According to Rennes' chairman, they've rejected bids from Real Madrid and Manchester United (£9.2M) and are currently in discussions to keep him in France with PSG..
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According to Rennes' chairman, they've rejected bids from Real Madrid and Manchester United (£9.2M) and are currently in discussions to keep him in France with PSG..
Hopefully he goes to either PSG or Madrid. We have enough POTENTIALLY super stars in our ranks when it comes to CB. He may go on to become the Best CB in the world, still I wouldn't mind missing out on him..
Decent CM is all we need..
How Udinese beat the system
and stands at the gates of La
Liga
By Eric Beard
At the end of the 2009-10
season, Granada CF and
Barcelona B finished first and
second in the third tier of
Spanish football, both gaining
promotion to Liga Adelante. This
past season, Barcelona B
finished 3rd and Granada
finished 5th.
Promotion into La Liga is almost
identical to promotion into the
Premier League. That is, the best
two sides in the league go
directly into La Liga while the
next four battle it out in
promotion playoffs. However,
there’s one caveat. Barcelona B
could not compete for
promotion into La Liga because
it is part of FC Barcelona and
two sides from the same club
cannot play in the same league.
Instead, 7th place Real Valladolid
was able to take on 4th place
Elche CF in the playoff
semifinals. Elche progressed into
the promotion final in dramatic
fashion, as did Granada. One
Spanish club from Andalusia and
one from the province of
Alicante, it all seemed so
straightforward.
However, when Granada faced
Celta Vigo this past Saturday in
the playoff semifinal, 6 out of
the 11 starters were Udinese-
owned. In fact, 11 players on
the Granada roster are “on loan”
from the Italian club, including
starlets such as Dani Benitez
(pictured above) and
internationals such as Ghana’s
Jonathan Mensah. Simply, the
majority of Granada’s squad is
an Udinese B filled with Spanish
flair. Where the rules stopped
this year’s Barça B squad from
progressing, Udinese used a
different country to push
forward. And now, after the
two matches in the playoff final
on Wednesday and Saturday,
Udine could essentially have a
team in both Serie A and La Liga.
An Italian job indeed.
The transformation was a novel
one, but by no means are
Granada’s fans upset by the
Italian presence; they are
absolutely loving their rapid
resurgence in Spanish football. El
Graná are back and the seats in
Los Cármenes are filled once
again. So how did this happen
exactly? Well, let’s start with
Udinese owner Gino Pozzo.
In 2009, Granada CF was a club
in crisis, both competitively and
financially. The club was on the
brink of disappearing, despite a
rich 80 year history. Gino Pozzo
saw a money-making
opportunity that would double
as a way to develop Udinese
talent, and in July 2009, the two
clubs signed a partnership
agreement so the majority of
Granada’s squad would become
Udinese-owned, while the Italian
club could also send over its
reserves and youngsters.
So what are the benefits for
Gino Pozzo and Udinese Calcio?
Well, the strategy is to use the
exposure Granada gets in the
Spanish league to showcase
Udinese-owned talent that will,
in turn, gain value in the
transfer market. With Pozzo’s
commitment to investing,
Granada only seems likely to
improve in the future. And
Pozzo’s “buy cheap, gain
exposure, sell high” philosophy
is already working. Just imagine
the possibilities for profit if
Granada gets into the top flight
in Spain.
Will Granada’s success be
sustainable? Yes, and legally so.
Though Pozzo said, “we put
ourselves in Granada because it
is a city with a great football
potential,” there is also a legal
framework that ensures that
Udinese’s partnership with
Granada is a permanent one. But
amongst this clever system, one
thing remains clear: if Granada
are promoted the boys by the
alhambra will not be the only
one reaping the rewards.
But is this the start of a larger
trend? Udinese’s plan is
profitable and it has revived
Granada. As a result, both parties
are happy. Real Madrid have a
notable connection with Getafe,
but it’s not quite as imposing as
this. Should Barcelona abandon
Barça B, take over local side
Catalan side Girona FC and make
a run for La Liga? Should Arsenal
impose its eye for talented
youth by rebuilding Nantes in
Ligue 2? Is this the future of
relationships between the
‘haves and have-nots’ of
football?
and stands at the gates of La
Liga
By Eric Beard
At the end of the 2009-10
season, Granada CF and
Barcelona B finished first and
second in the third tier of
Spanish football, both gaining
promotion to Liga Adelante. This
past season, Barcelona B
finished 3rd and Granada
finished 5th.
Promotion into La Liga is almost
identical to promotion into the
Premier League. That is, the best
two sides in the league go
directly into La Liga while the
next four battle it out in
promotion playoffs. However,
there’s one caveat. Barcelona B
could not compete for
promotion into La Liga because
it is part of FC Barcelona and
two sides from the same club
cannot play in the same league.
Instead, 7th place Real Valladolid
was able to take on 4th place
Elche CF in the playoff
semifinals. Elche progressed into
the promotion final in dramatic
fashion, as did Granada. One
Spanish club from Andalusia and
one from the province of
Alicante, it all seemed so
straightforward.
However, when Granada faced
Celta Vigo this past Saturday in
the playoff semifinal, 6 out of
the 11 starters were Udinese-
owned. In fact, 11 players on
the Granada roster are “on loan”
from the Italian club, including
starlets such as Dani Benitez
(pictured above) and
internationals such as Ghana’s
Jonathan Mensah. Simply, the
majority of Granada’s squad is
an Udinese B filled with Spanish
flair. Where the rules stopped
this year’s Barça B squad from
progressing, Udinese used a
different country to push
forward. And now, after the
two matches in the playoff final
on Wednesday and Saturday,
Udine could essentially have a
team in both Serie A and La Liga.
An Italian job indeed.
The transformation was a novel
one, but by no means are
Granada’s fans upset by the
Italian presence; they are
absolutely loving their rapid
resurgence in Spanish football. El
Graná are back and the seats in
Los Cármenes are filled once
again. So how did this happen
exactly? Well, let’s start with
Udinese owner Gino Pozzo.
In 2009, Granada CF was a club
in crisis, both competitively and
financially. The club was on the
brink of disappearing, despite a
rich 80 year history. Gino Pozzo
saw a money-making
opportunity that would double
as a way to develop Udinese
talent, and in July 2009, the two
clubs signed a partnership
agreement so the majority of
Granada’s squad would become
Udinese-owned, while the Italian
club could also send over its
reserves and youngsters.
So what are the benefits for
Gino Pozzo and Udinese Calcio?
Well, the strategy is to use the
exposure Granada gets in the
Spanish league to showcase
Udinese-owned talent that will,
in turn, gain value in the
transfer market. With Pozzo’s
commitment to investing,
Granada only seems likely to
improve in the future. And
Pozzo’s “buy cheap, gain
exposure, sell high” philosophy
is already working. Just imagine
the possibilities for profit if
Granada gets into the top flight
in Spain.
Will Granada’s success be
sustainable? Yes, and legally so.
Though Pozzo said, “we put
ourselves in Granada because it
is a city with a great football
potential,” there is also a legal
framework that ensures that
Udinese’s partnership with
Granada is a permanent one. But
amongst this clever system, one
thing remains clear: if Granada
are promoted the boys by the
alhambra will not be the only
one reaping the rewards.
But is this the start of a larger
trend? Udinese’s plan is
profitable and it has revived
Granada. As a result, both parties
are happy. Real Madrid have a
notable connection with Getafe,
but it’s not quite as imposing as
this. Should Barcelona abandon
Barça B, take over local side
Catalan side Girona FC and make
a run for La Liga? Should Arsenal
impose its eye for talented
youth by rebuilding Nantes in
Ligue 2? Is this the future of
relationships between the
‘haves and have-nots’ of
football?
I know that, I'm not sure why I typed Rennes. Two or 3 days ago btw Joss.
fuelledbypassion
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Former United man joining Blackpool. I used to like him and always thought he might do well as a player (I have a feeling he was alright on fm as well?)
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11688_7000776,00.html
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11688_7000776,00.html
I know it's a united thread and for the record I'm a united fan. I was just asking everyone's opinion about the issue.
Ah OK. Think this is quite a recent development (Matt Spiro tweeted it today) so maybe there's been another offer. Jamie Sanderson (Young Guns) tweeted a couple of days ago that RM were interested and Zidane was in town, but they may have upped their offer. There must be some other reason than a) Liverpool were interested and b) He's British and slightly better that Utd went for the more expensive and complicated (it turns out) Jones transfer ahead of Varane. Whether that was the asking price from Lens I don't know...
Slightly better? I'm not sure. With Foreign players there is always a risk of wanting to move away, but Jones wont.
Jones had good season with Blackburn and can be considered as a player with premier league experience, but same can't be said about Varane and no one is sure whether he would have adapted to the league.
Pique didn't adapt to the league as well as he did at La Liga.. So there is always a risk with foreign players..
The retrospective bias is hilarious. It wasn't long ago Utd fans were signing the praises of SAF and Varane for yet another coup in the Youth market - a versatile player with plenty of first team experience under his belt (only made 10 less appearances in his league than Jones has at BB). Easy to look back now and say: "Yes, we got the better player - I always wanted him!"
No one is sure whether Jones will be able to adapt to a big side, with a big price tag on his head. Football's about risks. Other than the Homegrown rule, I really see no major reason why there's so much inflation (due to a need) of British/English players - particularly ones U21. We're not exactly producing the most exciting talents as a country... Especially compared to Spain. But not just them: Kakuta, Varane, M'Vila, Riviere are all exciting players.
Why pay £7m more for a player who's played in the Premier League? You paid that amount for someone SAF had never seen before, let alone someone with experience. So why not save £7m and sign a player who's likely to be just as good? Not like Jones is going anywhere in the Utd side in the short term anyway, what with wunderkids Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling holding down back-up CB positions and the almighty Darron Gibson the future of Utd's midfield...
OH and how on earth can you say that Varane is more likely to want away after a few years than Jones just because he's "foreign"? If anything, there's less incentive - players want to experience new leagues, new countries. Varane is doing that, Jones isn't.
Bias? I dont know as I have already said I haven't seen Varane in any game except few videos, if you remember I said before this that we dont need, this would be luxury signing nothing more. Jones has played in league so he has a better chance of adapting to United than Varane who has played few games for Relegated side. I never said I always wanted Jones as I always had confidence on Evans and Smalling. Jones signing was out of nowhere.
It is not as if Varane will choose United over Madrid as he will be way below pecking order and at Madrid he will be First choice change for Carvalho.
We payed 7 Million more as our staff believed it is worth it? Oh cheap shots. Almighty Darron Gibson has scored champions league semi final goal..
And 16 Million for Jones is better than 10 Million for French second division defender who ****** more times than moments of brilliance and also ****** up only chance of silverware for Arsenal in 6 years..
---------- Post added at 11:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:45 PM ----------
Had we not signed Jones I would have preferred him as I have heard good things about him. But now we have signed Jones (Who rejected Arsenal to join Us) I dont think we need to sign any CB for few years. Vidic is good enough to play at least 5 years (Hopefully he wont get injured) and we have smalling, Evans, Jones. Thats sorted.. Varane will be luxury signing and with so many CBs ahead of him in the pecking order noway he will sign as he already stated he needs playing time which we cannot offer as we have Jones now.. So I dont think any United fan feel bad about missing out on Varane..
How is it a cheap shot? It's the truth... I simply used it to highlight my point that Utd seem perfectly willing to spend lots of money (for an 18 YO) for a foreign U21 player who SAF had never seen play, so why not save £7m and sign Varane INSTEAD of Jones? Because Jones has played in the PL? What had Bebe done? Clearly it's not about him being foreign, so my original question still hasn't been answered. Why didn't Utd go for Jones until late on? Did Liverpool interest force their hand? Did Lens suddenly ask for more money than originally reported?
I'm not criticising Utd's transfer policy at all, nor am I criticising any of your players (except Gibson, but he really is ****.) so I'm not sure where the attack on Koscielny has come from. ****** up more times than he's done well? What about that game when he kept Hernandez quiet all game, or that game when he constantly shut out Lionel Messi and David Villa? He's had a perfectly good season. He made a mistake in the Carling Cup final. Congrats - Evra made about a gazilion mistakes in the CL Final, but we could go on and on about something which is entirely irrelevant and seems to be derived from you throwing a hissy fit and someone daring to question a **** player.
This is exactly my point about Utd bias. Before you wanted Varane, but now you have Jones, Varane isn't good enough for Utd anyway. How things would have been different if Jones joined Liverpool or Arsenal and Varane signed for Utd.
He's played 25 times in Ligue 1 - Jones has played 35 times in the PL. Big difference eh? And your point about being relegated is moot - Blackburn were almost relegated bar a bit of luck on the final day of the season. Lens didn't get that luck, and got relegated. T'rrific. So Jones ALMOST got relegated, but didn't, and Varane actually did so Jones > Varane?
And PL experience isn't going to count for much either. By the time Varane/Jones broke into the first team (2+ years?), he would be well-adapted to England and to the league (via sub apps/apps in meaningless games/ROTATION
).Varane won't be first choice behind Carvalho. There's a certain Mr. Garay, a Mr. Pepe, and a Mr. Albiol waiting in the wings. Varane will go on loan, just like he may have done at Utd.
We scouted Jones from past 18 months and had Liverpool were not in for him, we would have signed him next season. Liverpool, Arsenal made a bid so we had to react and get our target before our Rivals got him.
And there was no guarantee that Varane would sign for us as Madrid were also in for him.
Show me the quote where anyone said he is not good enough for United. All I said was given the choice I will prefer Jones as He wont ask for a move in future when Madrid, Barca comes knocking on the door. Simple. No where did i question the player's quality.
Before Jones signing I said if we sign him we should send him on loan to French side for 1 or 2 seasons, after Jones signing I said we have enough quality CBs and he will be a luxury signing..
Same thing Joss. I said why I prefer Jones. He is English and rejected move to London and ready to stay in Manchester. There wont be Weather is **** BS from the lad as it would be with foreigners..
Player who has played in the league has more chances of adapting to the league than foreign player.And PL experience isn't going to count for much either. By the time Varane/Jones broke into the first team (2+ years?), he would be well-adapted to England and to the league (via sub apps/apps in meaningless games/ROTATION
If Madrid sign Varane that means thats the end of Garay as Jose wants Varane in the team and wont go out on loan. Pepe Carvalho will be the first choice and Varane will be Carvalho's back up. From what i read Albiol future is not certain with Madrid..
Then why the interest in Varane if Jones was the long-term target?
Madrid have only very recently got involved. Zidane scouted him, and went to meet him and persuade him to pick RM. Arsenal made a late bid last night but it was too late.
You said that before you signed Jones, you wanted to sign Varane (despite admitting to never actually seeing him play), now you say you're happy with Jones and prefer him to Varane anyway. I'm not talking about buying Varane on top of Jones, I'm talking about why they went for Jones and not Varane - the cheaper option who has only slightly less experience than Jones,
He rejected Arsenal because he wanted to win things in the short term, and didn't think Arsenal were going to do that and because it meant staying in Lancashire and not making a big move to another city at a young age. How can you possibly say he would reject Madrid or Barca if they came calling? And Varane wouldn't? He picked RM largely because all the interest had cooled in him from Utd, and partly Arsenal (until last night)
But by the time Jones/Varane (if you had signed him) break into the first team, they will have been at the club for 2/3 years and be perfectly suited to Manchester, to Utd, and to the EPL (via sub apps etc.)
Wrong. According to Matt Spiro (L'Equipe Journalist), JM wants to have a look at him during pre-season. In the likely event he turns out not to be as good (yet) as the options he already has, a loan to PSG is on the cards. Not sure where you're getting Varane = Carvalho's back-up from. No one has said that...