Thursday 22 January 2009

Manchester City preparing a move for Henry

British newspapers The Independent and The Times claim that Manchester City is interested in signing Barcelona forward and French international Thierry Henry (31) next summer.

The Independent claims that Manchester City have accepted they won't be able to sign a star player this transfer window but will consider returning to Barcelona for Henry this summer, having received an indication that the Frenchman did not feel January was the right time to leave Barcelona.

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes and Manchester City executive chairman Garry Cook would both like to sign Henry and the failed transfer of AC Milan's Kaká earlier this week has not put them off the idea of high-profile signings this summer.

Henry appears to fit Manchester City's profile of a player whose broader image rights could have value. The French striker would also understand Garry Cook's notion about maximising footballers' intellectual property rights, an issue that is believed to have caused the collapse of the Kaká deal.

Manchester City wouldn't have been left with the impression that their pursuit of the striker is a lost cause. Henry's age could be a bigger problem than his willingness to abandon the prospect of Champions League football next season. It is believed that the transfer fee for Henry, whose contract at Barcelona expires in 2011, could be around 15 million euro°.

The Times claims that Manchester City have already taken the first steps in their attempt to bring Henry back to the English Premier League. After the failed bid to sign Kaká from AC Milan, Henry would be next on Manchester City's list of transfer targets with the Frenchman both fitting the club's need for an iconic signing to raise their commercial profile as well as their prospects on the pitch.

City didn't yet approach Henry or Barcelona directly but has made preliminary moves to sound out Henry's availability and whether the player would want to return to English football as part of the club's new project. The contacts have just started and City will continue the process over the coming weeks.

If a transfer next summer seems possible, Manchester City will then decide if they will meet Barcelona's asking price, which is expected to be around 10,5 million euro°, and match Henry's salary, which is thought to be at this moment more than 5,5 million euro a year.

Read more:
Messi and Eto'o on Manchester City wish list
Manchester City will come after Henry in January
Bid from Manchester City for Toure

18 comments:

pep said...

10,5 million euro =

13 million us dollar
10 million british pound

Vj said...

The title says Herny..

pep said...

Thanks, Vj!

Anonymous said...

10 million seems a bit low. Let's first wait and see how he performs for the rest of the season...

Anonymous said...

When City can pay 20 Mio. for de jong and 16 for bellamy, then 10 Mio for henry are ridiculous...

Knives Out said...

Agree with the other commenters.. €10m is a bit too low. We whouls at least ask for €16m+

pep said...

15 million euro =

19 million us dollar
14 million british pound

Anonymous said...

after seeing dinho leave i was bitter and was lashing out on henry since he took up his spot on the left wing but he's almost won me over this season. if barca can only get 10 mil for him i wouldn't mind if he stayed and played the whole larsson role like somebody mentioned earlier coming in as a sub for eto'o or whoever and helping out on the left while somebody else was transitioning playing in that spot. ummm i'm sure he'd like to be closer to his daughter but i don't think thats going to be at the expense of being seen as a mercenary by the british public.

Anonymous said...

CONTRADICTION!!! If they are willing to pay 15M euros, why would they wait to see if they can meet Barca's asking price of "10.5M euros"?
But I dont see Titi goin there.. he might play one season in france and retire. Its not all about £$£ for some players.

+ the same paper in Uk said they have told Cheski to name their price for Drogba, they want Villa, Silva, all names keep flying about. No wonder KAKA said they dont have a clue to what they want.

They paid flipping £19M, (not euros) for De Jong, ifthey waited till summer (4months more), they would have gotten hi for £2.3M..
I say CITY AND THE ARABS are FAT COWS, let whoever wants to milk, MILK them now!! Chelseas milk aint flowing agian..WORD!!!!

Anonymous said...

It doesn't says they are "willing to pay" 15, noubarca. And the 10,5 and 15 isn't mentioned by the same paper. They just have different information.

Anonymous said...

I think winning back his transfer fee would do. 24 million that was.
He played well over the last 7 or 8 matches but I wouldn't mind if he would leave. or we get aguero and put him on the left (rather expensive but he is better than henry) or we get someone for the center midfield and iniesta plays on the left wing. he can be backed up by pedro and gai. hleb i see him playing more on the rigth when messi is injuried or center midfield.

Anonymous said...

This would be an absolute shock return for the EPL, so if we sell, we should be able to get more out of that than 10-15 million.

kamikaze kontiki said...

Hmm... I think it would be foolish of Henry to agree to a return to the Premiership. His career is approaching closure and his role at Barca now and his likely role next season are perfect for someone on the verge of retiring. Man City are stupid too to imagine that a player such as Henry could be the driving force behind achieving their at present starry-eyed hallucinations. But football players rarely display great wisdom n tend to cling on to notions of their prowess long after it starts to wane. I think this deal(assuming there is some truth to it) should be put to Henry. He has a great opportunity for a graceful exit at Barca finishing his career with more laurels than he ever achieved at Arsenal. For Barca, he remains an important player although not an irreplacable and only for one or one and a half more seasons at the maximum. And if its Man City that is trying to buy him we might as well set a high price coz its not like we want or have to sell him.

Anonymous said...

Can't see it happening. Not to Citeh, and not to the Prem. Don't forget that Henry said that Arsenal would be the only Prem side that he would ever play for.

Further, why would he consent to play for a side that can't tell its ass from a hole in the wall, that is reeling from the Kaka debacle.

I'm not sure that he'll be in the colors for us next season, mind you, but it sure as hell won't be for Citeh, if he leaves.

Anonymous said...

One good advantage with Henry is that he seems to execpt sitting on bench and waiting for his turn.

And he is a great player as a super sub (both leftwing or striker).

And i can easily see him plays some more years with a sub position.

But the are too qeustions-

One - is he an expansiva super sub or not? I suppose yes.

Second - what kinds of wishes he has? Did he want to move back to England or France before hanging the shoes?
It is difficlut to know. There was times before that he claimed the life in Barcelona is difficult for him, but nowdays it seems better.

Let's see in the future.

Anonymous said...

Considering his performances during the last weeks/month, I now would like him to stay. He could become our new Larsson. <3

Anonymous said...

Yep I agree. He should stay and in the future lead our MLS team. By the way I think it was Aussie who suggested he could be the Larson type of player. He fits the image of Barca perfectly and can help the young guys coming through.

Knives Out said...

He has already said that it seems towards the end of his career he sees himself moving to the US. So I guess he would be a perfect candidate to be the star crossover player for FCB Miami in my opinion.

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