Let's get one thing straight, it is highly unlikely that Real Madrid want Atonio Valencia; if they did, they'd have signed him already. The fact that the press are reporting United and the Spanish club are "vying" for the Ecuadorian’s services is ridiculous.
Real Madrid are going to sign Frank Ribery, they have already signed Ronaldo and Kaka - and quite probably David Villa too. The stories linking Valencia to Real are not quite in the realms of Gary Breen to Barcelona - which has to go down as arguably the most far-fetched rumour of the last decade, but it is silly nonetheless.
Wigan signed Valencia for an undisclosed fee, so if United make them a reasonable offer then they should accept it because frankly no other leading Premier League club appears to want him.
We all have our own opinions of relative worth and the views that I have personally canvassed suggest a fee of around £6m-£8m would be fair. United being United will eventually probably agree to pay three times that, but should they? Personally I'd call Wigan's bluff and give them a take-it or leave-it over.
Valencia will not provide an answer to United's goal scoring problems this coming season, he is unproven at the very highest level, signing him will be a gamble - the last thing we need is another Djemba-Djemba - the club has enough journeymen players' at it is.
United should only be shelling out big money for those who the manager believes will definitely improve the quality of the squad; the jury is very much out on Valencia.
Last week in the wake of the stories linking United to stars like Ribery and David Villa I posted that the club should forget about these two players' and concentrate on finding the next Ronaldo or David Beckam. One week later and United are indeed being linked to the next Ronaldo in the form of Gremio's Douglas Costa - that is the way forward for the champions.
Costa could arguably be more of a gamble than Valencia, given the language barrier and his age, added to which the Premier League is quite physical, however, reports suggest he could go on to be a truly great player, no one is saying that about Valencia apart from those who are looking to sell him.
i hope united do offer 6-8million and tell wigan to take it or leave it.
ReplyDeletewe want to keep him
I agree that Wigan are trying very hard to make it look like United is not the only club chasing Valencia, and we should be able to push the price down a bit from the reported £18m. I do, however, think that Valencia is a kind of player we really need, and I rate him very highly. All signings are gambles to an extent, but I don't think Valencia would be a particularly big one.
ReplyDeletebath,
ReplyDeleteIf he was any good how come Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool haven't been in for him? Even City aren't interested...
Hakan,
ReplyDeleteWe'll see how good he really is if and when he signs. Like I said the jury is out...
James,
ReplyDeleteGood point about no other PL-club being interested. It's a mystery to me. He's always looked very good on the, admittedly few, occasions that I've watched him.
Let's hope the jury doesn't stay out for too long.
offer 6-8 million and you can't have him. just because we signed him for an undisclosed fee doesn't mean it was minimal. we paid about 5.5 million for him including his loan fees for the first 18 months. he is 23 and has at least 2 years left on his contract. he is a key player for a mid table premiership club and a key player for a country that got through the group stages of the last world cup. pay up or leave him alone, he is a class act. he doesn't do step-overs or any of that nonsense. he is a very strong player with excellent passing ability and vision. the only thing i would criticise him for is his lack of goals but he certainly can finish. i believe he should score more and would score more for united. i also hope to see him scoring more goals for wigan athletic next season.
ReplyDeleteJames,
ReplyDeleteApparently Liverpool have had him watched too and are/were possibly interested.
Unfortunately our idiot chariman is intent on selling him. All this talk of selling him even if we get 2 million quid less for him because we'll let him go wherever he wants is just plain weird. The owd codger is clearly losing it and it worries me that he would talk like that in public. Bonkers!
Hakan,
ReplyDeleteThe fact that no other "top" English club wants him should set alarm bells ringing - it also adds weight to my claim that the Real link is totally ridiculous.
I fear that we are about to sign another mediocre player...and losing Tevez into the bargain will I predict turn out to be a very costly mistake.
It has taken Valencia three seasons to score eight goals (from memory), Tevez notched 15 last season...
Gareth,
ReplyDeleteWith reference to the fee, I was going off www.soccerbase.com and they don't have any fees listed.. I will stand to be corrected if you're right...
Your point about Liverpool watching him - you could probably say that about any half decent player in the Premier League - it's bids on the table that count.
"he is a key player for a mid table premiership club"...quite, that is what I fear United could turn out to be this season, if Fergie doesn't pull his finger out sharpish.
But don't worry about the size of the fee, United will in their best traditions (not) break your record transfer fee...but with that said I guess you'd rather keep him...
Time will tell.
James,
ReplyDeleteWigan never release transfer fees officially ("undisclosed" is all we ever say - it's infuriating, really) but, being a fan and constantly on our message boards a "ballpark figure" is usually rumoured by people in the know and in interviews at the time Chirs Hutchings and/or Bruce said that the fee was "substantial" so he certainly wasn't massively cheap. In fact when we signed him he had had a fairly successful loan spell in La Liga with Recreativo Huelva and was voted second (to Ronaldo) in the young player of World Cup 2006. He doesn't grab many headlines nor are there many fireworks as, like i said earlier, he isn't particularly tricky - no stepovers or suchlike. But he has an excellent football brain and pace to burn. He would do well for you. All that being said, I'd certainly agree that £18 million is pricey from your point of view. But then I look down the road and see Glen Johnson being signed for £17 million and I think if he's worth that then Valencia isn't over priced at all. He's on a decent wage at Wigan, a decent length of contract and our best player so I suppose it's upto Fergie and how much he wants him in his team.
I really do hope he stays with us but his dirty agent has got dollar signs in his eyes.
Interestingly, when he left to play for Ecuador in his world cup qualifiers at the end of the season he was quoted in his local media as saying he was happy at Wigan and if no big move materialised he would be happy to stay with us. My fingers are corssed, but probably in vain.
Also, I take your point about "Liverpool watching him" not meaning much. I suppose time will tell and we should know in the next coule of weeks. Having said that, Whelan has been saying that for the past month of so. The man talks more rubbish than a binman.
ReplyDeletei really hope utd offer 6-8 or for that matter 21 mil and wigan say i think we'll keep him ... and valencia is cool with it because he wants regular 1st team football ... i'm not saying you don't have a point 14-18-21 million i think is excessive but he is irreplaceable for us ... i also think whelan had a point because with other dangerous players on his team he could be an absolute revelation as he was when zaki was firing on all cylinders at the beginning of last season
ReplyDeleteGareth, so the transfer fee you came up with is just a rumour....that's fine, but still we don't know for sure.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your point about Glen Johnson at Liverpool - United have to be among the world's best at putting bad deals together. I could expand on that point but I won't - suffice to say two bad deals doesn't make a good one....
I'll just reiterate my earlier point which is alarm bells are ringing because no other top English clubs are in for him.
I'll also add that just because Wigan fans want Valencia to stay, it doesn't mean he will be a success at United...
Time will tell.
James, I can't disagree with anything you say, you reasonable chap, you. I think the key phrase here that keeps on raising it's head is "time will tell". Nice chatting to you!
ReplyDeleteFrom what i understand utd have a agreed a £14m fee. In this current market i would say that is a fair price. The likes of Young would go for £20m. James Milner went to villa for £11m. valencia is better than both in my opinion. the lad has proven this in a mediocre team in the world cup and with wigan. People need to realize despite the current economic crisis, money will always flow in football. Each year most clubs increase their revenue, which will inevitably lead to spending more. The figures being thrown about in the game will continue to rise.
ReplyDeleteTony, in the week that Liverpool have just paid out £18m for Johnson and Real have splashed out big time I don't think anyone is under any illsions about money flowing.
ReplyDeleteMy points about Valencia can be summarised as follows (but I accept your opinion on him):
Is he going to be a United star?
Is he going to score the goals that Tevez scored?
Is he good value?
I fear he will not add quality to squad. I for one believe we have enough players who are triers, ie Park and O'Shea. Every squad needs a few players like that, but you also need genuine star quality - in other words you need balance. I fear come the start of the season United will have slipped badly where quality is concerned.
I actually hope Valencia proves me wrong, obviously.
One thing is for certain Scholes no longer has the legs and so at the very worst we will have someone who can tank up and down the park and help out in the grafting stakes, but again will we be making up for the Ginger Princes' guile on the ball?
Good point on scholesy. Tevez is not a "star" player. To be honest he is not particularly good on the eye when you watch him play. He is a hard worker like Park if anything. Its unfair to liken Valencia to park because valencia has more technical ability than park could ever have, i would even go as far to argue that the only player in the squad with better technical ability is Berbatov.
ReplyDeleteWe only need one "star" player to come in along with valencia and another young player with potential.
Tony,
ReplyDeleteWe will never agree about Tevez, my opinion is he is the real deal. How many times has Scholes scored 15 goals in a season, and that is when the Argentine had been marginilised?
Unlike Park, Tevez can hit an elephant's arse with a banjo.
Tevez produces results, it doesn't matter that he's a grafter. Perhaps the best case in point was the 5-2 win over Spurs, until he entered the action it looked like a lost cause.
If Valaencia is a quarter of Ronaldo then £18 million is a good price! The guy is good maybe not world class, but he does the right thing for a young player who is still ajusting to English football, As Gareth has said, he s strong, quick and can tackle, he works hard for the team, I can only see him getting better, as for the arguement about other clubs not in for him, I can't remember any other club looking at Ronaldo? What Real Madrid paid was crazy money, but that is what united wanted and got. So play the same game, if Wigan want £18 pay it, or leave the lad alone, I think Martinez will make him a better player next season if he stays and I will be happy watching at Wigan.
ReplyDeleteSpot on gary!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteJust found this in my favourites under "see what happens" and am wondering how you think it's panned out with you apparently paying £18 million for him 2 years ago.
United friends of mine are pretty pleased with him after initially feeling like he was a little nervous to be on such a big stage. What do you think?