Romelu Lukaku on his way to City ?

[alera]

Reports emanating from Belgium are claiming that Manchester City have won the race to sign teenage striking sensation Romelu Lukaku.

The 17-year-old has emerged as the hottest property in European football following his goalscoring exploits for Anderlecht and the Belgium national team over the past 18 months.
Chelsea were believed to be leading the chase for his signature with Lukaku a self-confessed Chelsea fan who idolises Didier Drogba but now it seems as if cash-rich City have beaten them to his signature.

According to Sport Foot magazine, representatives for City, Anderlecht and the player have been in talks over the past few weeks hammering out a deal and an agreement has been reached whereby the player will move to Eastlands in the summer. Already boasting a strike force of Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko, Lukaku might struggle for playing time in Manchester but it seems as if he is happy to take up the challenge.
As much as it is a transfer coup for Roberto Mancini's team, it is a huge blow to Chelsea who saw the teenager as the ideal replacement for Drogba, who turns 33 in March, and would have been a player to help lfire the Blues through the next decade.

Source :

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.sportingo.com/football/a17825_manchester-city-stun-chelsea-seal-lukaku-transfer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.sportingo.com/football/a1782 ... u-transfer</a>

Fits in with our strategy of signing the best young players. We could get 10 years out of this lad. Just slightly better than signing 29 / 30 year old RSC and Bellamys etc.....

 

[johnny crossan]

Lukaku has NOT signed for Man City.
Yet another of Europe`s top talents, Romelu Lukaku, has snubbed Chelsea, preferring to become the 23rd striker on Manchester City`s books. Except that this time the rumour is rubbish.

Yesterday Belgian football magazine Sport/Foot wrote an excitable piece that Lukaku, the 17 year-old who has set the Belgian Jupiler League on fire (not literally) was on the cusp of signing with Manchester City with a view to joining the club in the summer. Sport/Foot pointed out that he would join his team-mate in the Belgian national team, Vincent Kompany, at City. That`s quite a coup for City: Lukaku scored 15 goals last season when he broke into the Anderlecht first team. This season he already has 10 to his name … as well as two for the Belgian national team.

"Lukaku has already reached an agreement with Manchester City for a transfer in July", said the magazine. "The Manchester club overtook the favourites for his signature, Liverpool and Chelsea". Apparently Lukaku`s lawyers and agents were meeting on Wednesday to tie up the contract having worked for two weeks. Only this week, Lukaku had expressed his preference to go to the Premier League, turning his back on one of his suitors: Real Madrid. He`d also declared his admiration for Didier Drogba, which many interpreted as a 'come-and-get-me` plea to Chelsea.

But having been pipped by Manchester City, it would appear that the age-old 'XXXX snubs Chelsea to sign for YYYYY` headline was being revived. Cue also a load of articles asking whether Chelsea still have it in the transfer market. Since Chelsea were the favourites for some time, many in the UK media portrayed this as a particularly hurtful failure for Chelsea.

The only problem: the rumour in Sport/Foot magazine is rubbish. The real situation is that City are interested, but that that is it. Apparently the rumour was put out there by a load of agents who wanted to turn the rumour into fact. So declares the Belgian daily newspaper 'La Dernière Heure / Les Sports`, which is not one of the best newspapers in Belgium but which is an authority when it comes to the sport in the country.

Manchester City is one of many clubs interested in the Red Devil, alongside a number of other Big English Clubs. But City`s involvement does not go any further. No negotiation has taken place between Anderlecht and City. Discussions will / could take place in the coming months. As with any other of Lukaku`s suitors.

And La Dernière Heure concludes that this is a saga that still has a lot of legs in it.


Read more: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=521827#ixzz1BUOHLFYd" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/ ... z1BUOHLFYd</a>

 

[keemcfc]

We could get 10 years out of this lad. Just slightly better than signing 29 / 30 year old RSC and Bellamys etc.....

Well, if we got some 17 year olds instead of players like Bellamy, Adebayor, SWP and Lescott, then we would be about 8th in the league now.

You cant go from 10th to buying the Yayas, Silvas, Balos and Džekos of the world, you need to start somewhere and you shouldn't buy youth before ready made talent unless you want to slow the project down by a few years.

Now is the perfect time to buy young players as we have the money to, already have a title winning team and can spend less on them now and let them develop into 1st teamers for say £10 mill, rather than buy them later when he new rules come in for triple the money.

 

[Drog_Town_Punk]

It's all over twitter at the moment with different sports writters n corrospondants saying that his representatives are due in Manchester this week over a move which has been trashed out over the last 15 days although it's being said he's not joining til July

 

[Lord Blue]

Chelsea have started negotiations in an attempt to land Belgian teenagers Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne. A £3.5m bid for RC Genk attacking midfielder De Bruyne has been reportedly accepted, while Anderlecht are looking for at least £17.5m for their 18-year-old striker.
Full story: Daily Telegraph

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/default.stm

I was kinda hoping we were going to get this lad, the telegraph think chelsea are chatting to him

 

[MCFC BOB]

City, we can't lose this lad. Please.

 

[bluemonkey71]

Come on city sort it out

 

[Matt the Giant]

I am very pleased and impressed with how we have made it a point to recruit young players. I don't know if this is due to Mancini's strategy/vision or the owners, but it's sweet!
I just hope we have the facilities and the staff, the social and philosophical structure to make everyone who comes here to feel as if they just came home, a place where they will developed into the best players they could possibly become and to grow a deep love for our club.

 

[samharris]

Come on Vinny...have a word. !!

 

[eastlands oasis]

I am very pleased and impressed with how we have made it a point to recruit young players. I don't know if this is due to Mancini's strategy/vision or the owners, but it's sweet!
I just hope we have the facilities and the staff, the social and philosophical structure to make everyone who comes here to feel as if they just came home, a place where they will developed into the best players they could possibly become and to grow a deep love for our club.

the proposed new training complex to be built near the stadium is supposed to have accomodation/school and everything else built on site according to reports. maybe then what you say will become a reality, with the kids coming in all being part of the "City family", as well as training and rubbing shoulders with the first team (rather than like now in the seperate Platt Lane) it all helps to create the right atmosphere for young players to develop and be nurtured as part of the club