Kylian Mbappe

[OB1]

Yep, that sounds about right. I must say I'm surprised at Pep, if only because he should surely have realised after a year in the firing line, that the press in this country is a demented, click driven, banshee of an institution that will stick the knife into him and/or City, whether he conducts himself like St Francis of Asissi or Oliver Reed on a chat show with a free bar.
I presume the 'fair value' forces were at play when it came to Van Dyke as well then? If so, a great shame, as with VVD and Mbappe added to the squad I think we'd have been virtually unassailable next season

You are on form!

I know TH seemed to think we were never in for VVD but it does seem a bit odd that we weren't / aren't.

I'm a bit torn on this because I accept that our owner is entitled to want value for money on what he spends and the accountant in me applauds such things. However, the City supporter in me wants a huge statement made and wants Pep to have the best possible set of players so that we can blow a hole the like of which has been seen since dinosaurs became extinct in the Premier League and have a great chance of tearing through (most of) the UCL like a T.Rex dining on a tethered goat.

Does seem harsh though to criticise our club for being principled and disciplined.

 

[flb]

Summed up my feelings perfectly. All great teams had central figures in outstanding attackers, the impact such stars have both on and off the pitch is difficult to overesimate.

City's squad isn't perfect, but very close to perfection (CB+DM problems should be solved). But IMO serious problem is the absence of a huge attacking star to build the team around, like Guardiola did with Messi at Barcelona. The player that would guarantee goals, tactical advantage, fans' amusement and envy of rivals across the world at the same time. Aguero's powers are clearly on the wane now, he needs a replacement.

As for the price, all is relative. Contrary to some beliefs here, Mbappe isn't a 'potential' only, he's already the most clinical forward in Europe stats-wise, on par with Messi, easily in top 5 among strikers. He's the best teenager since Fenomeno and probably the next 'big thing' marketing-wise.
Mbappe's signing would mean a step to a different league, both in terms of performance and expectations.

Did Sheik wait for Pep for so long just to show how 'reasonable' his transfer policy is?

If we had managed to shift Hart, Mangala, Bony and Nasri for a modest total of say £50m then I'm pretty sure the Sheik would have green lighted an Mbeppe bid-as it happens he wont put the financial stability of the club at risk for the latest hotshot to hit the market-he needs commending for that IMO.

 

[Hamann Pineapple]

I can't really complain if we don't land him, we've had the best transfer window in the history of football.

 

[Harsh Lesson]

PSG didn't find an agreement with Mbappe and his father without having the finances to complete the deal. That would be gross incompetence, and they aren't run by grossly incompetent people.

 

[Neville Kneville]

Back to last years problem of many shots on goal but very few within the framework of the goalposts.

Our collective record was season long bad but no idea of who was the worst culprit.
Collectively when shooting on target we convert to goals well.

I think Pep is giving us more chances to shoot with our new attacking fullbacks then wanting better collective conversion of all shots on goal by bringing in new faces, just in case we cannot improve.
If we get more chances to shoot and are more accurate than last season we will score more goals and our defence will not have to be blamed too often if a single mistake results in a goal against.

You would.expect Aguero & DeBruyne in particular, to be able to improve on their finishing from last season.

Then we have Jesus, who missed most of it & Bernardo Silva, who is fully capable of scoring goals.

Then we have Sané & Sterling who are obviously capable of more, plus Diaz has shown he has the ability & imo although he will probably be binned, Pat Roberts is a great finisher , could be a real asset if he managed to come to terms with the Prem.

He could easily do the crucial goalscoring job Johnson did for Mancini imo.

 

[Blue Coop]

I can't really complain if we don't land him, we've had the best transfer window in the history of football.

Didn't we sign Yaya and Silva in the same?

 

[SilverFox2]

You would.expect Aguero & DeBruyne in particular, to be able to improve on their finishing from last season.

Then we have Jesus, who missed most of it & Bernardo Silva, who is fully capable of scoring goals.

Then we have Sané & Sterling who are obviously capable of more, plus Diaz has shown he has the ability & imo although he will probably be binned, Pat Roberts is a great finisher , could be a real asset if he managed to come to terms with the Prem.

He could easily do the crucial goalscoring job Johnson did for Mancini imo.

Yes, he seems to have covered every angle to get more goals, lets hope some if not all come to fruition.

 

[ADegenerate]

You have Pep Guardiola and he's earlier in his tenure while also having the image of being the biggest (second now) money club and that is never going to change yet you won't pull the trigger on the biggest prospect since Neymar for image/value reasons? FOH.

What the hell are you doing Khaldoon? Worried about value? How much value would winning the CL have?

 

[Blue Coop]

I think the club is right to question the price, i can understand either side of the argument, but the lack of links elsewhere makes me think that we are just negotiating rather than refusing. If Mbappe had another season under his belt at a similar level I think we'd pay up.

 

[Andrew___K]

You have Pep Guardiola and he's earlier in his tenure while also having the image of being the biggest (second now) money club and that is never going to change yet you won't pull the trigger on the biggest prospect since Neymar for image/value reasons? FOH.

What the hell are you doing Khaldoon? Worried about value? How much value would winning the CL have?

*pushing the non-existent like button*