Summer Transfers

Akiva said:
Agree, I wasn't so impressed with Monaco's full backs on the night and little surprise the media went out of their way to highlight poor defending on their behalf too. I know they do that to minimise our accomplishments, but there's some truth to the suggestion Monaco looked very suspect at the back.

My feeling on this is as follows: We are being linked quite credibly to over half the Monaco outfield at present, but that's simply untennable. We aren't signing half their team and it's unlikely the club allows more than 3 of their best to go in one window for the sake of face, particularly if they go on to win Ligue 1. With that in mind, I'd make a run on Fabinho for RB who looks class and a genuine Pep-style player and then look in to one (or both) of Silva/Mbappe.
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I think you are right here
 
Ederson GK
Fabinho at RB
new centre back - haven't got a clue who.
Grimaldo at LB
Joshua Kimmich for the pivot (would take a miracle to get him out of Bayern though)

If we fancy a longer term replacement for Silva - Bernardo Silva or Thiago

That would be the business I'd do.
 
We should be looking at Faouzi Ghoulam for left back, he only has a year left on his contract and get Fabinho right back then he can cover midfield.
 
jakeplattinblue said:
Ederson GK
Fabinho at RB
new centre back - haven't got a clue who.
Grimaldo at LB
Joshua Kimmich for the pivot (would take a miracle to get him out of Bayern though)

If we fancy a longer term replacement for Silva - Bernardo Silva or Thiago

That would be the business I'd do.
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I know Pep loves Thiago, but for me he is too injury prone. His knee is dodgy. Besides that he recently renewed his contract with Bayern, so I think we can forget about him.
I also do not see Bayern handing over Kimmich.
I am all in favour of your other two signings, although I fear it might be difficult to take both from Monaco simultaneously. Monaco are doing well, so they might not fancy loosing players at this point in time, and in the same way the players might not want to leave.
 
richards30 said:
possibly mate but there will be sales and big wage earners likely to go? frees up space and adds quality at the right age as well? I was gonna add messi but didn't want to appear greedy ;-)
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It's doable I suppose although we'd probably need to ask ADUG/HRH to front up a bit of the cash (rather than pay interest on a bank loan) or structure the deals so that we didn't pay the entire fees in one go (we usually do this and it gives us an advantage over rivals). It'll be interesting with how many players look to actually be leaving (and not on loan deals) which should free us up to do more business and to do it early.
 
mavsmcfc said:
Yes. As young and energetic sterling and sane are, they cannot play every game. Which means when we drop one or both, our attacking prowess goes down with it as we're very reliant on our wingers to penetrate and open up spaces. Gabriel can play on the wings but I'd prefer to keep him as a Striker. I'd even say we need a 4th winger but that player will probably not be used very often, which is the perfect role for Sancho. I was scared shitless everytime Mbappe had the ball that night. Felt like he could always make something happen.
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And the Monaco fans felt the same way about Sane and Sterling. Now imagine if we had all 3 :-)

And yes, the 4th should be a youth player who gets games during the congested periods.
 
jakeplattinblue said:
Ederson GK
Fabinho at RB
new centre back - haven't got a clue who.
Grimaldo at LB
Joshua Kimmich for the pivot (would take a miracle to get him out of Bayern though)

If we fancy a longer term replacement for Silva - Bernardo Silva or Thiago

That would be the business I'd do.
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These are not options. It would be the equivalent of Roma thinking they can get sterling and Debryune off us.
 
Akiva said:
Not suggesting we try and fit all of them in, more like my point was that we should be prioritising Fabinho and then if necessary look in to other Monaco players starting at the front, because their full backs really weren't so effective on the night. I do, however, think another attacking player will almost be essential, as it's doubtful we'll keep Kelechi/Nolito and Aguero's future is still very uncertain with Gabriel Jesus still to return. We'll see.

Agree with you on Fabinho. Grimaldo (or Bernat for this position) would the perfect choice and should be exactly the level City are aiming for, nothing less. Weigl is a firm Pep favorite and a very likely target to compliment our young, talented core. Solid choices all round.
Also do believe we'll be in again on Laporte, but I think they'll try their hand on Bonucci too. Both look infinitely more movable, the former coming off a notable dip in form this season and the latter at the centre of a very public falling out with the management and, ultimately, the powers that be at Juventus. Increased bids may not even be required for their respective clubs to think again on the issue and City will be first in line to pick up the pieces, IMO.

Exciting window coming up, regardless.
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I popped on over to the Juve subreddit asking about bonnuci and they weren't happy about that at all. I took some totally unwarranted heat but I guess I can understand the frustration when everyone is always trying to snipe your best player. They say he isn't going anywhere and the issue is already resolved. He was made an example of because multiple players have had spats with the manager and they wanted to use him as an example to cut it out. Overly sentimental? Not sure but I'm guessing it's a no go.

Laporte can fuck right off as far as I'm concerned. I'm surprised that I'm one of the few that don't want him after that last minute bullshit he pulled. If he signs I'll support him but that last minute switcharoo tells me enough about his character. Apparently he's been poor this year too. I'd rather not have another young CB coming in after a mediocre/poor season anyway ... especially to a new league and particularly ours.
 
ADegenerate said:
I popped on over to the Juve subreddit asking about bonnuci and they weren't happy about that at all. I took some totally unwarranted heat but I guess I can understand the frustration when everyone is always trying to snipe your best player. They say he isn't going anywhere and the issue is already resolved. He was made an example of because multiple players have had spats with the manager and they wanted to use him as an example to cut it out. Overly sentimental? Not sure but I'm guessing it's a no go.

Laporte can fuck right off as far as I'm concerned. I'm surprised that I'm one of the few that don't want him after that last minute bullshit he pulled. If he signs I'll support him but that last minute switcharoo tells me enough about his character. Apparently he's been poor this year too. I'd rather not have another young CB coming in after a mediocre/poor season anyway ... especially to a new league and particularly ours.
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Laporte has been far from poor this year, he's actually come back quite well and is showing the benefit of the injury in that he's stopped lunging in out of control (and is getting less red cards as a result).
 
aguero93:20 said:
Not really, they afforded Sané and Sterling far too much space - how well we used that space is a credit to the team but if our fullbacks had done the same this place would be in uproar.
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Of course they afforded city space, a team cannot push forward and attempt to outscore the opposition without doing so, this was clearly the plan from the outset. All that by the by mendy was class.

They also said themselves that city countered their 4-4-2 pretty effectively, and in a 4-4-2 the fullbacks must get forward, esle be overrun in the middle.

Lets see how many clubs get linked to mendy eh?
 
After watching Monaco the other night I don't see what all the fuss is about Fabinho.

If we're going to sign a fullback we should break the bank for their leftback Mendy.

He was a beast on Tuesday night -pace, power and excellent crossing ability.

Would solve all our problems at leftback instantly.
 
LittleEgg said:
Mendy was their best player the other night. His deliveries and marauding on the left were absolutely brilliant.

If i had to pick two players from monaco based on that game it would be mbappe and mendy. The rest showed flaws.
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Couldn't agree more. Mendy was immense the other night. Best full back I've seen for a while at the Etihad
 
wiggly75 said:
After watching Monaco the other night I don't see what all the fuss is about Fabinho.

If we're going to sign a fullback we should break the bank for their leftback Mendy.

He was a beast on Tuesday night -pace, power and excellent crossing ability.

Would solve all our problems at leftback instantly.
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No he wouldn't. Technically, he is not a good fit. Would be outside of his strengths an elements in an inverted role.

For my money no one comes close to Bernat at LB for what we intend to do. Perhaps Grimaldo. But most of the other talented fullback often mentioned are specialist specialistguys who fit a different but familiar view of what a LB should be.

Nothing about Mendys technique or style suggests he'll be comfortable in a system aging out of tight spots from the back.
 
ADegenerate said:
I popped on over to the Juve subreddit asking about bonnuci and they weren't happy about that at all. I took some totally unwarranted heat but I guess I can understand the frustration when everyone is always trying to snipe your best player. They say he isn't going anywhere and the issue is already resolved. He was made an example of because multiple players have had spats with the manager and they wanted to use him as an example to cut it out. Overly sentimental? Not sure but I'm guessing it's a no go.

Laporte can fuck right off as far as I'm concerned. I'm surprised that I'm one of the few that don't want him after that last minute bullshit he pulled. If he signs I'll support him but that last minute switcharoo tells me enough about his character. Apparently he's been poor this year too. I'd rather not have another young CB coming in after a mediocre/poor season anyway ... especially to a new league and particularly ours.
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Your reaction from Juve fans is to be expected, Bonucci remains a fan favorite (though the waters seem a bit muddied by the current drama, it appears) and Juventus want to think of themselves as one of those clubs from which a move can only at best be a side-grade. In truth, the issue is far from resolved, with just last night it emerging Allegri threatened to quit if Bonucci wasn't made an example of. His sitting out of the Porto game, literally on a naughty seat, was only the beginning and his position in the squad looks very uncertain.

If Allegri stays with the club beyond this season, and honestly I don't see why he'd off to Arsenal, it's highly likely both Juventus and the player in question will have serious second thoughts about City's offers. From Bonucci's point of view, he opted for loyalty to the Old Lady when presented with opportunities and finances that were more than sufficient to lure him, yet has been rewarded by the club turning against him. From Juventus's point of view, the relationship between Allegri and Bonucci is a ticking time bomb and the risk far outweighs the reward, particularly with a healthy offer on the table from City.

As for Laporte, he hasn't been wonderful this season but he has the talent and perfect skillset for Pep's system and he's young. Not so different than John Stones, in many ways.

Dax777 said:
No he wouldn't. Technically, he is not a good fit. Would be outside of his strengths an elements in an inverted role.

For my money no one comes close to Bernat at LB for what we intend to do. Perhaps Grimaldo. But most of the other talented fullback often mentioned are specialist specialistguys who fit a different but familiar view of what a LB should be.

Nothing about Mendys technique or style suggests he'll be comfortable in a system aging out of tight spots from the back.
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Agree with this.

Bernat or Grimaldo as close to ideal as possible, though I do think Grimaldo is a more easier get (even if we are in on Moraes)

Mendy is good going forward when used in Monaco's system (fast counter-attacking football), but I saw little to suggest he would fit in a Pep team emphasising possession and zonal play. Further, as mentioned previously, with us linked to half and more of Monaco's outfield, you really have to be a bit more picky when it comes to who is attainable (and that's not even counting other sides being in on their players too) as they won't be parting with more than 3 stars in one window and all the moreso if they win Ligue 1.

With far better options available elsewhere, I don't see Mendy as being a priority get here.
 
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