Clement Grenier

That doesn't make any sense at all to be fair mate.
We could have hung onto Cabaye till the summer if needs be.. or agreed a loan back option.
I always thought £25m was an 'invitation to negotiate'.. rather than the real figure we would accept.

An interesting side point... AC cost us nowt and we sold for £35m.... we bought Cabaye for £4m from that and sold for £20m... those two deals alone generated £51m in income for the club - not may clubs can point to that statistic.

 

Pete Graves ‏@PeteGravesSky 2h

#nufc initial offer for Grenier likely to fall short of Lyon valuation. But still time to agree a deal. Follow #transfers on @SkySportsNews

 

There was a lot of rumour that we were after Sissoko for the week before we signed him too. Anita, Mbiwa etc were all reported on before the players signed on the dotted line. We do like to keep deals quiet but don't always manage it.

Gutierrez, Cisse and Gouffran were the real stealth maneuvers that I can remember. Nothing about them until they had signed.

 

The bit that didn't make sense to me was why would NUFC accept even £1million less than they wanted when they never offer even that much more to wrap up an incoming transfer. If we did accept £20million it's more likely that there was some truth in the rumours that Cabaye could buy out his contract and go for a lot less in the summer.

 

Get French Football ‏@GFN_France 1m

Clement Grenier's agent Frederic Guerra has refused to answer questions about the player's possible move to Newcastle. #OL #NUFC

 

Get French Football ‏@GFN_France 53s

Lyon President Jean Michel Aulas has confirmed he has received an offer for Clement Grenier. #OL #NUFC


Get French Football ‏@GFN_France 24s

Re: Grenier. Aulas was speaking to 'Surface' magazine earlier today. His comments are not linked to Sky's reports from today. #OL #NUFC

 

The rumour of Cabaye buying out his contract could have been true.
But bear in mind he would have had to pay the £6m to NUFC out of his own bank account.
As rich as footballers are, I'm not sure he could have afforded it.

He would then try and recover the £6m from a new club, in the case of PSG, the French Tax rate of 70% means he would need a payment in the region of £15m to recover the £6m.
There may be ways around it in sponsorship etc, but one way or another he would be subject to massive tax deductions. The French are s*** hot on tax evasion so it wouldn't be easy to avoid some large payment.

Besides the clubs don't as a rule want to see players invoke the Webster Ruling as it would hurt them more in the long run if players started using it regularly. It suits the clubs to retain the Transfer system as it stands, which as why the Professional Footballers Union are reportedly seeking further changes under European Law to make it easier for players to move around at their free will.

 

It's amazing it creates so much conversation. £20m for a 29 year old who has half a decent season - 3 assists, 7 goals - under his belt (last year was so bad it only served to negate the good work he did in his first season) is frankly a huge sum of money. Comparisons with 2 x Chelsea Player of the Season, CL winner, PL winner, WC winner Juan Mata are fcking stupid. Besides which, who are we to stop him going back to his home country on a MASSIVE wage, to play with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Cavani, Lavezzi, Matuidi, Mendez, Verratti and Javier Pastore in a side that could, by all accounts, win the CL.

Honest, I don't get it.

 

Get French Football ‏@GFN_France 40s

Clement Grenier earlier: "Is it better for me to stay in Lyon? For the moment I think so yes." #OL #NUFC

 

I just had a look at sky's player transfer odds and sifting through the list I noticed there's no odds on Grenier joining anyone, let alone us. Does that mean betting has been suspended or does it mean there's nothing in it? There's all sorts of long shot bets, which made it seem peculiar that someone we've actually bid for doesn't even warrant betting odds.

 

I can litterally guarantee We wont sign him its de Kong On loan and that will be it.

 

Grenier quoted as saying "I can nearly say that I won't be going to newcastle".

 

It's not sounding too hopeful.


Get French Football ‏@GFN_France 1m

FULL STORY: Clement Grenier: 'I can nearly say that I will not be going to Newcastle.' :http://goo.gl/PtAmJk #OL #NUFC

 

We never had a glimmer.

 

I just googled the fella. Having lost the dream boat I thought he'd more than make up for it..... turns out they were pictures of Adrian Grenier!!

 

Get him or Cabella. Please

I can see that fat little bastard Craig reporting on friday 'I'm happy to report Charlie Adam has passed a medical...' just as a pack of ravenous, rabid stray dogs tear the ****er apart.

 

This doesn't look like it's going to happen. Shame....... He looks a cracking player.

 

I'm with you on this. I think it's a good deal all round.

£20m (with add-ons) for a 29 year old player who has have given us some great performances and vital goals, but who desperately wanted to leave, is the right thing - and we get around £15m 'net profit' to re-invest.

Yes, we should aim to hold on to such players, But i genuinely think that if we'd held on to him, it would have negatively impacted his play. He really wants CL football and at his age (and the form he's been in) now is his best chance of securing that. Good luck to him.

We now move on and build the squad up again with the cash. That's where we are in the football hierarchy. We won't sign big AND hold on to our best players.

 

As has been said. This has all the hallmarks of a "We tried, but just couldn't..." type of bid. The fact that it hasn't actually been accepted or rejected, is strange in itself. I must say, I have zero faith in anything happening with the Cabaye money before the window ends. Other than collecting interest, that is.

In Joe we trust...

 

It would have been great to get him, and really disappointed that it looks like we wont in this window at least (tho quotes can also be meaningless as we know to our cost). Still think its not a doom and gloom situation though regardless.