Transfer rumours

[Outcast]

Torres gone according to Sky

meh…
55m into the haaland fund

Or Raiolas Christmas pot

Not for long, all agents will be capped soon, think it's 10% max cut introduced by FIFA. He best get all his deals over the line before it comes into play. Why do you think he's desperately whoring Haaland around!!

[nottsblue]

Torres gone according to Sky

meh…
55m into the haaland fund

Or Raiolas Christmas pot

Not for long, all agents will be capped soon, think it's 10% max cut introduced by FIFA. He best get all his deals over the line before it comes into play. Why do you think he's desperately whoring Haaland around!!

Any agent fees should be paid for by the player they represent. After all, they are employed by them.

That would stop these ludicrous payments overnight

[Mase]

Haaland will get a huge signing on bonus and dish that out to his agent and dad to get around the FIFA ruling. Unfortunately the ruling won’t change anything.

[nottsblue]

Haaland will get a huge signing on bonus and dish that out to his agent and dad to get around the FIFA ruling. Unfortunately the ruling won’t change anything.

Any player that hands over what would amount to say £25/30M of their own money would be incredibly stupid IMO.

Break 30m down over 5 years. It's the best part of 120k a week. Is the agent going to get this money as extra on top of his usual cut, 10% is typically the norm, that warrants that payment up front? I'd suggest not

[Mase]

Haaland will get a huge signing on bonus and dish that out to his agent and dad to get around the FIFA ruling. Unfortunately the ruling won’t change anything.

Any player that hands over what would amount to say £25/30M of their own money would be incredibly stupid IMO.

Break 30m down over 5 years. It's the best part of 120k a week. Is the agent going to get this money as extra on top of his usual cut, 10% is typically the norm, that warrants that payment up front? I'd suggest not

I honestly don’t get why both dad and son love Raiola. Erling came out the other month and was full of praise for him. He just seems like a trouble maker tbh.

[PeterParker]

Torres gone according to Sky

meh…
55m into the haaland fund

Or Raiolas Christmas pot

Not for long, all agents will be capped soon, think it's 10% max cut introduced by FIFA. He best get all his deals over the line before it comes into play. Why do you think he's desperately whoring Haaland around!!

I would love that, but that is not going to happen. Raiola is doing all of this shit because he has Camorra in his back and multiple agents have their noses in booking agencies and shady organizations that control half of the football world.
FIFA and UEFA can really do fuckall, if you ask me, impossible to get rid of these leeches because they can only gain. At leas every commercial break we see 1-2 tv spots about a sports betting agency.

[johnny crossan]

Man City transfer mailbag: Kane/Haaland again, Torres and Barcelona, Sterling’s contract



By Sam Lee 5h ago 15

Transfer season is almost upon us. Or not, in Manchester City’s case, because they are traditionally quiet in January. That’s not been for a lack of trying, though, and they have always been open to improving their squad in the winter if the opportunity arises.

And there’s one thing we can be certain of right now: Pep Guardiola and others at the club believe they need to sign a striker just as much as most outside observers do.

With Ferran Torres close to a move to Barcelona it’s tempting to believe that City will do business next month, but it’s still unlikely.

Here’s a round-up of what some of our readers would like to see happen, and some relevant snippets of information that might be of interest…

Is it remotely feasible that they could test the water with Haaland for a figure in advance of his summer release clause? Clarke C

I don’t think Haaland in January is a possibility but the most interesting thing I can add to the striker debate is that Guardiola basically shares the common opinion, which is a rare thing! Normally we think one thing (make a sub, attack faster, etc) and Guardiola will have very different ideas. But with the striker situation, he’s the same as everybody else: when things go wrong he believes a clinical No 9 would fix things. It’s quite reassuring to know that, although of course he will continue to push back against these questions after matches.

I did wonder whether Guardiola would have grown to prefer the level of control offered by a false nine since not signing Harry Kane/Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, because City have been pretty good without them. I thought he might be happy to carry on without a striker, or at least strongly considering it. But from what I hear, if it’s a choice between a lot of control or Haaland, he would pick Haaland every time.


Haaland is admired by Guardiola and most of Europe (Photo: Joosep Martinson/Getty Images)
Kane is also still of interest too, but despite the desire within City to get a striker, and the likelihood of Torres leaving, neither of the top two targets are likely to move in January and Guardiola et al would be happy enough to wait for the right man.

Potentially Vlahovic if the asking price is not ridiculous, obviously would love to get Haaland in the summer, but the competition for him will be fierce. I think potentially a cheap signing for midfield depth could be warranted, an injury crisis could leave us exposed with the brutal run of fixtures to come. Shiven S

Something about the Vlahovic links are fishy to me. The first we heard about him and City in the summer was that a deal was completed…

He fits the Kane/Haaland profile but City prefer those two, are far as I know. That doesn’t mean it’s not an option but, for what it’s worth, it’s not been on my radar. I guess we’ll see what that is worth!

As for cheap depth signings, that’s not really how City operate and I think with Cole Palmer and James McAtee knocking on the door, City would be better off using them in an injury crisis. And don’t forget that Kevin De Bruyne can’t always get into the midfield at the moment, so he’s not a bad alternative!

Sign a big bloke to play up front when we start putting 72 crosses in against Burnley etc. Jamie T

Any old-fashioned No 9 would do the goods. Is Joe Royle available….? Robert M

Funnily enough, I know there are at least a couple of City players who think a new striker wouldn’t necessarily have to be Kane or Haaland, they think somebody like Olivier Giroud would fit the style. That’s both in terms of his skill set as a target man but also as somebody who wouldn’t expect to play every game.

And Joe Royle is 72 years old.

I would scream in ecstasy if we got a left-back. I love Zinny and Cancelo but it’s an area that needs filling. Maybe Jose Gaya? Matthias AFR

This is funny because I’ve been saying City need a left-back for about two or three years and I thought it was a joke last summer (2020) when they didn’t get one. And to be fair they probably should have signed one then.

But right now I’m not sure who they could get, where they would fit in and if City even need one. There are already too many defenders to keep happy, when you consider that Nathan Ake and either John Stones or Aymeric Laporte will be left out most weekends, and we’ve already seen Zinchenko being linked with a move away this season. Cancelo’s not been the happiest when he misses out, and Walker plays the vast majority of games (forget the recent blip!), so there’s big competition when everybody is fit.

Cancelo is obviously first-choice left-back at the moment and can play on the right but Ake can play left-back in the same way that Zinchenko does, and there’s Walker on the right. I really think that adding an extra player (let’s face it, probably an experienced international with playing expectations) wouldn’t be ideal for the squad. Obviously, some injuries would make things a bit complicated but I think a new face could make things complicated, too.

Keeping Bernardo would be a rousing success. Lorenzo M

I think even if he were still very keen to leave City, he wouldn’t do it in January, but from what I’ve heard he’s not thinking about that at the moment anyway and is just focused on having a good season. He’s happy now. So I hope that’s good news for you!

It would be interesting to know where the conglomerate of those who wanted to leave now stand. The likes of Bernardo I can’t see leaving but Sterling could and Torres clearly wants to go from what’s been put out there. James P

Sterling is the most interesting one right now and that’s because his contract (expiring in 2023) adds an element of urgency.

It’s fascinating because he was up for leaving in the summer and City would have let it happen had a big offer arrived (like others) and for a while it might have suited all parties, but now he’s in good form and looks dangerous again, and if that continues then he could be back in the XI and therefore happy.

But the better he plays, the more interest there could be from other clubs, and at this point City would either be losing him for relatively cheap, or shelling out for a huge contract. Obviously the latter isn’t the end of the world if they want to keep him.


Torres is closing in on a move to Barcelona (Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
As for Laporte and Bernardo they are just focused on playing every game and doing well — I presume that is the case with them all, but I can only say that with certainty for those two. They’re not thinking about leaving right now. I could easily imagine that to be the case with Gabriel Jesus, too. I don’t think Cancelo wanted to go and I never reported that either, but as somebody who is a bit grumpy when not playing, he is at least playing a lot!

As for Torres, I don’t think he’s desperately unhappy at City by any stretch, but he sees Barca as an exciting project (don’t shoot the messenger) and believes he would get more game time. He was already a bit unhappy about not playing enough even before his injury (don’t shoot the messenger).

[blues2win]

Pep was very clear that Torres told him he wanted to go so he was going. The rest was down to Txiki and Barca but close. He wasn’t prepared to be drawn on Foden and Grealish but seemed to want to downplay it.

[Mase]

Pep on Torres - “He knocked on my door, said he wanted to leave, I said leave…”

Brilliant

[PeterParker]

Pep on Torres - “He knocked on my door, said he wanted to leave, I said leave…”

Brilliant

Came to post this also. Haha

[RodneyRodney]

Much too cheap ; Stg 65 MINIMUM . There also should be a substantial sell-on percentage , which I notice we've ommitted from the sale.
In a couple of years Farca will flog him to Real or PSG for Stg100+ . Catamafia helping out their mates AGAIN; time the Sheikh binned them off.

[Outcast]

Much too cheap ; Stg 65 MINIMUM . There also should be a substantial sell-on percentage , which I notice we've ommitted from the sale.
In a couple of years Farca will flog him to Real or PSG for Stg100+ . Catamafia helping out their mates AGAIN; time the Sheikh binned them off.

Barcelona are unlikely to flog him to Real. Secondly PSG weren't interested, no premier League club shown interest. Realistically only our premier League rivals can afford him, we are not selling to our rivals. Would you accept 80m from rags? Everyone is skint these days, considering current market, we did well to get that fee. If the player doesn't want to stay, there is no point forcing him to stay and devaluing his price.

[salford city]

Much too cheap ; Stg 65 MINIMUM . There also should be a substantial sell-on percentage , which I notice we've ommitted from the sale.
In a couple of years Farca will flog him to Real or PSG for Stg100+ . Catamafia helping out their mates AGAIN; time the Sheikh binned them off.

Barcelona are unlikely to flog him to Real. Secondly PSG weren't interested, no premier League club shown interest. Realistically only our premier League rivals can afford him, we are not selling to our rivals. Would you accept 80m from rags? Everyone is skint these days, considering current market, we did well to get that fee. If the player doesn't want to stay, there is no point forcing him to stay and devaluing his price.

The price quited is with add-ons which may or not be triggered. Without a sell-on clause, I think Farca have a great deal. Not convinced that our Spafia truly have our best interests at heart when dealing wirh these corrypt twats

[Outcast]

Much too cheap ; Stg 65 MINIMUM . There also should be a substantial sell-on percentage , which I notice we've ommitted from the sale.
In a couple of years Farca will flog him to Real or PSG for Stg100+ . Catamafia helping out their mates AGAIN; time the Sheikh binned them off.

Barcelona are unlikely to flog him to Real. Secondly PSG weren't interested, no premier League club shown interest. Realistically only our premier League rivals can afford him, we are not selling to our rivals. Would you accept 80m from rags? Everyone is skint these days, considering current market, we did well to get that fee. If the player doesn't want to stay, there is no point forcing him to stay and devaluing his price.

The price quited is with add-ons which may or not be triggered. Without a sell-on clause, I think Farca have a great deal. Not convinced that our Spafia truly have our best interests at heart when dealing wirh these corrypt twats

Just out of curiosity, how much do you think we should get for him? I'd love to get 80m but that's not realistic under current circumstances. Real and Barca are skint, realistically only our rival in prem can afford him. If the player wants to leave, what do you suggest we should do? We can't get emotional, we have to be realistic. I'm not defending anyone, just trying to see it from both sides.

[salford city]

Much too cheap ; Stg 65 MINIMUM . There also should be a substantial sell-on percentage , which I notice we've ommitted from the sale.
In a couple of years Farca will flog him to Real or PSG for Stg100+ . Catamafia helping out their mates AGAIN; time the Sheikh binned them off.

Barcelona are unlikely to flog him to Real. Secondly PSG weren't interested, no premier League club shown interest. Realistically only our premier League rivals can afford him, we are not selling to our rivals. Would you accept 80m from rags? Everyone is skint these days, considering current market, we did well to get that fee. If the player doesn't want to stay, there is no point forcing him to stay and devaluing his price.

The price quited is with add-ons which may or not be triggered. Without a sell-on clause, I think Farca have a great deal. Not convinced that our Spafia truly have our best interests at heart when dealing wirh these corrypt twats

Just out of curiosity, how much do you think we should get for him? I'd love to get 80m but that's not realistic under current circumstances. Real and Barca are skint, realistically only our rival in prem can afford him. If the player wants to leave, what do you suggest we should do? We can't get emotional, we have to be realistic. I'm not defending anyone, just trying to see it from both sides.

Agree with your comments but for me, if we discount the price and there are add-ons, then we should insist on a sell-on especially with his age. If we have doubked our money and got 40 in our hand with 15 dependent on add-ons, then is that a better deal for us or Farca? I don't see them having 40 up front they don't have a pot to piss in. They've effectively tapped him up and so the deal needs to suit us. The kud wants to go there, no problem with that but we have bent over again for this particular club and it needs to fucking stop

[salford city]

Seeing on the Beeb that this is 55M over 4 installments starting next summer. Had our pants down again. Here you go Farca, have another hand-out

[Two's Kompany]

Much too cheap ; Stg 65 MINIMUM . There also should be a substantial sell-on percentage , which I notice we've ommitted from the sale.
In a couple of years Farca will flog him to Real or PSG for Stg100+ . Catamafia helping out their mates AGAIN; time the Sheikh binned them off.

And if they are 'binned off' the manager goes too!
Pep says Txiki is the reason he's here.
Pretty sure he's doing plenty right. Also gives prospective players the confidence they will be allowed to leave if they are desperate to do so for personal reasons.
Like Pep says if they don't want to be here then they should leave.

[nottsblue]

If this was the other way round and we were buying Torres off someone for this money, would we be happy?

Or would we think we had overpaid?

He isnt a prolific striker yet by any means when adll is said and done

I like the lad as it goes and would prefer him to stay. But, for whatever reasons, he wants out and there is little point in keeping an unhappy player. And the fee is a decent one. It will be a club record received fee

[Mase]

Barca are currently on the same points as Torres’ old club. The guys an absolute loser.

[Zezou]

im fine with him leaving, never think he offers much when I see him for city and dont think he has much presence. I'm sure he'll improve on both but personally happy for this to be elsewhere..

I just dont understand why we dont make this deal for the summer as we are already very light up front & not buying in Jan? it's a good deal for Barca so i'm sure they'd still go for it on these terms