EPL Gossip Wednesday December 3rd
Manchester City are determined to spend £70m to sign a “world superstar” in the January transfer window with Kaka, Lionel Messi, Fernando Torres, Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Samual Eto’o all in the frame. (Independent)
Manchester City and Chelsea are leading the race to sign 26-year-old Valencia striker David Villa. (Mirror)
Manchester City as a football club bugs me in so many different ways. The first thing that bugs me is when people call Manchester City the biggest football club in the world. No, it is not. The people who own Manchester City may be filthy rich but none of that money was generated by owing Manchester City football club. Under the same theory Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan could buy your local mom and pop grocery store and now call that store the largest grocer in the world?
Second let’s compared Manchester City to Chelsea. With the exception of Claude Makelele who left Real Madrid mainly due to a contract dispute, Chelsea were unable to buy the top stars from the very top clubs in 2004. No amount of money is going to convince the world’s top players to play for a club currently mid table. If it does those players are only going for the money and aren’t winners anyway.
Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz wants a move to Manchester City in January. Rovers turned down a £12m bid from City in the summer, but are prepared to up their offer to £15m, with defender Nedum Onuoha thrown in. (Daily Mail)
I’ve always said Santa Cruz to Manchester City always made sense. Blackburn may not want to sell Roque Santa Cruz but everyone knows for the right price they will sell.
City boss Mark Hughes is also contemplating a £6m bid for Italy’s World Cup winning left-back Fabio Grosso, 31, from Lyon. (Daily Mail)
Always liked Grosso, who in big games always seems to shine. Anyone who had the brass to take the 5th and deciding penalty kick in the world cup and nail it like Grosso did is a player you’d want on your side in big games. No slip in Grosso
Steve Bruce has been told there will be no money to spend in the January transfer window unless he sells first. (Sun)
Few managers can relate to that come January.
But the fact that Villa, Liverpool and Manchester United are eyeing £7m-rated winger Antonio Valencia could be good news for the Wigan boss. (Mirror)
Liverpool and Manchester United eyed Valencia last season and didn’t make a move so I don’t see what could change 6 months later. Villa isn’t exactly short on attacking midfield options either.
Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he used to hate Manchester United before his £29.1m move to Old Trafford. “I couldn’t stand United when I was 21 because they used to win everything,” he said. “I said I’d never go there.” (Mirror)
100000 pounds a week could make me love a football club real quick
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:55 pm
This money thing is bugging me – maybe I’m just jealous. For the record, I liked what Mark Hughes did at Blackburn and have enjoyed it when Man City best their cross-town rivals, even though I tend to root for ManUtd. It’s getting real old about how City is going to spend huge sums in the transfer window and everyone who’s a star is the target. I suppose the daily rags have to catch our eyes to make us take a 2nd look and buy, and I suppose that if money is really no object, then buy the best.
Good point that the money may not be enough to pull a top player to a mid-table club… I’m hoping it won’t and that City (ie City’s owners) will realize that they have to make due with what they can get.