Or we knew Otamendi wasnt worth £30m+ (which he has shown he isn't) and didn't fit the profile of the CB we were looking for last summer and didn't want to take the risk on Gundogan last summer.
Our profile appeared to be "noone" last summer.
Really? Overwhelming majority of us were over the moon with Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin. Midfield was sorted right. And plenty expressed concerns over Gundogans back problems. Now we're moaning that City might have signed him.
Our profile appeared to be "noone" last summer.
True for Neymar and Müller but you could have gotten Gündogan. United didn't meet BVB's asking price and went to Schweinsteiger instead.
Yeah spend 60m on KDB for a position that was of far less concern and read the outrage on here. A lot of people were happy with Mata and Herrera as no 10 options so signing a 60m valued player for that spot would have been ridiculous.
Did you see the shape Gundogan was in last summer after being over a year out of action coupled with his wage demands? How is LVG a shithead for turning him down after the Falcao debacle?
I'm not a fan of LvG but think you're judging a bit quickly here. He said that Woodword is responsible for negotiations and finances. Therefore I'm more inclined to think that Woody was too risk-averse.
But we took a risk on Schweinstieger - someone who has been struggling with injuries for the last few years, hence why Pep allowed him to leave.
He didn't play as well as he does now but he was still a risk worth taking. You could see his class straight away after being sidelined for so long. And I'm not buying the high wage demands thing, that is a rumour spread by the press. If Gündogan was only looking for money, why did he sign another contract extension with Dortmund? They probably pay him less wages than what some players at Newcastle earn.
He went on a European tour whoring himself out to everybody. He only stayed because nobody wanted him. Fair play for getting back to the level he is at now but nobody could take a chance on him last summer. It would have been ridiculous.
Come on mate, that's bullshit.
@cyberman Gofelx is correct. In fact Gündogan and United had agreed on his terms. SKY Germany and Der Westen reported this and in fact it was the truth. United though refused to pay BVB's asking price, and no party budged. Gündogan had an offer from PSG but refused. The rest is history.
I exaggerate just a bit. They are heavily working on it, spread so much bullshit that in the beginning I couldn't believe I was on their own website but a fake site.
Seems like they're sticking to their stance on the City - Gundogan deal being all but done (Matt Law being the latest to report it. He's saying City have beaten Liverpool...again). It'll be interesting to see how this pans out. They could have dropped the ball with this story, especially considering their firm stance on it, but with journos like Burt, Ducker and Law, they're still seen as one of the reliable papers.
But that's my point. This would be exactly the same situation as United was in last summer: Agreement with the player but not the club.
Fair enough i knew we refused to budge on some aspect of the deal and it wasnt a case of United ballsing it up.
Dortmund wanted something in the €17-20m so IMHO with United's financial muscles it would have been a no-brainer but I'm not complaining.
Don't worry, Jose will go full muppet and start negotiating Pogba & Kroos or something like that.
That's how it was but it's of course up to you what you believe. Barcelona looked at him (IIRC he flew there) after United moved to Schweinsteiger but they did not come to terms.
Where do you get that figure from? Do you honestly believe that a club with the transfer history of United would not have offered a sum, which would have been such a small risk for them?Dortmund wanted something in the €17-20m so IMHO with United's financial muscles it would have been a no-brainer but I'm not complaining.
Gündogan is too smart to tell the media that bluntly who's his most favorite destination but it's very obvious that Barcelona ranks very high on his list.
That report was at the end of may. By the time Schweinsteiger was signed by United (mid of July), Gündogan had already sigend the new contract at Dortmund (1st of July).
It was my understanding that the contract demands were the sticking point. At the time he was still considered a risky signing by many and we weren't willing to offer a massive sum to a player we couldn't guarantee would return to the heights he was performing at prior to his surgery. Instead we opted for Schweinsteiger, his age meant his fee would be relatively cheap and we didn't need to tie him down to a lengthy contract.
Gündogan's agent briefed SKY Germany* and Der Westen otherwise - that United and Gündogan agreed terms - and this fits with what I was told.
If you can/can be arsed find it that would be great. Not that I'm suggesting you're making it up just might for some reason I had it as down as contractual reasons.
Oh, I don´t but at least in the way people say it can often mean a lot more than what some journalists cook up. There are a few people around Dortmund who have proven to be at least somewhat trustworthy and in the end I make my own judgement or don´t do so (like in this case) at all. Funny how you later use the briefing of Gündogan´s agents towards the media as evidence, though.
Wasnt it @Cro?
It was me. Had an apprenticeship in an editorial department for Sky Germany and what I heard in a phone conference was exactly what Crossie said. The journo said, that he was contacted by a family member (not sure if it was his uncle (his manager) or father (his agent)) and that a deal was agreed between the both parties and the rest should be just a matter of time. He was really certain on this, because the news came directly from the Gündogan camp.
