Buy British! City target Barkley, Shaw and Lascelles

[117 M34]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/08/micah-richards-leave-manchester-city-summer-despite-contract-offer

City Watch ‏@City_Watch 2m
.@DTguardian confirms that Micah has reluctantly turned down a contract offer and WILL leave City this summer. Sagna a possible replacement.

Micah Richards to leave Manchester City in summer despite contract offer
• Defender turns down improved terms for regular action
• Three other English players set to depart Etihad

Micah Richards, Manchester City's longest-serving player, has reluctantly accepted he needs to leave the club and decided to turn down their offer of a new contract and pay rise.

Richards, with almost 250 appearances for the club since making his debut in October 2005, believes he needs a fresh start elsewhere if he wants to start playing more regularly and rediscover the form that saw him, at 18, take Rio Ferdinand's record as the youngest defender to win an England cap. His decision will form part of a gradual exodus of English players from the Etihad, with at least three others on their way out in the summer.

City had been trying to dissuade Richards from joining that list, offering a new deal with improved terms, but Pablo Zabaleta has established himself as Manuel Pellegrini's first-choice right-back over the last two seasons and that has been uppermost in the player's mind. His talks with Pellegrini have been amicable and there is an understanding within the club that it has been a difficult decision for a player who has been involved with the club since the age of 14. City will want around £7m for the 25-year-old, citing his importance in their title-winning season before injuries allowed Zabaleta the chance to take over on the right side of defence.

Richards was nominated for their player-of-the-year award that season – described by Gareth Bale as the most difficult opponent he faced in England – but there have been times in the current campaign when he has been fully fit and not even among the substitutes. After losing his place as a regular in England's squads, the last two years have become increasingly difficult, culminating in him being restricted to only 10 starts at City in Pellegrini's first season at the club.

The news has been partly expected at City and the club have already started making contingency plans, sounding out Bacary Sagna to determine whether the Arsenal defender is tempted by a move to Manchester. Sagna has been locked in a contract dispute with Arsenal because of the club's willingness to offer only one-year extensions to players in their 30s. Richards, a boyhood Arsenal fan, would be a contender to replace Sagna if the 31-year-old France international leaves London.

Richards has also been linked with Liverpool and Newcastle and should not be short of options. The defender has 13 England caps but has not featured under Roy Hodgson and is determined to resurrect his international career. His departure could feasibly leave City with only two English players in their senior squad. Jack Rodwell, the £12m signing from Everton, is available after two injury-troubled seasons at City, whereas Joleon Lescott has already confirmed he will leave and Gareth Barry is working on the basis that his time at City is finished. Barry will have plenty of offers after a successful year on loan at Everton, with the strong possibility that he will be tied to a permanent deal at Goodison.

Richard Wright, the third-choice goalkeeper, is out of contract at the end of the season and that leaves James Milner and Joe Hart as potentially the only senior Englishmen in Pellegrini's squad. Milner, like Richards, has also been frustrated by his inability to win a regular place in the side and is open-minded about his future, but City intend to hold talks with him about a new contract. Dedryck Boyata, the Belgian defender, becomes a free agent in the summer and is expected to leave.

Say no more!

No chance we offered Micah a pay rise considering how little he has played

 

[FredTilson]

Shaw and Barkley wouldn't be registered as HG on the 25 man list for next season anyway because they're U21 at the start of this year. Shaw wouldn't be registered till 2016 or 2017. By that time, we may have academy players who are 21+ worth registering like Lopes (who would also count as club-trained in the Champions League).

Exactly, I think people are getting hung up on us "needing to fill HG slots", when that's not remotely true. We don't NEED any homegrown players, it is just that we can only have 17 not HG players. It's a massive difference.

Yeah but with Pellegrini's philosophy being to have 2 world class players for every position we need a squad of 22 (+1 3rd keeper) so if out of these only 17 can be non HG we do need 5-6 HG/U21 players.

 

[g180aj]

Surely there will be a lot of consideration given to Rekik, Guidetti, Huws and Lopes for next seasons squad with so many English players leaving.

 

[SWP's back]

We need a English players....Barkley ? Shaw ?

No we don't, not if we marshal our resources properly.

It makes it easier though. I'm not saying we need to keep those we have, or purchase those currently on the market, but we're an English football club. We should ultimately be represented as such.

Why? I really couldn't give a flying fuck who plays so long as they are good enough.

 

[sam-caddick]

Surely there will be a lot of consideration given to Rekik, Guidetti, Huws and Lopes for next seasons squad with so many English players leaving.

Rekik is far from ready in my opinion and needs a few more years on loan. Vinny, Mangala, Demichelis and Nastasic will be our central defenders next season.

Lopes should be promoted in my opinion but Guidetti for me needs to prove himself on another loan after not playing professional football regularly for so long.

Huws is a certainty for our squad next season in my opinion, he will replace Rodwell with Jack going on loan I reckon.

 

[thesilvalining]

Surely there will be a lot of consideration given to Rekik, Guidetti, Huws and Lopes for next seasons squad with so many English players leaving.

Rekik is far from ready in my opinion and needs a few more years on loan. Vinny, Mangala, Demichelis and Nastasic will be our central defenders next season.

Well holland seem to think he's ready? I'd like to see him do 1 year in a top league next season then return to take demichelis' place in that 4 the year after, if he impresses on that loan.

 

[CityFan94]

Surely there will be a lot of consideration given to Rekik, Guidetti, Huws and Lopes for next seasons squad with so many English players leaving.

Rekik is far from ready in my opinion and needs a few more years on loan. Vinny, Mangala, Demichelis and Nastasic will be our central defenders next season.

Agreed.

The problem with Rekik is that we have Nastasic as our young left footed centre back. If we sign Mangala, that means we have 2 young left footed centre backs.

I think Rekik will be better than Nastasic, but it's definitely going to be interesting.

 

[Mr. Aguia]

Barkley, Stones and Shaw are 3 we should be looking at.

I'd also take a wee gamble on Wilshere if Arsenal fail to win 4th, quite similar to Ferna in style and we rely so heavily on him now. I think a lot of fitness issues would be solved by him not being rushed back by ourselves.

Lallana is good enough for the squad, but I don't see how he'd fit in the team really.

Ramsey would be a good long-term Yaya successor i reckon, provided his early season form was permanent. Goals, passing, energy. Lacks the power but there is no like for like Yaya out there. Mega expensive though and probably loyal to Arsenal for now (or just Wenger?).

There are options around, they'd just cost huge sums for their relative ability/potential.

We could also do worse than Walcott if Navas ever heads home.

wilshere??? you still want this muppet after what happen at Etihad?\

better sign Barkley rather than this shithead.

Too injury prone to boot. He's nearly as bad as Rodwell. The last thing we need is another player who spends half the season on the trainers table instead of on the pitch.

Barkley seems a player on the rise and would be a great buy but would he play enough with us? Would be perfect to sign him and keep him at Everton for a year but for the amount he would cost it wouldn't make sense.

 

[blueloon]

Hate to say it, but I'd be very surprised if Barkley and Shaw were to sign for us. There would obvious competition from other clubs in this country for there signatures. Pellegrini would have to make a contractual agreement to commit to playing these players regularly. If we are honest, he or Mancini before him have done nothing to help develop the British or academy players that have got near to the first team...

 

[Shirley]

Hate to say it, but I'd be very surprised if Barkley and Shaw were to sign for us. There would obvious competition from other clubs in this country for there signatures. Pellegrini would have to make a contractual agreement to commit to playing these players regularly. If we are honest, he or Mancini before him have done nothing to help develop the British or academy players that have got near to the first team...

Said this before, the original sky4 cartel were guaranteed CL football and the CL cash season after season so they were in a position to give their youth plenty of opportunities during the season.
Not now, it's a completely new ball game.