I think it’s pretty safe to say that this deal is going to happen anytime now.
All parts of the media are saying it should be done today and when that happens, you know they’re not far off the mark and can’t all be wrong.
So how do I feel about it?
First thing, it would seem it’s not the rumoured £100 million and is actually nearer £75 million with a lot of performance based add-ons that might take it to £100 million. That seriously disappoints me if it’s true, as it would suggest the club has just folded and conceded defeat far too soon. I said previously that the Manchester evening news had said that Man City didn’t expect to actually sign Jack for £100 million and it was just an opening bid.
I can only conclude from the fact that we’ve accepted the bid so quickly, two possible options. First is that there was indeed a transfer clause in Jack’s contract and we were pretty much powerless to try and stop him leaving or he’s dug his feet in and insisted that he will leave whatever. I massively prefer to believe it’s the first option.
I believe we’ve let him go too cheaply. I’ve said for a while that he was worth £130 million to us and I would like to think we’d have held out for at least some more from City, but I suspect the club’s hands were tied.
There have been rumours that our talks with the player involved offering him a new contract in the range of £150-200k a week. But that’s massively less than the rumoured £300k that City are going to pay him.
Be absolutely honest now and ask yourself if you would turn down the chance of a 50% pay rise. I suspect most of us wouldn’t, but we’re realistic and it would be more than fair to say that Premier league footballers are already in a position where one contract at far less money means they’re made for life. So it shouldn’t be about the money at all really, when you’re already earning £5 million a year. Are players really that greedy?
I suspect not, but when it’s very much in the advisor’s interests for a player to move, you can see how things work.
And as has rightly been pointed out, what happened to the “my city, my club” bollocks that Jack was coming out with just a few weeks back?
That’s the sort of thing that wrankles, just the same as when Fabian Delph (spit) left.
Us fans hate that sort of thing and Jack really should have known better.
Except I truly believe that at the time, he probably wasn’t planning on leaving.
I’ve no doubt whatsoever that Jack had his head turned while he was at the Euros. It’s a mixed blessing these days, being selected for England, as it means you get to talk at length to players at all the top clubs. Not that I think any of them are decidely better when it comes to the work environment and facilities. We just don’t have the glamour that you get in London and Manchester (I blame our useless city leaders for that latter part) and most importantly, we don’t have the one vital thing that anyone would like in their career and that’s success.
You can argue all you like that we’re on the cusp of something and you may well be right. But who has more chance of winning silverware this season, Aston Villa or Man City?
I don’t need to say, because it’s plainly obvious. Let’s face it, winning stuff is good, it’s as simple as that.
You can argue that if he’d waited, he’d have won with us and that’s a much better achievement. And it’s a fair point.
But it’s still a maybe, whereas with City, it’s odds on.
I get that he’s taken the easy option and sold his soul for a few (million) pieces of silver.
And from what I’ve been reading, many fans are massively upset or even angry that he’s going to leave. Which means he will start getting abuse which is going to hit home. And he must know it’s going to come.
Me, I’m pretty sanguine about it all.
There’s a big part of me that thinks that as much as he was brilliant to watch, so he also slowed play down too much a times. That was an ongoing criticism which he hasn’t had coached out of him and it’ll be interesting to see how Pep manages that side of his game. That said, I also believe he had to slow things down so players could catch up with the play. It could well be that better players at Man City mean he doesn’t have to slow it down so much.
And if that’s the case, he’s going to be even better for them than he was for us.
It’s going to be strange not having Jack in our side. But as has always been the case, no one player is bigger than the club.
