The 'Epic' transfer rumour thread

[lee]

another window so may as well say it

hamsik?



think gundyfella can do pretty much what he can  so ill file him away with zlatan in the "oh well, would  have been nice to have" cupboard

only the blue of napoli will we see him mate

[goat]

hes playing against  wales  tomorrow

[Rowley Birkin QC]

OK, it's Friday, so time for a quick re-cap...

Signed -
Ilkay Gundogan (midfielder, 25, Borussia Dortmund)

Plausible rumours -
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (striker and part-time winger, 26, Borussia Dortmund)
Leroy Sané (winger or attacking mid, 20, Schalke)
Oleksandr Zinchenko (attacking midfielder, 19, Ufa)
Aymeric Laporte (defender, 22, Athletic Bilbao)
John Stones (defender, 22, Everton)

Of the "Plausible rumours" Oleksandr Zinchenko may be a done deal, but not confirmed by City yet.

[goat]

you will be  busy next few days, any player that has a decent game will be linked with us by the papers and  of course the rags to pretend they still matter

[zacc]

plus Swiss is away

[nimrod]

Real Sociedad sporting director Juarros has admitted City's interest in goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli (24) is making it difficult to sign him.

Juarros: "There is a third party investment fund, which gives a first option to Manchester City [for Rulli]."

[nimrod]

Cant we buy someone who hasnt got a broken leg

Aymeric Laporte could finally become a Manchester City player in the next week, with Marca believing a conclusion to this drawn-out saga is near.

According to the Spanish newspaper, Athletic Bilbao are now working under the idea that their prized asset will soon be wearing the sky blue of Manchester City. City have been linked with Laporte for over a year, but it was a story last December, in which Mundo Deportivo claimed Laporte, Gündoğan and Thiago would be Pep’s three main targets at City, that really kickstarted the rumour.

Laporte has had an offer since March to join Guardiola at the Etihad, but his strong loyalty to the Basque club has raised questions about whether he’d make the big move. Athletic have been due to offer the 22-year-old an improved contract, but Marca say there is ‘no progress’ on that front and his club seem to believe he is Manchester-bound.

A serious injury to Laporte also cast further doubt about the deal happening, but having monitored his recovery, City appear satisfied and have not been put off. Marca claim Laporte is fully aware that if he turns down Pep Guardiola this summer, he may never get the chance again.

The story states that City hope to sign Laporte in the next week and will activate his â,¬50 million (£39.46 million) release clause. One of Europe’s most sought-after young defenders, Laporte would be City’s second high-level signing of the summer after the £20 million capture of Ä°lkay GündoÄŸan from Borussia Dortmund

[goat]

aaron mooy is  todays name

expected to be sent to belgium

[zacc]

and Payet too

[Lekos]

Laporte has extended his contract with Bilbao to 2020. 70m release clause - it's on their official twatter.

[goat]

is he worth 70?

[gavin]

On to the next one then...

[Rowley Birkin QC]

Laporte has extended his contract with Bilbao to 2020. 70m release clause - it's on their official twatter.

Bloody Hell! They're taking the piss 

[zacc]

keep him then

[Rowley Birkin QC]

Second string (?    ) goal keeper might be Víctor Valdés (keeper, 34, technically still a rag I think)

Not sure how seriously to take this one. It makes sense because of the Pep connection when he was at Barcelona, but could be just the journalists joining the dots.

[Swiss]

plus Swiss is away

In Gdansk today :-)

[lee]

hamsik was top as usual today

[Rowley Birkin QC]

Some mutterings in the Italian press about Pep's supposed interest in Stephan Lichtsteiner. Not sure whether the Italian press is any better informed than the UK's... and he is getting on a bit.

A little more solid perhaps is the admission by Celta Vigo president Carlos Mouriño that he won't be able to hang on to Nolito this summer. Barcelona (probably the favourites to get him), Spuds and City are apparently chasing him (14.3 million pound release clause). 

Lots of half-arsed rumours doing the rounds at the moment, but I think we can stick the above two in as "possibles" -

Stephan Lichtsteiner (right back, 32, Juventus)
Nolito (left winger, 29, Celta Vigo)

The latter interest might just be insurance in case the Leroy Sané deal falls through - which according to some reports, is moving closely.

[Swiss]

Why the hell would we buy a 32 yo rb to replace either sagna or zabba???

And Nolito is surely only a short term option at 29?

[Rowley Birkin QC]

Yes - to both of those points