The Daily ITK and Transfer Discussion Thread - 12th August

[wrd]

I think Levy stance so far has been fine up until this point but now we know more about the market, the hope is that he listens to his advisors and we find a compromise but because of Levy's approach thus far, I imagine City have had to move the needle our way quite significantly.

 

[StanSpur]

Thanks for sharing Trix, this is disappointing from Levy and sums up why he needed to move away from the football decisions as its cases like this where we need to do what is best for the football side of the club, obviously still taking into account a fair price and keeping financially sustainable but as FP and Hitchen think, the player wants to go and we won't get a better opportunity than now to sell at max price and to re-invest that whilst the European clubs are struggling financially.

However it also depends on what price Levy is being stubborn towards, the info we have right now is that City offered £100m which is obviously far too low so if Levy is holding out for say £200m straight cash and will not budge at all then that will work out badly for us. If he's just playing poker and trying to squeeze City for as much as they can give but will ultimately sell at a good price like for example when we sold Bale to Madrid then great and I take it all back.

Its a game of poker right now but hopefully with the pressure and football insights from FP & SH as well as Kane kicking up a fuss, if City come back with a reasonable next offer then lets hope we can meet at a middle ground soon and all move on with our lives.

Real shame its come to this with Kane but it is what it is and lets make the best decision for the overall benefit of the football club.

COYS.

But it is not simply a footballing decision though is it? The figures impact the company's P&L. No club purely puts all cash from sales into a pot to buy from. Levy needs to see the wider picture for running the club as a business entity and set his DoF the challenge to support the business need. I dont see this as a blocker and if there is a deal to be done with City this summer i am sure it will happen even if that means a little bend at the last minute. The problem i foresee in not selling is that City will turn to Haaland next summer as he is younger and would offer a better return on the investment, City know this hence they aren't in a hurry to blow £150 on Harry now. Harry knows this hence he may sign a new deal and then go abroad in 1-2 years.

 

[Lo Amo Speroni]

My issue is not DL holding out but with him not listening to Fabio and Hitchen. Let them get on with the rebuild working to their budget which includes what they DECIDE to sell Kane for.

 

[McFlash]

You forgetting he refused point blank to sell Modric to Chelsea the season before he left for Madrid. He was also adamant not to sell Berbatov but Ramos pleaded with him to let him go because he was concerned it would affect the rest of the squad if he stayed. That's why it happened so late... He backed the manager and has regretted it ever since. 99.9% of players move on when they are unhappy.

Not to mention that Levy ensured Bale was announced late so we didn't get shafted on his replacements.
I don't find fault in Levy for any of those. Yes, the Frasier Campbell situation was a bit shit but it was a long time ago, there were reasons behind it and (as much as I don't want to use the term), lessons were learnt.

 

[Guernman]

There is no denying that this is a great market for a club with cash, but I would sooner we secure other avenues of credit than sell Kane on the cheap. His being here also attracts better players and more lucrative sponsorship.

 

[HobbitSpur]

With regards the CM/DM situation... How much longer do we have to wait for Ndombele and Lo Celso to reach close to their potential, you could argue both have regressed since joining.

Skipp has the potential, so would not want to see someone get ahead of him who is only a small upgrade.

PEH is good, but Top 4 good?

So definitely sensible looking to strengthen, but lets ensure they are of sufficient quality. All the links so far don't seem much of an upgrade to me.

This is 100% not an argument with you or your post.

But I always think when people say “top 4 good” that is more than the player. An example that always comes to mind is Dennis Irwin for Utd.

Was he a world class player?
Probably not.

Would he have had the same effect in a different team?
Probably not.

However the attributes he possessed fitted into a team/strategy where the sum of all parts far exceeded any thing else.

I feel this way about PEH. Is he the best in that position. Probably (obviously) not. However as part of a team I think he could prove invaluable.

You obviously cannot build an entire squad on this ethos but I feel that PEH will prove to be a pivotal part of our team. Our own “Dennis Irwin”.

 

[Guernman]

My issue is not DL holding out but with him not listening to Fabio and Hitchen. Let them get on with the rebuild working to their budget which includes what they DECIDE to sell Kane for.

there is nothing to suggest that Levy is ignoring Fabio or Hitchen, but can you imagine the joy in City's camp if they knew that Levy had stepped back and they will be negotiating with two guys desperate to rebuild the squad with the Kane money?

 

[spids]

There are two key things here:

1. If Kane is sold we have to use the money we receive to strengthen this window. It really is a buyers market if you have cash.
2. We cannot let City pull our pants down, neither can we let the player dictate to us (through bad behaviour) - it sets an unwanted precedent.

I am sure that Paratici, Hitching and Levy are trying to balance those two objectives together to get the right result. I would prefer it if Levy just said to Paratici this is our minimum price and disappeared on holiday to Florida and just let him get on with it.

Don't forget that Kane only returns to team training today and is several weeks behind the other players in terms of conditioning. Realistically he will not be fit to contribute properly for another two weeks. Any blame on the team not being optimal on match day one should lay at the player's door and not Levy's / Paratici's.

 

[Lo Amo Speroni]

there is nothing to suggest that Levy is ignoring Fabio or Hitchen, but can you imagine the joy in City's camp if they knew that Levy had stepped back and they will be negotiating with two guys desperate to rebuild the squad with the Kane money?

Why would City know and who said they were desperate.

 

[Pochie]

I think we’re right to be looking at strengthening the midfield. Skipp is green, Ndombele a risk, Winks is back up at best, Dele likely to be found out in CM and Lo Celso while quality has been fragile. Definitely need more options here.

We need a beast - a talented one.

 

[GetSpurredOn]

This worries me and gives me vibes of a very late transfer, which may end up getting us more money for him, but not enough time to spend it.

During any other summer that may well be right I agree, but we’ve had plenty of ITK suggesting the clubs on the continent are financially crippled and Paratici is very aware of this. Many are under huge pressure to sell to satisfy banks. As such a club with cash in hand going into the last few days is in a strong bargaining position against a club that needs to sell to raise money urgently.

 

[13VanDerBale13]

So as it seems, everything is hinging on Kane's future. which imo will go down to the wire = squeaky bum time

 

[stevensthfc]

I'm happy Levy is handling the Kane situation.

 

[snakehipsspurs]

Hitchen/Paratici and Levy are Good Cop, Bad Cop-ing the shit out of City.

Give us the £150m, or Levy will slam your head through a desk.

 

[soflapaul]

To be fair to him (and he deserves lots of criticism) he was probably only ever going to do this with one player (Kane). This isn't a player that you easily discard or let go for a lower valuation. Levy is seeing the bigger picture in his mind. And if City do come back with a bigger bid or close to what DL wants, then everyone wins.

Agreed. This is a both a tactical football decision and a strategic business decision. You better believe that he'll be involved in the potential sale of one of the club's most important assets.

 

[arunspurs]

It’s not just about getting better value this window. It’s very much possible teams are willing to reluctantly sell a star this window for getting cash on books vs not willing to sell at all next season when revenue is back.

 

[jackson]

I think I make Fab and Levy are both right on this, now is a good time to sell him and re-invest the money as in a years time he will be devalued and prices to rebuild on the whole most likely on the up but also it has to be at our price, not at discount or palmed off with overvalued players we don't want.

I guess the problem is will city go to our price, most likely guess would be if they did it would be very late on, which would leave us fucked

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

The problem is not if any of us agree with Levy in regard to Kane - is that Levy still hasn't removed himself from the football side of the club.

I think Levy can fairly insist that his DoF negotiate an eye watering transfer fee, but needs to recognise he knows nothing about actual football.

Selling the club's biggest asset is a lot bigger decision than simply being about football.

 

[idontgetit]

Selling Kane for what he's worth now and using the money to invest while there's a buyers market would be wise, but that isn't the problem is it. The problem is that there is only one club interested and they do not want to pay what he's worth. So it's not like Levy is being an idiot, especially if you factor in the potential of Kane firing us into a CL spot worth god knows how many millions.

 

[chrisd2k]

The more I think about it the more I think we have to get as much as we can and sell. Other players becoming available next summer, potential injury, better finances for clubs next summer than the desperate position they are in now. A slightly lower offer is worth more this summer.

It feels wrong saying that but unfortunately that's the situation. From a pure business view point it's a no brainer if you take the emotion out of the equation.