Rumour Mill - Israeli Exchange at Eastlands?

With the European Championships and more specifically England dominating the back pages, you have to dig a little deeper for transfer rumours this Summer.  Some City fans have suggesting that we have been strangely quiet in the transfer market this year, but I am not so sure that is the case.  It is only June, and during tournament Summers, the majority of business is normally done in July.  That also ignores the fact that had things panned out differently we could already have made one significant signing in Eden Hazard.  On top of that, it is highly likely that we have an offer on the table for Robin Van Persie, and with the Netherlands massively under-performing the player could be making a decision on his future earlier than many expected.


So that is at least 2 deals that we have been involved in, and today we could possibly add a third.  It looks as if it could be one in, one out with regards to Israeli players this Summer, it was announced towards the end of last month that former Barcelona midfielder Gai Assulin would not see his contract at City extended and he was let go.  The 21 year old came to City after being released by the Catalan club 2 years ago, his career in Spain was marred by a string of injuries and when he was returning to fitness towards the end of his first campaign at City he picked up another serious injury playing for the reserves and he has never recovered from that.  A regular starter for the reserves, he has not been near the first team in a League Cup game, let alone the Premier League.  He did spend the end of the year on loan at Brighton and appeared in 7 games, whether they choose to swoop for the tricky winger on a permanent basis remains to be seen.

So whilst Assulin has seen his time at City come to an end it now appears he could be replaced by a compatriot, and that man is 20 year old Nir Biton.  Now that name might seem familiar to some of you, and that would be because the Daily Mail claimed a deal had been done in January, well that was just yet another story they got wrong.  Parts of it were true, he did spend a week on trial with the club, and he trained with the first team at Carrington, however despite murmurings in the press and supposedly impressing the clubs coaching team, he returned to Israel where he plays for MS Ashdod.


The 20 year old made his debut for his club in 2009 when he was 17, and he soon established himself to be one of the brightest talents in Israel, his success for his club has also seen him capped at international level making his debut for the national team in 2010.  At 6'5 it could be easy to assume that his game purely revolves around his physical prowess, but that would be doing the youngster a disservice.  If you are active on twitter, you will be aware of @Doug_mcfc, and how he is a regular at Carrington watching training sessions.  So he is in a good position to comment on the players ability and attributes.  During a couple of training games he commented on the players awareness, touch a good eye for goal, and went on to tell me that he believes the player can definitely have a future in England, maybe not at City, but somewhere in the top flight.

My only concerns revolve around the players age, not that he is too old, but at 20, I don't believe that is a player you would be signing as being 'one for the future', in recent years, players are breaking through at 16/17, so 20 is a relatively 'grown up' age for a Premier League player, so should this deal come off he should be expected to be taking part in first team activities.  If it is going to take him 2 to 3 years to be ready then I don't really see the point in bringing him in, at his age he has to be ready to make an instant impression on the squad.


It is again the Daily Mail that are claiming this deal is close to completion, no price is quoted but back in January the asking price was thought to be around £2million and I can't see it being much more than that now.  Of course the other issues are the work permit and national service, but again in January the players agent released a statement saying neither would be an issue because of the players 'exceptional potential'.

So really it could be a pretty exciting piece of business, other Premier League clubs were seemingly interested but it would appear that we have won out.  So maybe the transfer dealings are about to begin, who is going to be next? Gareth Bale maybe?  Watch this space...

Rumour Mill: Round Up Of Friday's Press Rubb....Stories

A fair few bits and bobs in the papers today, some of which are worth the time of day, some of which aren't even worth being wrapped around your sausage and chips.  Picking the wheat from the chaff isn't overly difficult in a few of these cases, but lets get on with it.


First up is the ongoing Nigel De Jong saga, Italian sporting website Tuttomercatoweb have tested my language skills (google translator) this morning and are reporting that Liverpool are keen to move for the Dutch destroyer.  In recent months the midfielder has started to get back to where he was last season, but he is still not one of the first names on the teamsheet as he has been in times gone by.  He still offers plenty, but whether he is content to remain a squad player is unclear, and on top of that the issues with his contract still persist.  De Jong has one year remaining on his current deal, an offer was on the table last Summer that was turned down, and it appears that an improved one is not forthcoming.  The Italian sports site reckons that King Kenny (or whoever makes the transfer decisions since the departure of Comolli)  would be prepared to offer around £15million, which to be honest would not be a bad deal considering he could theoretically leave for nothing next Summer.

Personally I would like to see him stay, he is a real fan favourite and has shown total commitment to the cause even during his contract troubles, I am sure a middle ground could be found to tie him down.  As for the Liverpool side of things, whilst De Jong is a top player in that position, it is one area that they already have quality, although he has been out all year Lucas does a very similar job and is an extremely good player so whether anything comes of their supposed interest remains to be seen.


De Jong is actually an important part of the next story as well, although this time he isn't the star! Step forward chimp like Tottenham flying machine Gareth Bale.  This one is splashed across the back page of The Mirror and surely that should tell you all you need to know about its credibility.  As I write this piece, the following quotes are spreading like wildfire on twitter:

"Gareth Bale is a fantastic player. But I don't think he will leave a big team like Tottenham,".

Make of that what you will, is Roberto trying to out 'Redknapp' Harry? The fact is that Gareth Bale probably will leave Spurs (one of many) should they miss out on Champions League football, and I would certainly have him at City....but not for the figures suggested in todays Mirror.  The paper reckon we are going to offer the ridiculous figure of £40million....plus Emmanuel Adebayor.....and Adam Johnson.....oh and Nigel De Jong as well.  To be quite honest if we did make that offer, Spurs would be absolute fools to not take it, but to offer that sum of money and then potentially 3 players worth about another 40? No chance!

Now to throw in a quick one before the main event!  Back to our Italian friends Tuttomercatoweb, and the future of Brazilian 'fullback' Dani Alves.  To keep to the point, he won't be joining City this Summer or any time soon.  He has been linked to us numerous times over the past few years, particularly during his protracted contract negotiations with Barcelona, but it is now reported that he wishes to stay in the Catalan capital for a while longer.


I can't see I am overly disappointed personally, we already have one fullback who struggles with the defensive side of his game (Kolarov) and I am not quite sure we need another, besides, with the marauding Micah Richards and the warrior-like Pablo Zabaleta I really don't see that area of the field as one that needs strengthening in the slightest.


Now for the big one...Eden Hazard!  It has been a very eventful few days for the Belgian, and there could now be the biggest indication as to where his future lies, well, at least geographically.  According to the rumour mongering French newspaper L'Equipe the wingers next move will definitely be to England, counting out the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, and more precisely, it will be to Manchester...which club though is still unknown.


Allegedly he was at the derby on Monday and more intriguingly there are claims that his people were entertained by the City delegation at the recent Wolves game.  These 2 events have led some in the media to suggest that we are in pole position for his signature, but I doubt it will be as straight forward as that as the United hierarchy are though to be extremely keen on securing him themselves.  Mancini and Vieira have flown to France on a couple of occasions to watch the 21 year old and both are said to have been extremely impressed.  

The decision for the player is relatively simple, he knows should he join City he will be part of a squad, but he will also earn more money and arguably be challenging for more honours, where as at United he is guaranteed to be a starter week in and week out.  The other advantage that we posses is the posse of French speakers we have, as well as the presence of his national captain Vincent Kompany.  Personally I expect the Hazard saga to run and run, but I would be very surprised if he ended up anywhere but Manchester, and if I had to pick, i'd say I can see him holding up the blue shirt in the near future.