Balague: No Robinho offer

News from the Spanish transfer oracle - FC Barcelona are not ready to make an offer for Robinho this January:

However, contrary to reports, we can reveal that FC Barcelona have made no contact with Manchester City since the summer regarding a move for Robinho.

The Premier league club have no intention of selling their star player and Barcelona do not have sufficient funds to even consider making a large enough bid that might give City reason to reconsider. Furthermore, the Spanish champions are taking the prospect of Mark Hughes` club becoming a major European player seriously - and are eager to treat City with respect - which is why they have not even considered approaching them over a loan move for a player whom they know City have no desire to sell. (Emphasis Balague's)

Balague has very good sources at Barça and so if he says this then it could well be true. This could all change, though, when Robinho gets fit and finds himself on the bench behind Craig Bellamy or even Martin Petrov as well. The current situation is very much subject to change.

My sense is this: Mark Hughes does not necessarily want to lose Robinho, given the quality he can provide and the different option to Bellamy and Petrov. But: he does not see him as a guaranteed starter and is quite comfortable with picking Bellamy ahead of him. So if Robinho does kick up a fuss and demand a move - and if it looks like disrupting the dressing room at a crucial point of the season - Hughes will allow him to move, and won't let it ruin his Christmas.

Robinho talks up Barça move

This is a story that has rumbled on for a while now. Guillem Balague told us last month that City had rejected Barcelona's approaches for Robinho, but suggested that a future move was quite possible. Since then it has been big news in Catalonia - El Mundo Deportivo - which is to FC Barcelona what Marca is to Real Madrid - has been full of stories of a potential move.

Barça are certainly interested. It is no secret they have been chasing a left-forward this summer, an alternative to the ageing Thierry Henry. They came no closer than Real Madrid in tempting Franck Ribéry to Spain, before failing to get either David Silva or Juan Manuel Mata from Valencia. And so Robinho is next on their list. But until today the suggestion that the interest was requited was only rumour. Rumour, as it happened, that I believed, but rumour nonetheless.

But Robinho has been talking freely on international duty, and this has made Tuesday's Guardian:

"It's not easy to say no to a club like Barcelona. They are European champions, they're in a lovely city and I like Spain a lot. I have always wanted to play at clubs like Barcelona. It's a great club, any player would be happy for them to show an interest. I'm happy that Barcelona have taken notice of me. Who wouldn't like to play alongside Xavi, [Andrés] Iniesta, [Lionel] Messi, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and all the rest. I like Barcelona; they're a great club."

There are two questions remaining. Does Robinho want to move sufficiently to force a transfer? Given his conduct at Real Madrid this cannot be ruled out. Just because we're rich does not mean that we are immune to player power. And, crucially, what does Mark Hughes make of all this? The state of his relationship with de Souza last season meant that his decision not to sell him this summer was rather surprising. Could this interest be the excuse he has been waiting for to get rid?

But even with our keeping Martin Petrov on deadline day I doubt we would sell Robinho without replacing him. And who exactly is there? Hughes is a big fan of Franck Ribéry but it seems set in stone that he will join Real Madrid after the World Cup. Presuming also that Iniesta, Arshavin, and Robben are beyond us, there are not that many names left. Given Hughes' fetishisation of Premier League experience, how about a big money move for Ashley Young or even Joe Cole, whose contract situation remains unresolved? I'm just thinking out loud here.

This could be one of the big stories of 2010.

Balague: MH rejects Pep's Robi bid

From Guillem Balague's Mirror column:

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola started the week desperately trying to contact Mark Hughes by phone in a bid to convince Manchester City to sell him Robinho.

Hughes and Guardiola had chatted at the Camp Nou before last week’s friendly, and the Barcelona coach was told there was no chance of Robinho leaving.

Why did Guardiola persist? A very well known intermediary had suggested that City could sign Arjen Robben and told Barcelona that Robinho would be willing to move.

However, Guardiola found that Hughes’ phone went unanswered – and sources at City now say that their transfer activity for this summer is over, but plans are already in place for further additions in January.

This is interesting. Followers of Spanish football will know that Barça have spent all summer looking for a left forward: both Thierry Henry and Andrés Iniesta can play there, and very well too, but neither are specialists, which is why they went for Franck Ribéry. That bid having failed, they have switched attention to Robinho.

But that's just background. The key point here is that, if we believe Balague - and he does have good sources at Barcelona - Hughes has rejected an approach for Robinho. Now, this is quite a surprise given what we learnt last season about their relationship. I had understood that any serious offer for Robinho would be accepted quite happily by Hughes this summer. So for a move to be rejected may well suggest that something - perhaps Robinho's upturn in form last April and May - has changed the manager's mind on this.

Balague prescient

Most City fans I talk to are struck by the sheer awesomeness of Pablo Zabaleta. In only forty games in blue he's already a fan's favourite, Mark Hughes' great masterstroke and one of the club's best pieces of business in recent years.

Who could have predicted this? One person who did is Spanish football writer Guillem Balague. As an Espanyol fan, he had real first hand knowledge of Zabaleta and wrote when he joined City what a success he'd be:

His intelligence and character combine to make him a natural leader, and the kind of player that other players like to have alongside them out on the pitch: in other words, he is always reliable, always there for his team mates and, even when things aren't going well, he never goes missing and will always make himself available for the pass.

He'll provide balance and stability, particularly important when you start adding players like Robinho to the side.

It's worth reading the whole piece. Just because some of what Balague writes is nonsense doesn't mean that he never gets it right. And he was ahead of the game with this one.

Balague : Hughes will stay

From his blog:

In fact, I would say that at this moment in time, it is odds on that Mark Hughes will still be in charge of Manchester City next season. Of course, in football terms, next season is still a very long way off; and yes, it is true that the owners have been looking at other ooptions, but after being told by Arsene Wenger that he is not interested, and with a great deal of uncertainty surrounding Jose Mourinho, the Manchester City owners are coming around to the idea that Mark Hughes is the right man to help them deliver their ambitious project.

I think the key to understanding Balague's various claims is to discriminate between those topics on which he is well informed (Liverpool, Espanyol, various Spanish players) and those where he is not. He was, for example, ahead of the game on our pursuit of Pablo Zabaleta. But some times he misses the target: City's big name central midfielder in January? Newcastle getting in a Spanish manager? Crouch to Spurs? Adebayor to Barcelona?

The question, then, is 'does Balague have ears in the right places with our board?' And I've honestly got no answer. Let me know if you do.

Real in for Diarra?

As I've written before, I think the success of the second half of our season is largely contingent on our signing Lassana Diarra or someone just like him. As we see every week, Vincent Kompany is asked to do too much in midfield. Ireland is looking tired and Elano can't compete in a midfield three.

We've been linked very heavily with Diarra. Ian Ladyman wrote last week that a deal is 'in place'. So what we really don't need is another club coming in and spoiling this. But today we hear that Juande Ramos was so impressed with Diarra that he wants to take him to Real Madrid. A serious injury to Mahamadou Diarra (no relation) has left Real rather light in central midfield and so they need someone new. Real are more likely to be able to match us in the transfer market than, say, Tottenham Hotspur so if this story is true it could mean a bit of a re-think. Frings?

UPDATE 00.03 Something in the Mail on Sunday relieves my fears on this. Apparently Hughes "will make Portsmouth's £20million midfielder Lassana Diarra his first signing of the new window", because Real Madrid can't meet the asking price. The article also claims that Hughes wants to sell Elano and Jo, which sounds reasonable enough.

Balague on Robinho

Good article from everyone's favourite La Liga expert.

Mark Hughes's biggest challenge may present itself in learning how to play Robinho regularly, while keeping up the pressure on him and maintaining the kind competitive environment that every athlete requires if he is to keep performing at his peak. Put Robinho on a pedestal and he may repay you by acting the prima-donna.

Read it all HERE.

Balague says City bid for Robinho

Guillem Balague has just been on Sky Sports News saying that City have lodged bids for David Villa, Mario Gomez and Robinho.

But he thinks either Villa or Robinho moving to City is unlikely - Villa due to his new contract, and Robinho due to a lack of time. He predicted a new and higher Chelsea bid for Robinho later this evening.

He has also claimed that Real Madrid told him that they have not made nor shall they make a bid for Dimitar Berbatov.

And City target Diego Milito will not be going to Spurs - but to Genoa.