Grealish To City? | City bid £100M

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Beachryan

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He's a great player but doesn't play where ourselves or City are weakest. So kind of a strange signing for me.

City have an entire squad of great-touch, close-control creative attacking forwards. They have an ancient, creaking defensive midfielder whose cloak of invisiblity to yellows will at some point rip - that's where they should be looking. For whatever reason Rodri hasn't been able to step in and do it. Plus, they only have one centre forward who I'm still not wholly convinced by.

So you bring on Grealish to take Silva's place? Or Sterling's? Does that really improve City that much? How will KdB react to not being the fulcrum? It's just unnecessary.

Similarly for us, would have made sense pre-Bruno but in no world do you need Grealish and Bruno - they're too similar, occupy the same spaces and fulfill the same role in the team.

I guess maybe City will go full Pep, haul off Jesus and somehow play KdB, Grealish, Mahrez, Silva and Sterling in some kind of constantly swapping swarm.
 

bosnian_red

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You're forgetting that we've signed all manner of "set piece specialists", that when they get to us, never even hit the target again, let alone score.

Depay the absolute best example.
Sancho isn't really some set piece specialist, that was just the first goal in that video but it was more a highlight vid. But yeah everyone's set pieces go to shit with United anyway, but thats completely unrelated to Sancho anyway. Maybe more relevance into how Grealish's elite trait of winning fouls would be much help for us ;)
 

Beachryan

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A billion in five years. Mental when you put it like that. 200 million a year. It's impossible to operate as a profitable business and keep up with that.
Weird how Barca and Madrid are now bankrupt. Am sure it's unrelated :/
 

Idxomer

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It's truly pitiful to see United fans doing everything they can to discredit Grealish because he's joining City. Let's face reality. This is the type of signing Ferguson used to make when United were on top. Not content to rest on the past season's success, he would bring in fresh talent to rejuvenate and motivate the squad, crushing the rest of the Premier League by signing its best players for fees others cannot compete with. Guardiola is following in Ferguson's footsteps. It might be a harsh reality to face, but it's the truth.
Sorry, what Pep and City are doing has nothing to do with Fergie and it's insulting to him to even suggest that.
 

OrcaFat

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Not sure why people are determined to compare Sancho and Grealish. Sancho has a much brighter future and will likely be a better player but City's squad is just incredible. Adding a player like Grealish just gives them another player who can win a game on his own. That highlight of him falling over is pretty funny though.
I’m not sure why you are comparing Sancho and Grealish.
 

Sparky Rhiwabon

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Yeah sometimes you have to pay that little more when you really need a particular profile of player. Similar to what we had to do when we purchased Maguire.

Thing is though, is Grealish the type of player City need? A ball carrying midfielder? They have a few, whereas we have none.
Maybe they are signing him so that we can't
 

Walters_19_MuFc

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They don't really play the same position. When Grealish goes, they'll be signing someone more suited to playing centrally.
Grealish is a left winger. He may play as an 8/10 for City but the majority of his time, especially since moving up to the EPL, Villa have played him on the left.
 

DWelbz19

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It's truly pitiful to see United fans doing everything they can to discredit Grealish because he's joining City. Let's face reality. This is the type of signing Ferguson used to make when United were on top. Not content to rest on the past season's success, he would bring in fresh talent to rejuvenate and motivate the squad, crushing the rest of the Premier League by signing its best players for fees others cannot compete with. Guardiola is following in Ferguson's footsteps. It might be a harsh reality to face, but it's the truth.
We’ve literally signed Jadon Sancho for feck sake. This place is absurdly in love with this guy and I really cannot fathom why
 

OrcaFat

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It's more a case of you don't go to improve your already best performing positions and ignore your really weak areas. We needed a partner for Maguire. We needed a creative RW (and this one is equally good on either wing luckily), and we need deeper midfielder. Literally the last positions of need were LW and #10, so we were never going to go for him.
All good points!
 

red thru&thru

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Depending on what you class as a ball carrying midfielder we do have plenty ourselves especially if you're included the wide forwards (which why wouldn't you as that's where Grealish will likely be playing for City)

I do feel Grealish would fit in better with us than with City though, he's a bit of a maverick on the pitch whereas at City he'll have to adapt to exactly what Pep wants him to do
I exclude our wingers. I mean for City they have the likes of Ilkay, someone who can pick it up from the middle of the park and go past a few players whilst carrying the ball. This is the kind of player we miss.

Pogba can do it I suppose but very rarely see it. Maybe it's more to do the way we set up or something?!
 

Rajiztar

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He's a great player but doesn't play where ourselves or City are weakest. So kind of a strange signing for me.

City have an entire squad of great-touch, close-control creative attacking forwards. They have an ancient, creaking defensive midfielder whose cloak of invisiblity to yellows will at some point rip - that's where they should be looking. For whatever reason Rodri hasn't been able to step in and do it. Plus, they only have one centre forward who I'm still not wholly convinced by.

So you bring on Grealish to take Silva's place? Or Sterling's? Does that really improve City that much? How will KdB react to not being the fulcrum? It's just unnecessary.

Similarly for us, would have made sense pre-Bruno but in no world do you need Grealish and Bruno - they're too similar, occupy the same spaces and fulfill the same role in the team.

I guess maybe City will go full Pep, haul off Jesus and somehow play KdB, Grealish, Mahrez, Silva and Sterling in some kind of constantly swapping swarm.
To be honest sterling has great touch in fifa may be. But he absolutely broke many city attacks due to poor touch. He will simply play grealish as false 9 as city front 3 didn't have permanent position but interchangeable.

Sterling provided width assuming play against weak right full backs. But general play other than counter attack he didn't add value to city s attack in general play because of his poor touch.

So why he reduced to bench player even last season. Many city fans had grudge towards pep because of starting sterling instead of defensive midfielder in cl final. Grealish will reduce sterling bit part player in my opinion if not he was already. So why city try to swap sterling as make weight player to bring in kane.
 
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mu4c_20le

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Would be a lot of money, even for them, to spend to block us getting him. Plus, we'd never have entertained the option of buying for £100m.
Probably a bit of both.. so we liverpool and chelsea cant get him, and also they are getting their de bruyne replacement in a year or two earlier
 

Pickle85

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To be honest sterling has great touch in fifa may be. But he absolutely broke many city attacks due to poor touch. He will simply play grealish as false 9 as city front 3 didn't have permanent position but interchangeable.

Sterling provided width assuming play against weak right hand side full backs. But general play other than counter attack he didn't add value to city s attack in general play because of his poor touch.

So why he reduced to bench player even last season. Many city fans had grudge towards pep because of starting sterling instead of defensive midfielder in cl final. Grealish will reduce sterling bit part player in my opinion if not he was already. So why city try to swap sterling as make weight player to bring in kane.
Can't see Grealish working as a false nine. Not sure he's ever played that role has he?
 
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It means what it says on the tin. He has De Bruyne, Foden, Silva, Sterling, Torres and Jesus and still feels the need to sign a player that will cost them 100M. Its fecking ridiculous!
The money is no proof he thinks they are the best player even in his own squad though, just like with Mahrez, he felt the need despite an embarrassment of riches to buy him too for 60 million quid, then spent a long time using him as a bit part player.

He’s playing a game with a bottomless pit, he wants Grealish, City have that bottomless pit.
 

The Red Thinker

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This would be a devastating signing for the league. They needed a striker more but this signing will be blockbuster. They’ll be too bloody good in attack.
 

Walters_19_MuFc

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The money is no proof he thinks they are the best player even in his own squad though, just like with Mahrez, he felt the need despite an embarrassment of riches to buy him too for 60 million quid, then spent a long time using him as a bit part player.

He’s playing a game with a bottomless pit, he wants Grealish, City have that bottomless pit.
So why did he opt out of Maguire's 80M price tag?
 

Steamboat Willy

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At least City can’t afford to spend a lot on transfers as Pep told us. Imagine if they could go out and spend big….
 

Walters_19_MuFc

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This would be a devastating signing for the league. They needed a striker more but this signing will be blockbuster. They’ll be too bloody good in attack.
You've just said it, though. They are signing a player who is very creative but they will still lack a proper number 9, and actually, whenever we played them last year, on the whole, they were easy to play against because they had little threat in the box. Tuchel worked that out, too.

Basically, I think i'd prefer them to get Grealish than Kane. If they get both, then Pep can feck off.
 
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So why did he opt out of Maguire's 80M price tag?
Did he?

Maguire made it clear he wanted to join United, he’s said that himself in a recent interview, that he told Pep that. Same for RVP right.

I don’t see Pep ever opting out, he clearly gives zero shits about what the effect of City’s state ownership has even on the likes of his “beloved” Barca trying ot keep up and when he’s spent a billion quid in 5 years he clearly gives zero fecks about how much that state spend for him.
 
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izec

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You've just said it, though. They are signing a player who is very creative but they will still lack a proper number 9, and actually, whenever we played them last year, on the whole, they were easy to play against because they had little threat in the box. Tuchel worked that out, too.

Basically, I think i'd prefer them to get Grealish than Kane. If they get both, then Pep can feck off.
They will sign a striker. Do you really think they wont buy one? They will go for Kane, but even if they dont get him, they will find someone else. Grealish is a marquee signing either way, but i dont expect them to stop there or decide between Grealish/striker, when they can sign both with ease.
 

charlenefan

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I exclude our wingers. I mean for City they have the likes of Ilkay, someone who can pick it up from the middle of the park and go past a few players whilst carrying the ball. This is the kind of player we miss.

Pogba can do it I suppose but very rarely see it. Maybe it's more to do the way we set up or something?!
McTominay can do it as well, he just doesn't as he's too busy trying to be a sitter
 

bosskeano

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it looks like Villa are going to accept the 100m bid for Grealish as they've found their replacement in Leon Bailey from Bayer for 30m
 

amolbhatia50k

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KDB, Grealish, Silva and Foden really seems like overkill. Heck three of those seems like a bit much. Interesting to see where he fits in.
 

Rajiztar

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Can't see Grealish working as a false nine. Not sure he's ever played that role has he?
Nobody played false 9 before. Wingers, no 10 s no 8s tried to play. Some times work some times don't. But he has attributes to play there in pep system.

Many teams try to play false 9 but asked too much from them who played as false 9. City system allowed false 9 to be effective because of attackers work in tandem and wing backs and no 8s joined in attack too. There will be enough space and time to impact the game for grealish to play in there.

They already had that experience of playing false 9 system with out any focal point last season.They scored goals for fun too. Why with grealish they will struggle suddenly without him they proved already it is working.
 
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Walters_19_MuFc

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They will sign a striker. Do you really think they wont buy one? They will go for Kane, but even if they dont get him, they will find someone else. Grealish is a marquee signing either way, but i dont expect them to stop there or decide between Grealish/striker, when they can sign both with ease.
Other than Kane, Haaland and Lukaku, I really couldnt care less who they get in the striker position.
 

Walters_19_MuFc

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Did he?

Maguire made it clear he wanted to join United, he’s said that himself in a recent interview, that he told Pep that. Same for RVP right.

I don’t see Pep ever opting out, he clearly gives zero shits about what the effect of City’s state ownership has even on the likes of his “beloved” Barca trying ot keep up and when he’s spent a billion quid in 5 years he clearly gives zero fecks about how much that state spend for him.
Asked if Maguire would turn United into title challengers, Guardiola said: "Yeah. Maguire is an excellent, top-class player.

"We were interested, but we could not afford it. United afford it. He's an excellent player, national team too, he had an incredible World Cup.

"He's strong in the air, good with the ball, the build-up, he drives with the ball, he's fast, so fast. He has all the qualities. Congratulations to United for this signature."

https://www.skysports.com/football/...-admits-man-city-couldnt-afford-harry-maguire
 
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