PL bargains to be had as Eastlands jumble sale looms
With the signing of £16m Aleksander Kolarov from Lazio, Manchester City took their summer spending to over £75m. The Serbian left-back became the club’s fourth signing after the arrivals of Jerome Boateng, David Silva and Yaya Toure, and it is unlikely the club will stop now, as James Milner edges closer and closer to his requested move. City now have one of the largest squads – 37 registered players and counting – in the league and it is only a matter of time before decent squad players are looking for moves elsewhere.
For other clubs in the Premier League there are potential signings to be made at cut price deals. While most clubs may haggle over the value of their players, what does a few million pound matter to a team that can pay a single player £200k a week? There is simply not the space for all of City’s players to get regular football; what the players can get some solace from, is the fact that Mancini does not yet seem to know his first choice team. However, he has also publicly said that he wants two quality players for each position, which can only mean more arrivals.
Bolton have already picked up Martin Petrov on a free-transfer. For Owen Coyle’s team, being able to call on an experienced player, with decent technical ability, who is already comfortable in the Premiership, is shrewd business. For Petrov, with no offer of an extension to his City contract, sorting his future out early on in the summer and guaranteeing further years at the end of his career shows it is a good move for both parties involved.
Martin Petrov’s mind was made up by the lack of contract, but how long before other City squad players get itchy feet? A move to Villa for Stephen Ireland has already been mentioned as part of the Milner deal. Yaya Toure’s arrival means that he is vying for the defensive midfield roles along with Gareth Barry, Nigel De Jong and Patrick Vieira – Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta have also played there, but have since been pushed into the back four – and at some point the high turnover of players will hit those individuals.
As well as Ireland; Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz, Micah Richards, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Nedum Onuoha, will all be considering careers elsewhere. All are capable of playing regularly at a high standard. For clubs who find it difficult to attract high-profile players from overseas, or find domestic players too expensive, City provide the second-hand store that could prove fruitful. After his successful spell at Birmingham, how long will Joe Hart play second-fiddle to Shay Given?
The only comparable situation is that of Chelsea, and Abramovich’s first few years in England. After eventually being squeezed out at Stamford Bridge, Newcastle picked up Damien Duff for £5m, and Portsmouth benefited by securing the services of Glen Johnson and Lassana Diarra – the latter via an anonymous six-month stint at Arsenal – for relatively little money before selling them on at huge profits after playing well. Scott Parker out-performs everybody else at West Ham, Joe Cole has gone to Liverpool and even Arjen Robben was deemed surplus to Jose Mourinho’s requirements.
Players will get the time and games at other clubs that they might not be afforded at City. Feeling frozen out, they may also feel they have a point to prove to the Eastlands hierarchy, and eager to show their worth elsewhere. In a British transfer market that has ticked over, rather than ignited so far this summer, City’s shop floor could provide other clubs with exactly what they need.
Football News 24/7
Liverpool should be looking at Ireland, SWP, Richards, Kompany, and Bellamy. Any one of those would help the Reds a lot.
Reply
you are mis-informed
My prediction for the squad, inc details of home grown and under 21′s. I think we will get Milner and another Striker…. forgive me for being presumptious but the money’s goen to my head
(GK) Given/Hart
(RB) Zabeleta/Richards
(CB) K Toure/Lescott
(CB) Boateng/Kompany
(LB) Kolarov/Bridge
(DM) Y Toure/Barry
(DM) De Jong/Veira
(RM) A Johnson/SWP
(CM) Tevez/Robinho
(LM) Silva/(MILNER hopefully)
(CF) Adebayor/ANOTHER World class Striker (Hopefully Torres)
22 players of which 8 are Home Grown
Squad Members:-
Taylor, Bellamy, RSC
3 players of which 2 are home grown
Under 21’s (unlimited allowed):
Nimely, Boyata, Cunningham, Vidal, Ibrahim, Weiss, (and hopefully Balotelli)
7 under 21 players
Totalling:-
25 man squad, and 7 under 21 yr old players. (10 home grown in the squad)
Home Grown players:
Hart, Taylor, Lescott, Bridge, A Johnson, Barry, M Johnson, Bellamy, SWP, Onuoha, Richards and (MILNER hopefully)
Loanees:-
Etuhu, Logan, Neilsen
Expected not to make the 25:
Ireland, Onuoha, Garrido, M Johnson, Caicedo, Jo, Gonzales
If we don’t get Milner and Torres, then Ireland, Onuoha or Jo may get back in.
so not quite the MASS sale you predict eh?
Reply
Nice little comment Tony. Also; Petrov was offered an extension, a 1 yr extension. He was not happy with it and that is fine, so he left. Good luck and thanks. You were good going forward but never tracked back.
Reply
Utter b*ll*cks. Please do your maths. We need to get rid of 5 (excepting Caicedo and Etuhu who are already out on loan and wouldn’t make the squad in any event). Robinho and Weiss may well stay out on loan so that leaves 3.
Someone will take Bellamy – Mancini reckons he’s disruptive; 2 out of Ireland/Onouha/Santa Cruz/Garrido will go but that’s hardly a jumble sale. If Onouha wants to go Stoke or Sunderland or Newcastle should grab him, he’s a great defender and a very smart lad. Ireland has many admirers.
So, hardly a ‘jumble sale’ is it? And many other clubs will be facing the same problem.
Reply
While I dont think they’ll all go in this window, they are decent players who will only accept a lack of games for so long.
Bellamy and Ireland are almost certainly gone, but the others could easily go in january if opportunities are limited (richards, santa cruz, onouha). I know he’s young but Hart will want first team football soon as well.
Also, i think ‘jumble sale’ implies that the players sold might go for less than normal because of the club’s wealth, rather than them simply wanting to throw everyone out?
When prem clubs buy players from other clubs they look to see who’s not getting games, and i agree with the article in that Man City’s squad players are better than most and a good place to look at buying players.
Reply
bluevalentine, if Mancini thinks that Bellamy is trouble then wait and see what Balotelli is like.
Reply
I swear to god the only Man City fans I’d ever heard of where the Gallagher brothers and Ricky Hatton, now they’re everywhere- only joking!
Good luck to you City. I think you will be a massive force in years to come as long as you are managed properly (on the pitch).
I know it’s not a major issue because of the owner about how you guys are doing on the balance sheet, but when the rules come in for financial fair play or whatever uefa/fifa call it, where clubs call only spend a percentage of their turnover, what are you guys going to do? I mean I knoe your marketing and commercial deals etc. has increased at a significant rate but will it cover the numerous £200k p/w salaries of the players on the books (Yaya Toure is good, no doubt, but not THAT good! but that’s for another day) and not to mention the salaries of the players that you offload- I have no doubt that City will have to subsidise that salaries of players they sell to other clubs in order to get them to go- a la Robbie Fowler at Leeds- not sure what the figure was but he was still getting paid by Leeds years after he left because they wanted to get him off their books and he didn’t ask to leave. I know it’s different because Leeds needed him off their books and players will only leave City for game time.
Anyway, interesting to see how things/the season develop.
Also, Garry Cook is almost up there with Peter Kenyon in the scumbag ratings (and I’m a Chelsea fan), his guy does your club not favours just like Kenyon did with us.
Reply