THE BOLLOX
The transfer window is set to bang shut and then be firmly locked in less than two weeks’ time.
Why is it never said to be closed quietly? Answers on a postcard.
Anyway, all this means that transfer rumours are ramping up again after being reduced to a welcome line or two in previous weeks.
We’ll begin with Alvaro Negredo, who was said to be attracting the attention of Valencia yesterday – well, Real Madrid have now muscled in on his headlines.
According to Goal, the Spanish giants are considering the City striker as alternative should a move for Radamel Falcao fail to materialise.
Incidentally, the Colombian was linked with a move to the Etihad in yesterday’s papers. It’s just one big transfer rumour merry go round!
The website’s Paul Clennam reports: “The Spanish giants are in the market for a centre forward to provide competition to Karim Benzema and are considering alternative options should Radamel Falcao's proposed switch to the Bernabeu fail to materialise.
“Negredo, who City value at £20 million, began last season in devastating fashion although lost his scoring touch in the second half of the campaign and failed to find the back of the net during the final four months of the campaign.
“Goal understands that, as a result of the striker's family ties in Valencia, he would be open to a move to the Mestalla although a late intervention from Madrid, who are being asked to be kept abreast of developments, could be decisive.
“The 29-year-old, who had a spell with the Real Madrid B team earlier in his career before being offloaded to Almeria, would be open to a return to Spain and Carlo Ancelotti's side will likely be unperturbed by City's £20m asking price.”
One striker who isn’t going anywhere this summer is Stevan Jovetic, according to a report in today’s Mirror.
The Montenegrin wowed everyone in pre-season and Manuel Pellegrini is said to consider the 24-year-old a major part of his 2014/15 plans.
Although the Mirror claims that Juventus haven’t got that memo yet…
Writes the paper’s David McDonnell: “Manchester City will rebuff any attempt by Juventus to sign Stevan Jovetic.
“The Italian side are keen on taking £20million-rated Jovetic - who joined City from Fiorentina last summer - back to Italy.
“Jovetic's debut campaign at City was wrecked by injuries, but boss Manuel Pellegrini still sees the 24-year-old as a key player this season.
“Having impressed in pre-season, Jovetic started Citys' 2-0 win at Newcastle last Sunday, as Pellegrini's men began the defence of their title.”
Sticking with Juventus, apparently they have their beady eye on another City man in the shape of Matija Nastasic – that one’s according to the Manchester Evening News.
The defender is reportedly a target for Roma and Napoli, as well as the Old Lady, and there is speculation a potential sale of Mehdi Benatia to Bayern Munich could leave Roma the money to snap up the young Serbian defender.
Scribes Stuart Brennan: “At least three Italian clubs are now showing a strong interest in taking Blues defender Matija Nastasic, with Juventus and Roma leading the pack.
“Napoli are also interested but appear to want a loan, whilst City want to sell the £12million rated defender, or at least send him on loan with a permanent deal at the end of it.
“Roma look likely to lose Mehdi Benatia to Bayern Munich, and that will give them the money to take Nastasic, but Juventus could also raise the cash by selling Angelo Ogbonna to one of several suitors.”
Not long now until the window shuts, but in the meantime, we’ll be first with any ins or outs right here on mcfc.co.uk.
Anyway, it’s been all over the papers that the striker could be on the verge of a return to the Premier League with Liverpool, who coincidentally are the visitors to the Etihad Stadium on Monday night.
So, is a reunion and a debut on the cards?
The Independent’s James Orr explains: “He's said his goodbyes to those in Italy, it now appears that Mario Balotelli's £16m move from Milan to Liverpool will be completed imminently.
“But will he be able to make his debut for the Reds against his former team Manchester City on Monday night? Yes, but only if he is registered with the Premier League before Friday's deadline.
“Their rules state that only players signed and registered before 12pm on Fridays can be eligible for matches on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.”
So, whether you like the idea of him on the pitch or not on Monday, you’ve got about four hours to wait…
Lampard 'amazing' in City training - Kompany
The 36-year-old former Chelsea star has joined the Blues on a six-month loan from New York City, and was expected to be on the fringes of a powerful City midfield, but he is making quite an impact.
Frank Lampard could prove to be one of the signings of the season after some “unbelievable” performances in training.
That is the verdict of City skipper Vincent Kompany, who has been pleasantly surprised by the way Lampard has been performing behind closed doors at Carrington.
The 36-year-old former Chelsea star has joined the Blues on a six-month loan from New York City, and was expected to be on the fringes of a powerful City midfield, only involved to retain fitness.
But Kompany has tipped Lampard to make an impact along with big-money signings Eliaquim Mangala and Fernando.
"I think all of them will make a big difference,” said Kompany. “Just watching Frank Lampard in training for example, people won’t tip him as one of the players to make the biggest difference for us this season but he looks amazing, unbelievable.
“The new guys as well are all players that will improve our team and give us a good chance of having a good season.”
At least three Italian clubs are now showing interest in defender Matija Nastasic, with Juventus and Roma leading the pack.
Napoli are also interested but appear to want a loan, whilst City want to sell the £12m-rated defender, or at least send him on loan with a permanent deal at the end of it.
Roma look likely to lose Mehdi Benatia to Bayern Munich, and that will give them the money to take Nastasic.
But Juventus could also raise the cash by selling Angelo Ogbonna to one of several suitors.
Micah Richards is also attracting interest from Newcastle and West Ham.
The big City defender still has a year left on his current contract but is set to leave the club after being left out of Manuel Pellegrini’s plans.
Nastasic and Richards poised for City exits
Blues pair are being chased by clubs in Italy and England respectively, and Manuel Pellegrini is ready to sell both to slim down his squad.
At least three Italian clubs are now showing a string interest in taking Blues defender Matija Nastasic, with Juventus and Roma leading the pack.
Napoli are also interested but appear to want a loan, whilst City want to sell the £12million rated defender, or at least send him on loan with a permanent deal at the end of it.
Roma look likely to lose Mehdi Benatia to Bayern Munich, and that will give them the money to take Nastasic, but Juventus could also raise the cash by selling Angelo Ogbonna to one of several suitors.
Manchester CityTransfer Policy - Vincent Kompany
Manchester City captain and Belgium international Vincent Kompany has complemented the club’s board for not making major signings over the summer transfer window.
This comes as a surprise to many around the Premier League, due to City’s recent record of spending big over recent transfer windows.
One of the most important things for Kompany is that the club keep the team as consistent as possible. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the Belgian said, “It is one thing to make new signings but it is another to make sure we have a core of players who know the league and have enjoyed success in the league – then we can move forward with a certain style and philosophy that has been successful for us.”
He continued, “For me it is important to see quality, new players coming but it is as important to see players like David Silva and Kolarov and Nasri remaining at the club.”
City manager Manuel Pellegrini knows that in order to defend their title from the previous season, The Citizens need to have a consistent line-up that knows how to compete in the Premier League first hand.
Another key take-away from Kompany’s confidence in City’s transfer policy this summer is the change of heart in how the club wants to handle its players. While many other teams in the league are making headlines by purchasing star players, City want to rely more on their younger players rising up the ranks of their academy system; while also keeping its’ more experienced players on board to help future players of the club.
An example of this can be seen with Eden Dzeko signing a new five-year deal with the club, as reported by Touchline Talk. With an experienced player like Dzeko staying with The Sky Blues, he can create an influence on an up-and-coming player in his position, and teach the “City way” of playing the game.
How Manuel Pellegrini Can Guide Manchester City to a Repeat Title Win
The surest path to a repeat Premier League title win for Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is a road he cannot take.
Pellegrini would make his club's load a lot lighter by laying down in the Capital One Cup and in the FA Cup. Getting out of these peripheral competitions as soon as possible would be the best thing for City's Premier League (and Champions League) hopes.
City's second team is probably good enough to get to the semifinals of both of those lesser cup tournaments, which is a big problem.
City played six matches in the Capital One Cup en route to winning it. They played five matches in the FA Cup before getting unceremoniously dumped out of the competition by Wigan Athletic at the Etihad.
Winning the Capital One Cup was better than losing it once City got themselves so far into that draw. But let's be clear: Had City only won the Capital One Cup and not held on to win the league title, the 2013-14 season would have been viewed as an abject failure. That's how much the Capital One Cup really means.
If City's Capital One Cup exertions were a nuisance, at least they paid off. City's FA Cup efforts were in vain, and in retrospect taxed the squad unnecessarily.
Possibly City's worst result of the 2013-14 season was the draw at Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup's third round.
Even the match report from City's website tacitly said so: "The Blues, who ended the game with ten men following Dedryck Boyata’s sending off, are now facing a fixture pile-up after failing to put their Championship opponents to the sword at Ewood Park."
They certainly were. City ended up playing seven matches in three weeks from Jan. 8 through Jan. 29 after seeing the Blackburn replay plugged into an already cluttered schedule.
Playing Chelsea twice per season is bad enough. A third encounter with Mourinho's club is just inadvisable.
Further underscoring the detriment that last season's futile FA Cup run served for City was their match with Chelsea in the tournament's round of 16. City had just lost to the Blues in league play 12 days earlier, and could ill afford to lose a second straight match to Jose Mourinho's side at the Etihad.
So Pellegrini had to manage this match as though it really mattered. Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta played the entire match. Edin Dzeko ran for 81 minutes. David Silva left after 69 minutes.
This was tread taken off these players' tires needlessly with City playing the first leg of their Champions League tie with Barcelona three days later.
City played 57 competitive matches in the 2013-14 season. No matter how deep a team is, playing to win 57 times will deplete it mercilessly. Sometimes it will even happen stupidly, as Alvaro Negredo's injury against West Ham United in a Capital One Cup tie that was already pretty well decided attests.
And it is not just the toll these unimportant competitions take on the players. Pellegrini and his coaching staff have to divert the resources of time and energy toward match planning.
When the draw calls for City to travel, they have to go to places like Blackburn and Leicester City to play a match that the home side and its supporters are far more "up for" than City could ever be.
We can agree that what is suggested here will never actually happen.
City's management doubtlessly believe that, even with the added matches on the schedule and the resultant inconveniences that come with them, the Sky Blues are deep enough and resilient enough to deal with all of it.
But one of these seasons, it would be interesting to see City mysteriously fall out of both the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup early.
Think of the advantage City would have over the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool as those clubs continue to put players at risk of injury and continue to tack on additional fixtures to already loaded schedules. Nothing bad can happen to City's best players in a match they do not have to play.
No, it will not happen this way. But isn't it pretty to think so?
AC Milan still owe Manchester City a whopping £9.5m for Mario Balotelli but his £16m move to Liverpool won't activate a sell-on clause. The Italian giants are set to part company with the controversial striker in the coming hours after Liverpool agreed a £16m deal for the player on Thursday afternoon. But Milan have paid only half of the £18m figure they agreed with the Citizens to acquire Balotelli's services back in January 2013. City don't envisage a problem getting their money back but it's understood Milan wanted to get him off the books before they suffered an even greater loss. The Premier League champions are also cursing their luck. They had inserted a 10 per cent sell-on clause on any future profit Milan made above his original purchase price. -
Nasri must find answers - Deschamps
Samir Nasri has dropped a huge hint he is about to retire from international football, after being snubbed for the French World Cup squad.
Didier Deschamps has suggested Manchester City's Samir Nasri should take a look at himself in the search for answers as to why his international career fell flat.
Earlier this month, Nasri, 27, announced he would no longer play for his country while Deschamps remains in charge after suffering the bitter disappointment of being left out of France's World Cup squad.
Deschamps, 45, had justified his decision to omit the Premier League winner by suggesting Nasri would prove problematic within the squad during their lengthy stay in Brazil.
Last weekend, Nasri told Canal+ he had no axe to grind with any other member of the squad, but Deschamps told L'Equipe the former Arsenal man should perhaps reconsider his past behaviour when with the national team.
"I don't know. He can ask himself the question too, perhaps," Deschamps replied when asked why Nasri's sparkling club form was never reproduced for Les Bleus. "You can say that it's always the others. When there are relationship problems, the responsibility is necessarily shared."
France's 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000-winning captain added: "At a club, you come to training, you leave afterwards. You don't live at the club. You are at home. With the national team, it's 24 hours a day. The relationship, the life of the squad is different. But I don't want to get into that debate."
Nasri failed to make the French 2010 World Cup team and was also excluded from Deschamps' squad for this summer's tournament in Brazil despite scintillating domestic late season form for City as he helped them to clinch the 2013-14 Premier League title.
MOTD hits 50
On Friday 22 August 2014, the television institution that is Match of the Day will celebrate half a century since it was first aired.
50 years to the very day later, this definitive documentary charts the history of this iconic programme and highlights its long-ingrained place at the heart of Saturday night Television.
We discover why Match of the Day holds such a special place in the nation’s affections with classic archive featuring George Best, Brian Clough, Sir Bobby Robson, David Coleman and Jimmy Hill and brand new contributions from Jose Mourinho, David Beckham, Sergio Aguero, Ryan Giggs, Thierry Henry, Gary Lineker, Wayne Rooney, Des Lynam, Rio Ferdinand, Ian Wright, Michael Owen, Alan Hansen, Alan Shearer, John Motson and stars from the England women’s football team.
We also hear from fans of the show including Sir Alan Sugar, Sue Johnston, Piers Morgan and Russell Brand. Barry Stoller who composed the iconic Match of the Day music talks for the very first time about how the tune came about and also went on to be officially the most recognised theme tune on Television beating EastEnders and Dr Who!
There are also special performances of the music by Lethal Bizzle and the Philharmonic Orchestra.
The show looks at how MOTD has evolved over the years, remaining the main place for football viewers to watch highlights. We also remember how the programme dealt with tragedy, when 96 Liverpool fans Iost their lives at Hillsborough.
We take a look at the elements of the show that have become synonymous with the MOTD brand like Goal of the Month and we track down serial winner of the award who became a cult hero in the ‘90s. And Sergio Aguero takes us back to the very spot he scored the most famous of last minute MOTD goals.
Full of fantastic anecdotes and the finest footballing moments of the past 50 years this documentary celebrates Match of the Day notching up its half century while continuing to set the footballing agenda amongst viewers.
Match of the Day at 50 - Friday 22 August, BBC One & BBC One HD, 10.35pm-11.35pm
Manchester United lead the race to sign Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria, 26, after big-spending French champions Paris St-Germain pulled out. (Daily Star)
But Di Maria may not move to Old Trafford because United boss Louis van Gaal does not want to harm the development of 19-year-old Adnan Januzaj. (Daily Express)
Tottenham are preparing an £11m bid for QPR's French striker Loic Remy, 27, whose move to Liverpool broke down last month. (Daily Star)
Arsenal are considering a bid for West Ham defender Winston Reid, 26, who is out of contract at the end of the season. (Daily Mirror)
Hull City have increased their bid for Blackburn striker Jordan Rhodes, 24, to £10m after their initial offer was rejected. (DSSC)
Manchester United midfielder Anderson, 26, could make a £5.5m move to Sporting Lisbon. (Daily Express)
Southampton boss Ronald Koeman says midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, 24, is not for sale at any price. (London Evening Standard)
QPR defender Rio Ferdinand, 35, wants to manage England when he retires. (DSSC)
Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne, 47, was being treated in hospital on Thursday as he faces being made homeless. (Daily Mirror)
Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood, 45, has ruled himself out of the running for the vacant manager's role at Crystal Palace. (Sky Sports understands)
Newcastle United are confident they will keep vice-captain Cheick Tiote, 28, despite interest from elsewhere. (Sunderland Echo)
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes midfielder Jack Wilshere, 22, is being made the scapegoat for England's World Cup failure. (The Sun)
Meanwhile, midfielder Aaron Ramsey, 23, is confident the Gunners will be able to meet the physical challenge presented by Manchester City and Chelsea this season. (Sky Sports understands)
Huddersfield Town say reports Neil Warnock, 65, has turned down the chance to manage the club for a second time are not true. (Huddersfield Examiner)
Liverpool are so confident Mario Balotelli will sign that jerseys are being printed at the club shop. He is expected to be given squad number 45, the same he had at both AC Milan and Manchester City. (@TransferRelated)
QPR midfielder Joey Barton has given Balotelli's move to Liverpool the thumbs-up, tweeting: "Balotelli to Liverpool? £16m seems decent value for a player who on his day is very good."
Midfielder Tom Huddlestone is still confident about Hull's Europa League chances, despite the 1-0 defeat by Lokeren. He wrote on Twitter: "Tough result to take. Still all to play for next week on the second leg, we are confident we can turn it around."
Leicester striker Chris Wood has had the popcorn out, posting: "Movie night - Olympus Has Fallen. Dad's never seen it so going to introduce him to it! Great film."
Former Netherlands and Arsenal striker Dennis Bergkamp, 45, now a coach at Ajax, proved he had not lost his touch by slamming in a perfect volley in training. ( 101 Great Goals)
Former Italy defender Marco Materazzi mocked Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane as the ice bucket craze continued. Frenchman Zidane was sent off in the 2006 World Cup final for headbutting Materazzi. (Marca.com)
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