Harry Kane

[Cityfan]

I think it’s not hard to guess who Khaldoon was talking about with that quote. Now of course I could be wrong. We’ll see

Might have been Messi but it could equally have been Koulibally who we were looking to sign or possibly both.
If we could get five years of high performing Kane, I think we would be happy.

 

[Deleted member 87819]

I don't agree. We don't ever really buy to sell at a first team level. We minimise risks by signing young players, and optimise value. But it isn't a religion where we have to be dogmatic. Signing a proven world class player at 28/29, no matter how expensive, isn't a problem for the right player IMO. Notwithstanding that I reckon City want a marquee player for the 9 position. The likes of Patson Daka et al don't fit that bill, so I suspect that if we end up having to pay a big fee for Kane, we'll do it no problem.

For the record when we're talking about a big fee, for me we're talking 100/120 million pounds.

I don’t think you understand my point. What you say you don’t agree with isn’t the point I was making.
With a Messi, Haaland, Mbappe, Neymar, the club grows its audience and its outreach and commercial returns on a global level. Money comes in and better deals. The money spent on them pays itself off. I’m not saying it will pay itself of because the players will be sold. I’m saying they would bring the club money while here. Hence also the PSG example. Ever since PSG signed Neymar, there isn’t a day that I leave my house here in Brazil and don’t see at least one (it’s never just one) person with PSG merchandise, for instance. I hardly ever saw any before.
Kane simply doesn’t have that impact. You can’t look at England for this, you have to look at the world. What he brings is is the goals whenever fit. But I don’t see that large fee being paid just for that

 

[Deleted member 87819]

Might have been Messi but it could equally have been Koulibally who we were looking to sign or possibly both.
If we could get five years of high performing Kane, I think we would be happy.

But the Koulibaly example actually backs up my point. We know we looked at him, at Kounde and at Dias. Why did we settle for Dias? Because we managed a good deal with Benfica involving Otamendi and it was financially smarter than going with the other two, even if Pep himself maybe had a different preference. The club decided it made no sense to spend more money on Kounde and Koulibaly when Dias could do the same/similar job as those. Those two wouldn’t make a difference on the brand of the club. I think we would find a more reasonably priced option than Kane if all we wanted were the goals, even if not as many

 

[Deleted member 87819]

Its time we took our world presence to the next level and Kane wont do that.

It’s what I have been saying. Having the best team in the world is hard. And when you get there, you have to start capitalizing on it. Barcelona under Pep and then with Luis Enrique capitalized on being seen as the better team of the world because of Messi and his group and later also because of Neymar. When it was Madrid’s turn, they had Ronaldo as a global superstar. Then you have examples of teams that “just” were the best but didn’t take advantage of it. It’s pretty obvious that we are ready for the next step

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

The lie about Haaland’s pressing is as nonsensical as the one about his first touch. People repeat it without ever watching him and some start believing it.

Here’s an analysis of his pressing from 11 months ago: https://talksport.com/football/7077...rtmund-tactics-manchester-united-real-madrid/

It’s an excellent read. Please check it outS I could send other articles but I’ll leave it at that one unless you want more. Now keep in mind that he has actually seriously improved since that article was written.

I was only basing that on the few games I’ve seen of him. Fair enough if that’s not right. But I think Kane does a better job at pressing and working for the team

 

[Tugay One Cup]

I don’t think you understand my point. What you say you don’t agree with isn’t the point I was making.
With a Messi, Haaland, Mbappe, Neymar, the club grows its audience and its outreach and commercial returns on a global level. Money comes in and better deals. The money spent on them pays itself off. I’m not saying it will pay itself of because the players will be sold. I’m saying they would bring the club money while here. Hence also the PSG example. Ever since PSG signed Neymar, there isn’t a day that I leave my house here in Brazil and don’t see at least one (it’s never just one) person with PSG merchandise, for instance. I hardly ever saw any before.
Kane simply doesn’t have that impact. You can’t look at England for this, you have to look at the world. What he brings is is the goals whenever fit. But I don’t see that large fee being paid just for that

It's pretty clear that the club's main criteria, by far, for considering player purchases is what they bring on the pitch. Marketability just isn't anywhere near the top priority but obviously it would be taken into consideration with all other aspects.

Success breeds success. Look down the road; they've been signing incredibly marketable players for years. Public perception seems to be a much greater factor when it comes to their acquisitions and it's prevented them from successfully building a winning mentality in both the short and long term. I guess they've been nailing sponsorship deals still.

Forgive me if I'm also missing your main point but I think this idea of marketability being such a big influence on our transfer policy just doesn't hold up.

 

[Cityfan]

But the Koulibaly example actually backs up my point. We know we looked at him, at Kounde and at Dias. Why did we settle for Dias? Because we managed a good deal with Benfica involving Otamendi and it was financially smarter than going with the other two, even if Pep himself maybe had a different preference. The club decided it made no sense to spend more money on Kounde and Koulibaly when Dias could do the same/similar job as those. Those two wouldn’t make a difference on the brand of the club. I think we would find a more reasonably priced option than Kane if all we wanted were the goals, even if not as many

My point was more who City might go for. Koulibally could have raised our profile in Africa though, I don't think we have any players from Sub-Saharan Africa.
A few more goals can have quite a disporportionate effect on sporting achievement if the occur at the right time.

 

[Tugay One Cup]

My point was more who City might go for. Koulibally could have raised our profile in Africa though, I don't think we have any players from Sub-Saharan Africa.
A few more goals can have quite a disporportionate effect on sporting achievement if the occur at the right time.

We don't necessarily rely on players to build our profile around the world because we've been doing that by other means such as making commercial ties with international brands and through CFG purchasing clubs in other continents.

With how we're held under such scrutiny by the wider football world, it would also be easy for such moves to backfire.

I'd imagine City shirts were selling like hotcakes in Algeria and possibly North Africa as a whole when we signed Mahrez. Then, because of the incredible expectations of his fans, the manager and the club received intense criticism on a daily basis when he wasn't starting every game.

 

[BillyShears]

You can’t look at England for this, you have to look at the world. What he brings is is the goals whenever fit. But I don’t see that large fee being paid just for that

Goals are literally the hardest thing to buy. Yet City paid 62.6 million pounds in ONE GO for Rodri. I'm comfortable in saying they'll pay twice that for Kane.

 

[Marvin]

Goals are literally the hardest thing to buy. Yet City paid 62.6 million pounds in ONE GO for Rodri. I'm comfortable in saying they'll pay twice that for Kane.

Even when we have no match day revenue?

There are debates about players abilities and intrinsic value but football finance looks very precarious. It maybe a short term crisis but all the same I can't see any big transfers in football until we know Covid-19 is certainly behind us.