BillyShears said:
franksinatra said:
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That is the interesting part though isn't it. He was available on a free transfer, had worked with Pellegrini before, would clearly like the opportunity to play for us in the Premier league but we did not wish to sign him and was prepared to spend 25 million instead on Pepe. For whatever reason he was not considered suitable even on a free.
You've just answered your own question and completely contradicted the notion of him being a panic buy. We obviously felt at some point that Pepe was an attainable target, so moving for Demichelis wasn't a priority. However when it became apparent that Pepe wasn't available we moved for a player the manager knows, has worked with, and who was one of the standout performers in la liga last season, in a team that overachieved quite considerably. The opposite of a panic buy.
Not a contradiction at all. By chasing Pepe all summer, and as you say believing this was attainable, we were left to purchase a player as back up (when he wanted a first choice centre back) on the closing day of the transfer window, who was previously available on a free, costing 4 million for a player with no likely sell on value.
He may prove a very good buy and without doubt has been a fantastic player in the past, but lets face it he was not first choice and was clearly not the profile of player the manager wanted e.g a first choice centre half.
Maybe it depends on your definition of panic buy I suppose.
