The Wish List and General Discussion Thread (46 Viewers)
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Manchester City are targeting Barcelona’s Daniel Alves and Ajax’s Gregory van der Wiel to be their marquee defensive summer signing, Goal.com UK can reveal.
City have enquired about both players in recent months and will continue to monitor them closely with a view to a swoop in the summer.
It is understood that Alves is City’s first choice as Roberto Mancini aims to bring greater dynamism to his team’s right flank.
The Barcelona full-back, who effectively doubles up as a winger for the La Liga champions, is in talks with his club about an extension beyond his current deal, which ends in 2012, but has not yet reached an agreement.
City are waiting to pounce if talks break down and are confident that Alves can be signed for as little as £20m in the next window, half what Barca valued him at last summer.
However, if Alves commits himself to the Nou Camp, then Mancini will turn his attention to Van der Wiel, who reportedly has a fixed price of £17m written into his Ajax contract, which runs until 2013.
City informally spoke to Ajax in January about Van der Wiel but the Dutch club were not interested in selling both their right-back and Luis Suarez, who joined Liverpool, in the middle of the season.
As part of the transfer triangle involving the three clubs, Barca have lined up Van der Wiel as Alves’ replacement should the Brazilian leave the Catalan club.
Alves and his representatives believe his salary should be in line with those of his fellow established first-teamers, many of whom have been handed improved contracts over the last year.
Barca’s policy is to stagger the salaries of their playing squad, with the strikers and attacking midfielders better paid than their more defensive colleagues.
“Dani is one of the best defenders in the world and the big clubs desire his services,” said the agent Joaquin Macanas recently. “We only ask that Barca value him in reality for his work and development during these years.”
City want to re-organise their defence in the summer, with a new attacking right-back the priority, and the coaching staff are considering re-positioning Jerome Boateng into the centre of defence.
City are willing to listen to offers for Micah Richards but have put a £15m price-tag on the England international, whose former club Oldham will receive 20 per cent of any potential transfer after he switched academies as a teenager.
City have enquired about both players in recent months and will continue to monitor them closely with a view to a swoop in the summer.
It is understood that Alves is City’s first choice as Roberto Mancini aims to bring greater dynamism to his team’s right flank.
The Barcelona full-back, who effectively doubles up as a winger for the La Liga champions, is in talks with his club about an extension beyond his current deal, which ends in 2012, but has not yet reached an agreement.
City are waiting to pounce if talks break down and are confident that Alves can be signed for as little as £20m in the next window, half what Barca valued him at last summer.
However, if Alves commits himself to the Nou Camp, then Mancini will turn his attention to Van der Wiel, who reportedly has a fixed price of £17m written into his Ajax contract, which runs until 2013.
City informally spoke to Ajax in January about Van der Wiel but the Dutch club were not interested in selling both their right-back and Luis Suarez, who joined Liverpool, in the middle of the season.
As part of the transfer triangle involving the three clubs, Barca have lined up Van der Wiel as Alves’ replacement should the Brazilian leave the Catalan club.
Alves and his representatives believe his salary should be in line with those of his fellow established first-teamers, many of whom have been handed improved contracts over the last year.
Barca’s policy is to stagger the salaries of their playing squad, with the strikers and attacking midfielders better paid than their more defensive colleagues.
“Dani is one of the best defenders in the world and the big clubs desire his services,” said the agent Joaquin Macanas recently. “We only ask that Barca value him in reality for his work and development during these years.”
City want to re-organise their defence in the summer, with a new attacking right-back the priority, and the coaching staff are considering re-positioning Jerome Boateng into the centre of defence.
City are willing to listen to offers for Micah Richards but have put a £15m price-tag on the England international, whose former club Oldham will receive 20 per cent of any potential transfer after he switched academies as a teenager.
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