Speaking to Sport, Martin Petrov’s agent played down talk of the Bulgarian leaving City during this transfer window.
When asked if he thought Petrov would be leaving, Wolfgang Voege said:
“No, I think he will stay will Manchester City. We have had a few calls from German clubs regarding him, but nothing concrete.
“We will see maybe in the January [transfer window] how he is going. But, as you know the next ten days in football are interesting. However, I think he will stay with City.”
He also denied Harry Redknapp had been in touch when asked. It appears City weren’t anticipating Petrov’s comments and presumably Hughes wasn’t impressed, especially as we’ve nursed him back to fitness following his injury with the Bulgarian national team.
This sounds like the agent backtracking on behalf on his client, though naturally not wishing to rule out the idea of a transfer at some point.
With the number of new forwards at City, it is far from clear how things will pan out in the coming months and it wouldn’t make sense for Hughes to start letting go of players who could well be required. Petrov certainly comes into this category
As arguably our most dangerous crosser I’m sure Hughes has considered the idea of him as a supply line for Santa Cruz and Adebayor. He’s also versatile enough to switch flanks during a game, as is Robinho who can also play as a second striker. Therefore the presence of the Brazilian doesn’t preclude Petrov from first team action.
There’s a second reason why it could make sense for Petrov and his agent to wait till January. Given he missed virtually the whole of last season with injury, potential buyers might like to see him play a few games before committing themselves to paying a large wage for a thirty year old with a history of knee problems.
Speaking to the Bulgarian paper Dnevnik, Martin Petrov was concerned he may only be used from the bench this season.
“I don’t see City depending too much on me this year, at least from what I have seen from the pre-season friendlies so far. No footballer is content with polishing the bench and I am no exception.”
As to a possible transfer:
“There were several inquiries but no offers as of yet.”
I doubt Hughes would want to let him go as he likes to have wide players who can put in a good cross. However if we play with a single striker then Robinho is ideally suited to playing on the left with his ability to cut inside and goalscoring threat.
Petrov remains a fantastic option as an out and out winger if we want to play 4-4-2 and he also chips in with a few goals. Hughes wants to have different options as well as quality cover so hopefully he’ll convince Petrov of his importance. The Bulgarian should get plenty of game time this season even if he doesn’t always start.
One of the big tests this season for Hughes will be his man-management skills in keeping quality players happy when they’re not an automatic choice. This is essential when managing big clubs in the modern game, but didn’t appear to be his forte last season when it came to our Brazilian contingent.
Latest news from the Everton site says that Everton have rejected a formal transfer request from Joleon Lescott.
The player has subsequently submitted a written request to leave the Club which manager David Moyes immediately rejected.
“I have always said that we are not selling any players and that hasn’t changed,” said Moyes.
There’s little more the player can do now. It’s a big step for Lescott as I guess this would have waived any right he had to a loyalty bonus and risked his relationship with both the club and fans on Merseyside.
It’s not a surprise to hear Moyes reject the idea of selling his main central defender a few days before the start of the new season. It’s also hard not to feel some sympathy for the player, but I wouldn’t be surprised if City moved on to Upson or Distin with the new season only days away.
Surely it can’t be true, but if you read this morning’s newspaper headlines you’d be forgiven for thinking we were about to do deals for each of the left-sided central defenders.
To add to the confusion, the stories come from three of the more reliable City writers. Ian Ladyman has an EXCLUSIVE in the Mail that we’re set to sign Lescott:
Sportsmail believes the transfer will be completed in the next 36 hours.
After privately declaring the move all but dead over the weekend, it is understood
City were given encouragement on Monday afternoon and are now hopeful of having the player in their line-up to face Blackburn.
David Hytner in The Guardian follows Daniel Taylor in believing a deal for Upson is on the cards:
Manchester City will encounter little resistance from West Ham United if they follow up their interest in Matthew Upson with a bid of around £15m.
Finally Ian Herbert, who recently followed City in South Africa, writes in The Independent:
Manchester City are ready to move to bring their former captain Sylvain Distin back to the club, as West Ham’s demands for Matthew Upson’s services are proving higher than the Premier League’s big spenders are willing to pay.
Just for good measure The Express has Joleon Lescott “considering handing in a written transfer request”.
If the Lescott deal really is back on, then that would clearly be Hughes’ preferred signing. However until we hear something from Everton to that effect then I’ll have my doubts.
Thirty year old Matthew Upson appears next in line, though Cook is only willing to pay £10m and West Ham are looking for £15m. Talk of City turning their attention to Distin could just be an attempt to lower West Ham’s asking price.
Personally I’d rather have Distin than Upson. He’s taller, quicker and better able to cover for an attacking full-back, which we have in Bridge. We might have to move quick for Distin as several other teams are also interested in the Frenchman.
There’s a lot of speculation that the signing of a new tall centre-half will mean the departure of Richard Dunne, which would certainly be ironic if we bring in Distin. For me our old central defensive ‘twin towers’ could be the best option for taking on the aerial assault at Blackburn. I’d hold 5′ 11″ Kolo Toure back for this one.
