Rumour Roundup

I'm not sure where to start with the transfer rumour round up.

Obviously City are going to have to go shopping to compete in the Premier League and the transfer record of £7.7 million for HWWW is nailed on to be broken. We aren't used to spending flipping great wadges of cash though. John Sillett said when we signed David Speedie with the FA Cup winnings "For too long this Club has shopped at Woolworths, from now on we’ll be shopping at Harrods." I guess these days we'd have to swap Woolworths for B&M.

One thing is for sure though, King Doug the First won't just be throwing money at anyone who becomes available, he's too shrewd for that. City will have been planning for this scenario for a while given how long we were in the top 2 last season, unlike Hull who have only just discovered where they will be playing next season. King Doug the First has talked on The Boardroom Podcast about buying well and on players that will grow in value. He also said:

“Yes I can trade and I know how to trade, otherwise I wouldn't be in this position owning a football club and taking it from 30 million to 170 million and to the Premier League. You can throw a lot of money at anything and you might say you need £100 million to get the extra capital and I might say, 'Let's have a look at it, let's see what we can find, let's see what we can unearth."

So, to go back to the beginning, I'm not sure where to start with the transfer rumours as we are in uncharted territory! City have to buy, King Doug the First has a way of dealing but may be open to extra investment. So lets have a look at who we have (maybe quicker to say who we haven't) been linked with.

First up is Carl Rushgoalieworth (used to love rush goalie!). Personally I think this is good to go, City want him back, I think he wants to come back and he fits King Doug the First's way of thinking - a young player who will grow in value. Sign the contract Carl!

Aside from Rushgoalie, its really baseless rumours and guesswork. One name mentioned is Gini Wijnaldum who plays as an attacking mifielder or forward. He scored 11 goals in 40 games for Newcastle before joining Liverpool for £23 million. He played deeper there and scored 22 goals in 237 games. For the last 3 years he's played for Al- Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia and scored 38 goals in 101 games. This rumour possibly has some legs, he's very PL experienced, out of contract, only a one year deal and can provide cover for Rudoni and up front.

Ross Barkley from Aston Vile is another possible recruit and also an experienced PL player. He moved to Luton after they were promoted to the PL (won't go there) and was their Player of the Season. He would add to the midfield and has one year left on his contract. Of course there is also a Chelsea connection with Super Frank Lapard (SFL) and Barkley.

Another midfielder who has been linked is Dan Neil from Sunderland, although he's been on loan at Ipswich for half of this season and will be out of contract next month. He played 17 games for Ipswich but is not believed to be signing permanently although Rangers and Valencia have also apparently shown interest.

An interesting one who fits King Doug the First's thinking is Hayden Hackney. With Boro not being promoted and Hackney being the Championship Player of the Season, he's a wanted man. This would be a big coup with Spurs and Forest also sniffing around apparently. Boro value Hackney at between £20 to £30 million.

I think City really need to buy another striker, goals are what's going to keep us up (and not shipping a load as well). Troy Parrott has been rumoured and he has done well at AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands. at 24 Parrott fits in with Doug's strategy again. His contract there runs until 2029 so he would cost more than a few pieces of 8 but 51 goals in 95 appearances isn't to be sniffed at, nor is 11 in 35 for Ireland. Here's some highlights of his from 2025.

City could raid Mark Robin's Stoke for Sorba Thomas. He played 47 games as left winger this season, scoring 10 goals and has played 25 times for Wales. Stoke value him at £9 million.

Defence wise 22 year old Oskar Wojcik , a centre half Poland has been mentioned. He has had a breakthrough season for Ekstraklasa in Poland having come through the ranks. Its felt that City need a left back to and Jacques Ekomié is a 22 year old Gabonese (18 caps) plying his trade with Angers after 3 years at Bordeaux.

There's a possibility that SFL might use his Chelsea connections to raid Chelsea for young players such as Jesse Derry. Chelsea may need to sell homegrown talent to meet FFP rules.

Then we get into silly season and I can't see any of these on the basis of wages. I've seen Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Andy Robertson, John Stones all mentioned. Maybe I'm wrong and the attraction of playing for SFL in the PL will sway a few heads. Harvey Elliott is a possible I guess after a dismal loan spell at Villa, maybe a loan at City. Then there's always the return of Callum Wilson to consider.

I asked ChatGTP what our likely starting XI might be and it had Parrott and Barkley in. Then again it also told me:

Ben Sheaf

Still the balance player.
Without him the midfield gets too open.

OK......

Whatever happens, King Doug The First's Monzo credit card is in for a pounding in the coming 2 months!

Let me know what you think or if you've heard any other names in the comments below (Google account to login).

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