It's Quiet - a new dawn

[BillyShears]

We've needed a big, big summer for quite some time now so this really has to be it and it has to be players who are ready for the first team squad and to be regular starters. They should still mostly be young players that Pep can mold but it's not summer for buying kids who immediately get farmed out.

Barkley might fit the bill and I would not be unhappy to see City risk £20m or less on him but he is a risk...

I don't we will be buying kids for the future this summer - we will be buying for Pep's first team. Thing with Barkley is that there's without question raw talent there. I'd like him, and whoever Pep signs i'll back his judgement, but you'll see from the reactions in the next 24 hours to that post by Tolmie that mentioning English players always leads to a meltdown from certain types.

 

[waspish]

I should really have texted you this but fuck it. Was talking to someone I know, a DJ, who knows Ross pretty well. My mate the DJ is an Arsenal fan so has no horse in the Barkley race. He reckons Ross has been tapped up by Klopp and that he is gonna run his contract down.

Yep skinflint Liverpool tapping up a player to get em for nought hey they aint done that before have they.

 

[BillyShears]

Disagree with you over Gundogan I think he was well on his way back to his Dortmund form when the new injury happened and while I agree those 2 have played too much, if we bring in another and then Gundogan does stay fit then immediately we get some unhappy players on the bench. We'll essentially be gambling that someone gets hurt.

The prospect of having Rose, Stones, Sterling and Barkley in the team would be an interesting one though...to be honest I've gone right off seeing City players in England shirts, too much pressure and abuse.

Like I said i hope i'm wrong on Gundogan.

The English player thing is significantly underestimated by many on here. IF, and it's a big IF, you can find players of the requisite talent, then buying English trumps buying foreign for a myriad of reasons. Team spirit, club identity, the lack of a threat that they will want to move abroad (home), their marketing worth, the long term effect upon your position within the league when it comes to buying other talented English players.

Essentially, what United did in the 90's. Buy all the best English players so that every emerging English player wants to play for you before anyone else. It took Wenger's success and Chelsea's money to break that stranglehold United had. Since then nobody has managed to establish control of the English players' market. I think City can and will over the next three or four years. Sterling + Stones were the start.

 

[Uptop]

Barkley seems quite similar to Kev in playstyle. Not been watching him too closely recently but felt he didnt have that level of intelligence needed to play an 8 for us. Has he improved on this? He has the technical talent.

For a cut price deal I would be happy to have him here but only if he is deemed good enough to start in our system, rather than being a bench warmer for when we get an injury. We have a real problem where our current backups are such a drop off in quality, even one or two changes makes a huge impact on our performances. Would like it if we had more equals in the squad with rotation rather than a clear A and B team. Seems we are heading for that approach with Pep.

 

[panne]

Mbappe does not impact on any other player we also wish to sign from Monaco.

Bakayoko to Chelsea, it would appear.

Monaco are open for business.

I would take £55-60m plus Isco for Sergio, simply because it serves two purposes?

Isco solves a longer term problem we will have when Silva eventually declines/Yaya leaves.

And means Mbappe effectively costs us £20m.

Monaco don't want to sell Mbappe and for it to happen it's going to take an astronomical figure.

Doubt Madrid will get involved with Aguero, they've got other targets that are priorities, PSG could be an option though.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

barkley would be a no brainer, especially for say 20m because of his contract running out. put him in midfield next to gundogan. stones, sterling and barkley in our side would be good and i think pep does want an english core to our side

 

[BAB.DAB]

Monaco don't want to sell Mbappe and for it to happen it's going to take an astronomical figure.

Doubt Madrid will get involved with Aguero, they've got other targets that are priorities, PSG could be an option though.

Think Madrid are already involved with Aguero

 

[BillyShears]

Monaco don't want to sell Mbappe and for it to happen it's going to take an astronomical figure.

Doubt Madrid will get involved with Aguero, they've got other targets that are priorities, PSG could be an option though.

Mbappe is also not interested in working with a manager who takes young players backwards in their development so thankfully we can rule United out of the race for him no matter how desperate, sorry astronomical, their offer is.

 

[domalino]

Monaco don't want to sell Mbappe and for it to happen it's going to take an astronomical figure.

Doubt Madrid will get involved with Aguero, they've got other targets that are priorities, PSG could be an option though.

Striker is quite clearly Madrid's priority position.

 

[panne]

Striker is quite clearly Madrid's priority position.

The position is, but Aguero isn't, Dybala and Aubameyang are targets ahead of him.