Stickied Transfer Rumours 2018/19

[Stevencc]

I hope this happens and I hope we send Mkhitaryan the other way.

 

[Kopper]

Pep seems to be buying younger players to develop rather than buy "complete" players. I think Sanchez will be a bit stifled at United under Mourinho

Sanchez like many other players have had their heads turned by all the money sloshing around. If United are serious about what they're offering, he's theirs.

 

[Stevencc]

City have pulled out of the #raceforSanchez. They've apparently put out a briefing suggesting, bizarrely, that Chelsea have expressed interest in signing him.

Don't think it'll be too long before we announce him as a United player.

 

[Storzy]

I never thought I'd be scratching my head at the prospect of signing Aubameyang.

We can't create any chances for one 50m striker, so I'm not sure how failing to create chances for two is going to help.

Even with Sanchez going the midfield and defence is at such a critical state that really needs to be the priority.

Can't someone just kidnapp Xhaka until Wenger retires?

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

I don't get it. Surely Coquelin is a better DM than Xhaka?

 

[silkyman]

Somewhat ironically, it seems City have decided that the fee, wages and (urgh) agents fee is too much and walked away while United have thrown money at it until they got what they wanted.

How times change.

 

[£50mPoundSterling]

Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Quality player that would be a great asset to have but I get the feeling the club feel as if the overall money package required to secure Sanchez could be splashed elsewhere in the summer to enhance the Pep project further.

Happy to remain level headed with this one and trust the club.

I'm sure he will go on to be a good player for United but it's not as if we are desperately in need to sign Sanchez. Would have been a luxury buy for us at this stage.

 

[Storzy]

I don't get it. Surely Coquelin is a better DM than Xhaka?

A few seasons ago, I would have had Walcott and Coquelin down as players we needed to improve on. However they've both been replaced by inferior players in Xhaka and Welbeck.

It's partly down to the system. Neither Coquelin or Walcott suit the 343, but Xhaka and Welbeck look equally poor it in it AND any other system we've played.

 

[Jamie_SFC]

Gabbi being linked with a move back to Italy.

Relegate us already.

 

[Pagnell]

I've read Sanchez expected to earn more money at City than any other player at the club, along with the £30m+ transfer fee (despite only having 6 months on his contract) and the parasite agent fee. I'm not surprised they walked away. Besides, it's not as if they're desperate for goals.

He's needed far more at United with only Lingard scoring regularly, so it's little wonder they're prepared to bend over and take it from Arsenal, the player and the agent.

 

[Gilly?]

 

[Stevencc]

I've read Sanchez expected to earn more money at City than any other player at the club, along with the £30m+ transfer fee (despite only having 6 months on his contract) and the parasite agent fee. I'm not surprised they walked away. Besides, it's not as if they're desperate for goals.

He's needed far more at United with only Lingard scoring regularly, so it's little wonder they're prepared to bend over and take it from Arsenal, the player and the agent.

You are a crude, perverted little man, do you know that?

 

[Pagnell]

Funnily enough, my wife told me that last night.*

* apart from the little bit.

 

[Pagnell]

It is understood Alexis Sanchez has agreed personal terms with Manchester United but that neither Arsenal nor United will sanction the deal without Henrikh Mkhitaryan travelling in the opposite direction.

Mkhitaryan's agent has now told The Times: "Mkhi is going to do what is best for him. He has two-and-a-half years left on his contract so it's his decision.

"Sanchez is part of the Mkhi deal, not the other way around."

It will be funny as f**k if the deal falls through because Mkhitaryan doesn't want to move to Arsenal. Who can blame him.

 

[snortingfrogs]

Chelsea wants to sign £35m striker Andy Carroll from West Ham according to Sky Sports.

 

[JimJams]

Not quite. Chelsea wanted him on loan and West Ham have said no dice and they value him at 35mill.

 

[Pagnell]

A team would have to be a bunch of fucking muppets to pay £35m for Carroll.

 

[AFCB_Mark]

Whilst the reliability of Morata's finishing is below what you'd expect from a player of his pedigree, I'm not sure Carroll is the answer?!

I bet Conte hardly arrived at Chelsea dreaming of making big money moves for Ross Barkley and Andy Carroll.

 

[£50mPoundSterling]

Andy Carroll, what a great incentive for Eden Hazard to stick around.......................

 

[Renegade]

Whilst the reliability of Morata's finishing is below what you'd expect from a player of his pedigree, I'm not sure Carroll is the answer?!

I bet Conte hardly arrived at Chelsea dreaming of making big money moves for Ross Barkley and Andy Carroll.

Carroll would surely just be back up for Morata, since Batshuayi has proven himself incapable of leading the line when Morata is knackered. And do West Ham value him at £35 million? Or are they simply calling him a £35 million striker because that's what he cost Liverpool...

Barkley will be a back up too.

 

[Mr. Scruff]

Somewhat ironically, it seems City have decided that the fee, wages and (urgh) agents fee is too much and walked away while United have thrown money at it until they got what they wanted.

How times change.

Not much wrong with this post but some of the shit I have seen in the media is unbelievable. It seems like the Abu Dhabi PR arm, alongside sections of the media is working full time to paint this as some kind of moral act on City's behalf, taking a stand.

Even putting aside the fact that equating a club whose sole purpose is to act as a propaghanda arm for a horrible human rights abusing regime with morality is laughable and, or that it was City and co who helped inflate the market to this ridiculous point.

Looking at this transfer alone City agreed a circa 60 million fee just this summer but apparently now its big bad United throwing their money around for what appears to be a much lesser fee.

I saw one pundit say how this transfer would be bad for Martial, Rashford and Lingard and will stunt their development, two sentences later he was praising the possible effect he could have on Sane amd Sterling.

The hypocrisy is astounding, it seems some pundits are falling for a narrative fed straight from the City PR department. The truth is probably that Sanchez, understandably, just wants out at Arsenal and whilst City are attractive he never had his heart set on the move. United have come in and made a better offer, Pep having been surprised by the form of Sterling and Sane and worried about further alienting Aguero no longer feels the need for Sanchez on anything but a cut price deal. Had City been where we are now you could guarantee the fee would be no problem.

If reports are to be beleived that its a straight swap with Miki I would be over the moon. Similar ages but sporadic moments of quality aside he has been utter shite.

 

[Stevencc]

 

[£50mPoundSterling]

The hypocrisy is astounding, it seems some pundits are falling for a narrative fed straight from the City PR department. The truth is probably that Sanchez, understandably, just wants out at Arsenal and whilst City are attractive he never had his heart set on the move. United have come in and made a better offer, Pep having been surprised by the form of Sterling and Sane and worried about further alienating Aguero no longer feels the need for Sanchez on anything but a cut price deal. Had City been where we are now you could guarantee the fee would be no problem.

Nail on head.

I think the clubs view on finding an heir to Kompany, Silva, and some respects Fernandinho has also taken priority over securing Sanchez. And whilst I agree money is likely to be no object, as I mentioned previously, Sanchez now becomes a luxury buy rather than a necessity.

Re - Aguero, given Gaby's injury problems, and recent dip in form (by his standards) it's key we continue to keep Aguero happy. No doubt in my mind that Gaby will become the natural replacement for Aguero when he moves on, but it's going to take more time than initially thought to establish himself as the 'star of the show'

 

[shane]

In July 2017, Leicester City made it clear that they were willing to accept a bid of £50m for winger Riyad Mahrez. Mahrez was a Premier League title winner, PFA Player of the Year and African Player of the Year. He was at a non-elite club. He was 26. Roma came closest to signing him as a replacement for Mohamed Salah, but the price was deemed too high. There were no takers.

In hindsight, that seems extraordinary. Chelsea paid £35m for Mahrez’s teammate Danny Drinkwater, a useful player but hardly a star. We have become accustomed to attacking players commanding a premium, and so too Premier League players. Here was a proven success in the middle of that Venn diagram and…nothing.

Last month, the Leicester Mercury’s James Sharpe made the same point as he reacted to Philippe Coutinho’s move to Barcelona from Liverpool. Since the start of 2015/16, Mahrez had scored 30 goals and registered 21 assists in the Premier League. Coutinho had 28 and 18.

There is a 16-month age gap between the two players but the £90m difference in valuation is still difficult to appreciate. If it comes down to simple supply and demand, where was the demand for Mahrez?

This week, Claude Puel talked up Mahrez’s potential price tag with rumours circling about interest from elite clubs. “Perhaps in the summer he will cost even more than £100m,” Puel said, but the false optimism was a little too transparent. Another year older and with another year of his contract run down, that fee would seem well out of reach.

There are a number of hypotheses about Mahrez’s continued stay at Leicester, but one that seems particularly attractive concerns Kamel Bengougam, whose name you may now be reading for the first time. And yet it is Bengougam who has his future in his hands. Bengougam is Mahrez’s agent.

Information on Bengougam is thin on the ground. There is a LinkedIn page which confirms that he works for an agency called ‘bk tizimanagement’, although they are called ‘BKS’ elsewhere. There is a Facebook profile too, which briefly gained attention after Bengougam posted an image of himself watching Lens vs Arsenal. Finally, there is a profile on The Players’ Agent website – which lists a phone number that doesn’t work – and Elite Football. On the latter, Bengougam is listed as the agent of Marcus Coco of FC Guingamp and Cedric Si Mohammed, who currently plays for the team second bottom of the Algerian league.

You wonder where Mahrez might be now if his agent was Mino Raiola. The Italian-Dutch super-agent is again in the news for negotiating Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s exit from Manchester United as part of the deal to take Alexis Sanchez in the other direction with his customary swagger. The assumption is that Mkhitaryan (and Raiola) will be paid a premium by United to leave and paid a premium by Arsenal to join, which counts as nice work if you can get it.

Raiola has become renowned for his outspoken comments, but he is merely playing the perfect role for a willing media. He uses journalists, media outlets and clubs, occasionally playing parties off against each other as he sees fit. It’s easy to understand how Raiola made a reported £41m from the transfer of Paul Pogba to Manchester United. That is why his clients trust him so implicitly; a good deal for him is a good deal for them.

Raiola has become one of football’s most notorious super-agents. At Manchester United in the last three years, he has negotiated the signings of (and signing-on fees for) Paul Pogba, Sergio Romero, Romelu Lukaku, Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (twice). Paris Saint-Germain have negotiated with him over Ibrahimovic, Maxwell, Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti. Do not be surprised if Gianluigi Donnarumma joins one of those two clubs next.

From Daniel Storey.

I was/am amazed that there aren't more clubs desperate to sign Mahrez. He isn't famed for a bad attitude (the opposite in fact), no major injury concerns and though he hasn't played to the level he did a few years back hes still a top performing midfielder.

We were linked with him earlier in the month and I would have been delighted to sign him.

Is it just down to having a shit agent?

 

[Stevencc]

I'd have taken Mahrez at United too, excellent player.

We seem to be close to wrapping up the Sanchez deal now though, which is preferable.

 

[shane]

I'd have taken Mahrez at United too, excellent player.

We seem to be close to wrapping up the Sanchez deal now though, which is preferable.

Just the 500k/week after tax....

 

[Stevencc]

Just the 500k/week after tax....

It'll be 700k in a couple of hours.

 

[Luc@]

Mkhitaryan?? I thought Arsenal was on Aubameyang.

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

Mkhitaryan?? I thought Arsenal was on Aubameyang.

Both.

 

[SALTIRE]

I'd have taken Mahrez at United too, excellent player.

We seem to be close to wrapping up the Sanchez deal now though, which is preferable.

Do you think Sanchez is enough to start clawing the gap on City, or he just going to be a signing so you can try to keep up with them so the gap doesn't increase further?