yidio
Active Member
- Dec 9, 2004
- 543
- 154
Still avoiding posting in most cases, but i want to put something straight here. We were never close to David Villa, we were never close to Mario Gomez, we were never close to Alvaro Negredo. We were touted as potential destinations for these players, but particularly with David Villa it was all blown out of proportion by the press/rumour boards - he was far from ever being a serious, realistic target. If the majority of us thought with our heads rather than our hearts, we could have worked this out despite the constant barrage of those telling us otherwise.
Benteke, however, is different. We did want him and we put a lot of work into it. However, those who made claims that deals were 'done in principle' etc were way off the mark. Nothing was ever close to being agreed with Aston Villa, therefore making any other 'deal' irrelevant. Would you sanction £25m of our limited transfer budget for Benteke? Well neither would Levy. AV informed Benteke of this and his option was then clear - stay on a low wage or stay on a high wage. Whether we come back before the end of the window or not is a different story - his new deal means pretty much nothing as he would still be sold at the right price, and he was identified from the beginning as an ideal, achievable striker target. Not over yet, but attention must move to the next one. Soldado & Osvaldo for example - real targets, the latter much more likely than the former. Good enough? I'm not sure.
We are still out there haggling in the traditional Levy way. We will sign a striker (and more). Baldini's arrival & AVB having a successful season are factors in why we are *hinting* at moving a little faster, but you can't teach an old dog new tricks - Levy is Levy and you'd be naive to think that has changed.
Benteke, however, is different. We did want him and we put a lot of work into it. However, those who made claims that deals were 'done in principle' etc were way off the mark. Nothing was ever close to being agreed with Aston Villa, therefore making any other 'deal' irrelevant. Would you sanction £25m of our limited transfer budget for Benteke? Well neither would Levy. AV informed Benteke of this and his option was then clear - stay on a low wage or stay on a high wage. Whether we come back before the end of the window or not is a different story - his new deal means pretty much nothing as he would still be sold at the right price, and he was identified from the beginning as an ideal, achievable striker target. Not over yet, but attention must move to the next one. Soldado & Osvaldo for example - real targets, the latter much more likely than the former. Good enough? I'm not sure.
We are still out there haggling in the traditional Levy way. We will sign a striker (and more). Baldini's arrival & AVB having a successful season are factors in why we are *hinting* at moving a little faster, but you can't teach an old dog new tricks - Levy is Levy and you'd be naive to think that has changed.
