Would still like to see one more winger and one more center back between this window and summer. Leon Bailey Matthijs de Ligt
Blimey that moved quickly. The reliable Nabil Djellit from France Football saying City have lodged a £59m bid for Mahrez. From the Guardian transfer blog thingie.
City have really been struggling this season it's good to see them solidify their squad with some much needed spending.
Play Bernando Silva as David Silva's backup in addition to Sterling's. Then Sane/Sterling/Mahrez for the wings. Aguero/Jesus at CF.
Right, I mean KDB and Dave will have to rotate at the other CM spot now so it’s not like Bernardo can play there
Mahrez was in Ligue 2 four years ago. He doesn't have to worry about playing time on a national team and the contract probably sets him up for life. From his angle I get it. From Citeh's, not so much.
Best case for Mahrez is he goes, gets paid, and stars for City competing for silverware. Worst case is he goes, sees limited playing time, gets paid, and then just gets loaned or sold to a top team in France/Spain/Italy. Not a bad deal at all for a guy at Leicester.
Leicester apparently said it'll take 90+ to get Mahrez, and they have that price because of the Coutinho and VvD deals. So good job #Liverpool
Athletic Bilbao sign Inigo Martinez from Real Sociedad as a Laporte replacement. Not often you see a player join their former club's direct rivals but Athletic's transfer policy means they make eligible players a priority. Nevertheless the next Basque Derby will be a fun watch.
I will always be fascinated at Bilbao's ability to compete at the top level despite their transfer policy
It's cool for sure but the downside is they kind of screw over the other clubs in the region like Osasuna.
Sure. I just find it amazing that they are always able to identify good basque talent that are able to slot in for guys that sell.
Is Osasuna not able to play hard ball? I’m not too knowing on La Liga, and I understand that at some point the asking price gets met, but it seems weird to me to say they all get screwed.
more often than not they already have someone in line to replace the sold player. also, someone as young as laporte usually isn’t sold
They poach academy players a lot iirc. Also the whole release clause thing leaves the clubs with little choice much of the time.
Seems like a decent comparison tbh. Both have players wanting to join them and aren't afraid to meet a release clause.
You sure about Süle? Hoffenheim had better offers (Chelsea) but Süle wanted Bayern. Hoffenheim originally had an asking price of 25M and settled for less than 20M with Bayern. Javi and Götze, yes. Coman obviously is a bit different of a situation.
I remember that being that talk when the transfer was completed, which makes sense given how cheap he was.