By 1970's Gooner
The press in England had the deal all wrapped up. Manolas is reportedly having a medical at London Colney the Independent reported. And all the other press as well as the blogs regurgitated this exciting news.
Well I have news for you. Manolas was and has been spotted yesterday and today at Olympiakos training ground at "Renti" in Athens! Furthermore he has no plans to travel to London in the immediate future.
So just where did the Independent find this news is beyond me!
What is for sure is that the player will be leaving Olympiakos for pastures new. Juventous have been in the picture too it is reported in Greece.
Arsenal remain the favourites for his signature but while the player will receive a substantial increase in his wages there remain two obstacles:
Firstly Olympiakos are holding out for at least 11m euros whereas stingy Wenger (and Arsenal) want to get the player on the cheap offering 6m euros!
The second is that the player is concerned that his playing time at Arsenal will be limited as he sees himself fourth in line behind the BFG, Kos and Chambers. He considers that his chances for first team appearances are much higher if he goes to Italy.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Goal.com are the source of the independent story. They reported the medical took place at the weekend
Well, another day of unconfirmed transfer news has left me sufficiently angry with Arsenal to post here to blow off steam:
If, as is being reported, Balotelli is joining L'pool, then I think we can once again see fit to question the viability of Arsenal's club strategy. Balotelli would have been a tremendous addition to Arsenal and a much needed source of goals. He is a big, strong, fast presence in the box and a much better target, as far as I can see, than Giroud (who is forever just a half step late getting on the end of crosses and other balls into the box). Arsenal do not score consistently enough to compete for the BPL title or the Champions League cup. The FA cup is a virtually meaningless consolation prize, as far as I am concerned, when measured against the Champions League and BPL cups. Arsenal seem unable to land a striker. Wenger downplays what is clear to any observer, that the club need another big, powerful, impactful striker immediately. Even if you feel better about Giroud than I do, you must know that he will need rest and that Sonogo lacks quality at this early stage of his career and the rotating cast of second tier finishers beneath him simply lack the box presence to make them meaningful alternatives to Giroud. I hope I am wrong and the Campbell or Podolski have break-out seasons, but I don't think they will. The news is also that Arteta's knock has finally convinced Wenger to get a defensive mid into the mix. But the names we are hearing are the usual "big potential" kids with little or no experience. I thought the club had a major budget to use in this window--why haven't they done so? The answer is clear and disheartening: Arsenal will not pay the wage demands of top players in today's football. Reports suggested that Arsenal had lodged an expression of interest in Balotelli at a higher number than Liverpool is reported to have paid for him. Same with Khedira. But both potential moves were apparently hindered by the player's wage demands. To compete for the BPL title, Arsenal will have to start paying the type of wages that are lavished on players by the other top English clubs. (That is, many players, not just Ozil.) To compete in the Champions League will require PSG/Man City/Barca/Ath Madrid type of wage packets. I cannot see this club, with the current executive suite, manager and majority stock holder supporting such wages, even though the alternative is to remain insufficiently deep at key positions to effectively challenge for titles in the major leagues. Get used to battles for 4th and struggles to get into the Champions League proper, my fellow supporters, because unless there is a sea change at the top of the club, that is about what we can hope for in the years ahead. What a shame, we were all thinking this was the year when we would at least get close in the BPL again. (And to finish this little rant, a prediction: this Saturday we will go down in defeat to Everton 2-1. I do hope I am wrong about all of the foregoing. --Long-time Gooner)
Post a Comment