Manchester City: Transfer News and Rumour Roundup 7
The Big Name
Luis Suarez, 29, Barcelona, Striker
I was debating whether to cover this one first or not because, clearly, it smacks of being ludicrous in the extreme and is almost as unlikely as Guardiola coming on the blower to sign me. But here you go.
For some time it had been suggested, murmured and hinted that Manchester City’s cut-rate signings so far were all paving the way for one, major statement in the form of a player so staggeringly good he could likely play against the lower echelons of the Premier League on his own and come out victorious. That narrows the potentials for such a spend down to a handful, most of them from Barcelona. From that group, it seems Luis Suarez is the choice and, well, it’s pretty hard to find fault in that.
The Sunday Mirror reported that City had put a bid on the table for a UK transfer record destroying £85million for the Uruguayan and this story quickly made its way round the other local rags and into Spanish media via MARCA. The dubiousness of the source, coupled with the lack of any outside confirmation of such an offer, does little to dispel the general feeling that such a move is insane and on par with United’s years of futility spent chasing the shadow of Sergio Ramos.
Nonetheless, there might actually be something here. It’s not unthinkable that Manchester City have put an offer down and the amount seems in line with what one would expect to prize him free from the jaws, pardon the pun, of Barca. Further, there are a few other things in City’s favour at this time. For a start, Suarez’s agent is Pep’s brother, and that could well help streamline the process of acquiring him. On top of that, Barcelona’s financial situation is a bubble ready to burst, particularly with their newly acquired and minted contract with Neymar.
With Barcelona struggling for cash and Suarez now about to enter his 30th year, it’s not difficult to see a situation where the Catalans cash in while his value is peaking. This is particularly so given Suarez just came off the best season of his career. How good was it? Oh he only scored 53 goals and assisted 19 in 43 appearances. Nothing major. “Pretty ordinary, in fact, why even bother looking at the likes of Suarez when we’ve already got Wilfried Bony?” said nobody ever.
Look, honestly, we all know Suarez is insufferable and an all-round not nice guy. His infamy is well known in the Premier League from his time in Liverpool and it’s not exactly a pleasant prospect to welcome someone who racially abused Patrice Evra and has bitten no less than three players in his career. He’s an animal. A thug. A villain. A supremely talented footballer almost without peer.
It’s the latter that adds the temptation. Suarez is a consensus top five footballer in the world and probably top of the pile if you narrow that to strikers alone. 53 goals and 19 assists in a season is mind blowing and something any team would covet greatly. Further, it can be argued he has settled profoundly since moving to Barcelona.
Nonetheless, this one remains an extreme long shot, perhaps even the realms of no shot. Beyond even Barcelona’s potential willingness to let Suarez go, something they would be unwilling to do for Lionel Messi or Neymar, there’s the wishes of the player himself. Suarez seems settled in Spain and it seems his family is happy there too. Money may talk, but this may be something it can’t speak for. It’s exciting to be linked to the best players in the world, just don’t be surprised or disappointed if and when nothing comes of it.
Next: The Sense There's Something There