http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_6160294,00.html Skysports.com understands Manchester City have tabled a big money offer for Aston Villa winger James Milner. The England international enjoyed a sparkling 2009/10 campaign, considerably raising his profile. Reports in January speculated that a number of top clubs were keeping tabs on the talented 24-year-old, with it widely believed that there is still more to come from him in the future. City have now made the first move, with it believed that Roberto Mancini is willing to part with around £20million to take the reigning PFA Young Player of the Year to Eastlands. It is easy to understand why the Blues are so keen on the former Leeds and Newcastle man, as he has just finished his most productive season to date. A respectable return of 12 goals from midfield marks him out as a useful addition to any side, while his versatility can also prove priceless. Busy summer Milner is able to operate on either flank or at full-back, while he blossomed in the centre of midfield for Villa since being shifted inside by Martin O'Neill. He has been included in Fabio Capello's preliminary squad for this summer's World Cup and is widely regarded as a shoo-in to make the final cut. Villa have yet to respond to the offer on the table from City but will be reluctant to part with their key performers. Unfortunately for O'Neill, there are plenty of other teams rumoured to be ready to make a move and he could be in for a busy summer. Premier League champions Chelsea are also said to be keen on Milner and they could be tempted to chance their arm in an effort to prevent one of their rivals from strengthening their squad.
Would be a great signing but I read somewhere it's £25m Villa want, is he really worth that much? And where would he fit in to your side?
Be a very good signing for you guys. think Villa would sell for around the £25,000,000 mark. Although if they do sell. I think Mr O'Neil will resign.
I don't think money is the concern. Our owners are going to go all out in this transfer window. He would be a welcome addition to the squad and can play in many positions, and he's English. I'm all for it.
Since City are obviously gonna sell SWP and Ireland, i could see him playing for them. but i hope not.
A sideways step for Milner and before he goes into the biggest shop window of the World Cup? Do you really think Villa will be looking for a deal at this stage, even if they did contemplate selling an integral team member and prized asset? Highly unlikely...but keep bidding.....it passes the time.
villa might be sell before the world cup so that they can use the world cup as an opportunity to find a replacement and maybe even some additions! im all for millner at city, i think he is a quality tallent and is a safer bet at this point than going for gerrard, mainly because he is younger and has growing potential!
So let me get this right.....according to your logic, we sell Milner at a pre-World Cup price and then spend that money on a player/players, whose price has been inflated by the same World Cup..!! Yeah...makes perfect sense (!!) Or, we could just keep saying no to clubs who come in with facile offers, see how he plays in South Africa and then see those offers increase as a bidding war begins for his talents....... Hmmm?? That's even assuming we wanted to sell him in the first place...
Maybe not, but it's all subjective....even more so when dealing with a club that paid £24m for Lescott...........
Thats for the club to decide, I never thought Lescott was worth £24m, not even £20m. Milner is a good player, and I wouldn't complain if he joined us but not at that price.
Clearly the club has 'decided'...Citeh have set the opening bid at £20m if the press are to be believed (sic)..and given that you knowingly paid £24M for Lescott (regardless of your own view) then you can expect the 'price' for Milner to be considerably in excess of that......Also given the fact we reportedly don't want to sell in the first place, therefore will likely demand a prohibitive fee..... Sadly for you, the price is almost always going to be inflated because you (the club) have already demonstrated that you will pay way over the odds to attract players. That said, I don't believe Milner is motivated by money and currently you cannot offer him anything different to what he gets at Villa Park..infact, given that he will almost certainly have to compete for a place with other new costly arrivals, who must surely be bought in to secure a CL place next season, then he could find his 'starting place' in jeopardy....
Well if the price is considerably in excess of that then I would prefer us to leave well alone quite simply because he is not good enough for that price IMO. If he won't come to us, it really Isn't the end of the world. I don't think we will get him and I wouldn't lose any sleep if we didn't. I am just saying he would be a good addition. But again not exactly one that would overwhelm me nor one that we should be going all guns blazing to aquire. We can get players just as good for a few million less in other leagues so if £20m+ is the price we are quoted I would much prefer it for the club to look elsewhere.
We shouldn't be paying over the odds for any player, especially to one of our close league rivals. Hopefully we'll stick with whatever we've bidded. If it gets rejected, leave it and move on.
As I said, I'm guessing the prohibitive price we'll set for him will test how much you want him or not....a repeat of the Barry to Liverpool scenario if you like. I'd be more worried of a club who can offer CL football this season coming in for him...Still, it will be the same high price if they do. We aren't yet a selling club...
Now that David Villa has gone to Barcelona, I can see us having a go at Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I think Mancini signed him at Inter if I remember rightly.
Ibrahimovic might have been a somewhat realistic target had you made 4th. There's zero chance of him moving to a club that's not in the Champions League.
