The Arsenal striker’s own dad said he’d never move to Manchester City. So that should be it…right?
“He’d never go to Manchester City as it’s impossible he would play for another Premier League side that wasn’t Arsenal.” – Bob van Persie, June 8.
Yet since then City’s interest has not gone away, although one report suggests they are setting a cap on a maximum offer of £15 million for the striker.
It begs the question, why haven’t they given up altogether. City can buy almost any striker they want, and players like Fernando Llorente and Edinson Cavani are available for the right price.
Van Persie does tempt them with a unique advantage over other players, he is proven in the Premier League – as last year’s Golden Boot winner – and signing him would seriously destabilise a rival club.
Arsenal would be hugely resistant to a move, and likely push City over what they want to pay, if they were forced into a sale.
Van Persie then of course has been lucky with injuries the last 18 months, but before that his record was poor. Can City risk paying in the region of £200,000 plus a week only for him to break down injured?
He will be 29 when the season kicks off. How many seasons at the top does he have left before his body gives in? It’s a gamble as he might have cracked it, but there would be a calculated risk by City or anyone offering him a bumper new contract.
But most importantly from City’s point of view, if Van Persie’s own father has come out and publicly stated the striker will not be signing with them, why bother trying?
It is one thing to have club managers and team mates say they don’t think he will go to a particular club, but close family members usually know what they are talking about.
City should quit wasting their time and move on, unless they know something we don’t?
Now if you permit us to delve into the realms of speculation, the only reason City could be so adamant in their pursuit of the striker is that they have received words of encouragement from Van Persie himself or his agent? More likely his agent, and who knows how genuine that is.
Interest from abroad makes City far from his most likely option, Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona have all been mentioned.
City have strikers to offload, Adebayor, Santa Cruz, and the futures of Balotelli, Dzeko and Tevez have all been the subject of speculation this summer. City don’t need to sell to buy, but they will sell, and money is no object for them despite forthcoming Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
They can afford to look elsewhere, and bearing in mind the considerable obstacles in their way of a deal for Van Persie at present, that is probably exactly what they should do.
Should City give up on Van Persie or do you think there is a chance they could make the deal happen?
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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