Forget Sanchez, We Should Get This Guy Before Someone Else Does...

As many of you may have noticed over the past couple of months I have grown pretty sick of the whole Alexis Sanchez saga, and as that continues to move at the pace of glacier I can't help but feel that we are missing a trick.

I think a lot of my indifference is down to the fact that I think there is a far better option out there who I think would be far more open to a move to England and Manchester City in particular, that man is World Cup winner Juan Mata.


Many of you will already be totally aware of the 23 year old who has lit up this Summers Under 21 European Championships.  The young Spaniard came through the ranks at Real Madrid and was part of their 'B' squad, but he never managed to move on to the first team, their loss was Valencia's gain where he has gone on to prove himself to be a fine prospect and a real asset.  I think he could offer us a huge amount and potentially be better suited to the Premier League than Sanchez.

He is very quick, can go round a man, has good delivery and also is a very accomplished finisher.   At 23, he is somewhat of a rising star in Spain and although there are issues with his strength David Silva has proved that you don’t have to built like a brick outhouse to survive.

Playing Mata left, Johnson right, with Silva through the middle behind Tevez or Dzeko I think we would carry a real threat.  There is a buyout clause in the players contract at £40million, but with the Spanish club struggling financially it has been suggested he could be secured for closer to £30million.  With a good salary on offer and his friend Silva also at the club I think he could be very tempted.

To me it is somewhat of a no brainer, it would be cheaper and easier than bringing in a player, who lets be honest, appears to have no interest in playing for this club.  The tabloids today carry stories about interest from Liverpool and particularly Arsenal, claiming Wenger is ready to put together a bid of around £18million which, when compared to the ridiculous figures we are supposedly offering for Sanchez, seems a real bargain.

Clearly in reality it will cost more than £18million to secure the player, but it would still come in cheaper than Sanchez and I cannot reiterate enough how much better I believe Mata to be.  His relationship with David Silva also cannot be underestimated they played together for Valencia and were understood to have a good friendship, whether he can convince his former team mate that Eastlands is the place to be remains to be seen, but it is certainly an avenue to pursue.

Obviously I don't mean to sound alarmist, there is still plenty of time before the season starts, but I am getting a little concerned about the lack of transfer news at City.  I can't help but think that currently we have all of our eggs in one basket in Sanchez and that we could risk missing out on potential other signings in the process...

Sanchez move edges closer

Alexis Sanchez could be confirmed as a Barcelona player in the next couple of days with the player's Spanish representative claiming the deal is now "80% done".

Sanchez will move to Camp Nou in a €45 million deal, part of which will see Spain Under-21 forward Jeffren Suarez move in the other direction and play for Udinese.

Quique Pina told Cadena COPE: "Right now Barcelona just have to iron out a few details, but it's practically done It's 80% done and the other 20% is what's to be ironed out.

"It's a figure close to €45 million, which is an initial value, including a player and other variables."

The Chilean FA gave Sanchez permission to leave the national team's training camp ahead of the Copa America so he could fly to Spain to complete his move.

Source

Rumour Mill - Double Swoop Being Lined Up?

As all City fans will be fully aware, the papers are full of utter nonsense (that isn't just limited to sport) and generally when it comes to transfers you can pretty much disregard anything they claim, especially when it's related to City.  One of the least reliable sources of transfer news is probably the Star, so why am I covering a story from that wonderful newspaper this afternoon?  The simple answer is because if their claims are true we will be onto a great signing.

The paper claim that Mancini is returning from Abu Dhabi after discussing Summer expenditure.  As has already been reported there won't be a huge influx of players during this window and money will be carefully monitored, the reports however suggest that the 2 players who will join the ranks will be Udinese winger Alexis Sanchez and Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen.  It is thought that it would cost the club £30million to secure Sanchez and a further £10million for the Belgian defender.

Sanchez has been a real star performer in Serie A this season and he has drawn plaudits from across Europe for a while.  City will face stiff competition for the players signature, and in all likelihood I think it will cost more than the £30million quoted, Udinese have already rejected a bid in that region from an unnamed club, there is also strong interest from Inter Milan who have made their desire for the player public knowledge so it could be a complicated deal.

He is in my opinion just the sort of player that we could do with, he is predominantly used on the wing and his excellent dribbling ability and electric pace would be a real asset.  Other than the soon to be departing SWP we don't really have a player who has the ability to beat a man using just speed and acceleration and at times I think it has been something we have desperately needed.  It is also worth noting that he is a goal scorer as well managing to notch up 12 goals in 27 appearances helping Udinese to a fine finish in Serie A.

The deal is probably less certain than the Star are making out, but it is clearly one that would be exciting, if we are only to bring in a couple of players this Summer I think a winger should definitely be one of the players we are looking at.

Roberto's second target according to the Star is defender Jan Vertonghen, someone again who has a bright future ahead of him.  The Ajax man has also been linked to Manchester United and Arsenal, but Mancini was present to watch him in person in the Dutch cup final recently, the paper also reports that the manager spoke to him personally after the game, supposedly this automatically means we are in pole position for his signature.

Whilst the potential signing of Sanchez makes perfect sense to me, the signing of Vertoghen I find slightly less understandable.  If Toure had been handed a longer ban, then we would be in need of another defender, but the Ivorian will be available again in September, and with a resurgent Joleon Lescott, and a brilliant Vincent Kompany I am not sure whether there is the need to spend £10million on another defender, especially with Dedryck Boyata looking a good prospect in need of games.

I don't mean to take anything away from the Belgian it just isn't a target that particularly appeals to me, a good player, but somewhat unnecessary in a transfer window where we are supposed to be curbing our spending.

Clearly there is also going to be a mass exodus this Summer as well, this £40million expenditure can be evened out by sales claim the Star.  The list of players heading for the exit door is long, Jo, Emmanuel Adebayor, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa-Cruz, Nedum Onuoha and Wayne Bridge will all be moved on, with the newspaper claiming these sales could bring in £40million to cover any expenses.  

That figure seems a bit high to me, but I think it would not be unreasonable to say we might be able to scrape together around £25million from the sale of all those.

To be fair to the Star they aren't claiming that either of the players are nailed on, and they aren't exactly new names in the frame.  The acquisition of Sanchez would really not surprise me, but Vertonghen, I may need some convincing.