old, now defunct, Home Internationals and Wales elected for a 4-3-3 formation with Wyn Davies, Ron Davies and John Toshack as their front three. It was long ball boredom personified.

Pulis and Big Fat Sam would have loved the prospect of that although, from memory, England ran out as scrappy winners.

[nottsblue]

Rumours that Jovetic has agreed a 5 year deal with Juve.

damn, they're splashing the cash. Dybala, Mandzukic, and now Joveti (if true).
guess Tevez is off and they're not convinced at all with Llorente and prob will look to sell. wonder if it also means Real is activating their buyback option on Morata as well.

You could well be right.

I know that Ted once seemed to rate him to some extent, but I've always regarded him as a complete waste of shipping space.

IMHO he's about as much use on a football pitch, as the lamp-post outside our house..........although the lamp-post might have better ball control.

If he were ever to become available, someone such as Pulis might be mildly interested.

I think he's a potentially superb target man, well I don't know how old he is now & may be he's past it but go back a few years &.I think he was really fucking good. I & don't understand how he's got in this position, but he seems like a square peg in a round hole there.

Some of his touch play for Bilbao was sublime.

I think you're spot on about him being a square peg etc.

Perhaps Bilbao was the perfect set-up for him but now, at thirty or so years of age, his best days might be all in the past.

Perhaps also it's my antipathy towards big tall 'target' men which doesn't give him the credit he might deserve, but I still shudder at the thought of that type of player of the ilk of Toshack, Wyn and Ron Davies, Niall Quinn etc etc.

Give me the Francis Lee type any time.

Would you class Bony as a target man MC? I know he hasn't played that role for us as the traditional big number 9, but he is a target man in so much as he is an outlet for the ball to be played quickly out of defence and to stick and not be lost. As it goes Mark Hughes at the rags was exemplary at this and in no way would he be lumped in with the above players or an Andy Carroll for example.

I ask, as Bony in the few minutes he has had, has shown great touch and awareness yet primarily is there as an outlet and conduit for counter attacks. I am also looking forward to a hopeful increase in headed goals this season, something I think we have been sadly lacking lately

[Mikhail Chigorin]

NB old chum,

With regard to the term "target man", it's just my own inbuilt bias against huge, lumbering players who, in the past, were good in the air but less so when the ball was played on the ground and to feet.

This type of player seemed to thrive on the ball being played up to him in the air, route one style, to then flick it on to the nippy little partner alongside him who, hopefully, ran on through to score.

This made football boringly and predictably one-directional and if the opposition side had a big centre-half who was able to win everything in the air, it negated all the attacking prospects that the "target man" team previously had and I absolutely loathed and hated watching this type of football.

I've always thought of the Scum as being a long-ball team, both in the past and to this day.

I know this is all very simplistic but it's the historical basis for my, putatively irrational, phobias against the use of big "target men".

I don't include Bony in this category as his ball control is so much more than what was exhibited decades ago by such practitioners. Mind you, if ever City started slavishly 'lumping it long' to Bony, just because he's decent in the air, I might have to re-think this viewpoint.

Heaven forfend that we ever become no better than a Pulis type team.

[Ted Hughes]

I think Bony is a cracking player. Miles better than I thought he was before I really watched him closely. I think he's been outstanding most of the time he's been on the pitch for City, even in the games where people were calling him shit; some of his touches are brilliant & most things he does are intelligent. He's also a skilled header of the ball, as opposed to most aerial strikers these days who are just long necked & tall.

I think he almost is a target man in a way, but more like Hughes rather than Joe Royle.

I just hope that, if we do sign these players we are being linked with, we give Bony plenty of time on the pitch, otherwise he will lose his sharpness & live up to the 'shit' tag, some fools have given him.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

I think Bony is a cracking player. Miles better than I thought he was before I really watched him closely. I think he's been outstanding most of the time he's been on the pitch for City, even in the games where people were calling him shit; some of his touches are brilliant & most things he does are intelligent. He's also a skilled header of the ball, as opposed to most aerial strikers these days who are just long necked & tall.

I think he almost is a target man in a way, but more like Hughes rather than Joe Royle.

I just hope that, if we do sign these players we are being linked with, we give Bony plenty of time on the pitch, otherwise he will lose his sharpness & live up to the 'shit' tag, some fools have given him.

Good call Ted.

[Bleed_Blue]

Rekik might be leaving according to goal.com

[Ted Hughes]

So where are we up to ?

Current Champions League Squad:

UEFA A LIST, 17 'free places'. 1 Willy 2 Zaba 3 Sagna 4 Kolarov 5 Fernando 6 Fernandinho 7 Yaya 8 Nasri 9 Silva 10 Navas 11 Aguero 12 Bony 13 Dzeko 14 Jovetic 15 Kompany 16 Demichelis 17 Mangala

Homegrown: Hart, Clichy ,(Wright? But surely not ?) two empty homegrown spaces, unles we stupidly pick Wright, 4 empty club trained spaces which will remain empty as nobody qualifies.

Total, 19 (20 with Wright) places used out of a possible 25

UEFA B LIST: Denayer, Lopes & all the academy kids but not including Iheanacho or Unsal who don't yet qualify as 'homegrown' for UEFA purposes & could only be included as part of the 17.

Proposed incoming: Sterling (takes empty homegrown spot) DeBruyne (almost certainly takes Jovetic's spot)

Pogba. Takes which spot ?

If that's the sum total of our business this summer, it still looks like Navas favourite out the door to me rather than Edin or Nasri.

I would add: Khaloon mentioned 'players' leaving, as if a few long termers would go but other than that, we wouldn't actually need to lose Edin or Nasri.

What a fucking squad.