but why did City's full offer come so late?

City informally offered £50 million at the beginning of the window. Wenger told them to stick it. Earlier this week, (after Arsenal finally accepted that Sanchez would not re-sign or agree to go to a team other than City) Arsenal told City it would be open to a deal at the right price. City formally offered £50 million. Arsenal rejected it and asked for Sterling. City declined to give him up. Arsenal indicated it would be willing to take £60 million. City offered, and Arsenal accepted, with the understanding it was going to sign Lemar as a replacement.

Arsenal agreed a fee with Monaco, but didn't pre-negotiate with Lemar, apparently. So when he said, "thanks, but no thanks," Arsenal backed out of its agreement with City. Meanwhile, Sanchez had agreed to terms with City, and had apparently told his Chile teammates he was a City player. So Sanchez feels like Arsenal dicked him around, and it did (although I don't have too much sympathy for him).

Just an absolute cluster all around.

without Arsenal securing a replacement. No team is making a replacement bid at 90MM first without having the right amount of reserves secure and their valuation met.

City reluctant to make a serious offer significantly delayed the clock from starting. Had all summer to make certain or some price discovery on valuation.

The low bids for Alexis was not even exploratory. The same team just sold Ox for 40MM. For OXLAIDE-CHAMBERLAIN. 40MM....

"City reluctant to make a serious offer significantly delayed the clock from starting"



Are you really trying to say that 50M wasn't serious, but 55M was?

Come on, Arsenal have known forever that Sanchez

1) Was out of contract at the end of this season (and will now leave for free while negotiating in January with whomever he wants, most likely City)
2) Had no intention of signing with Arsenal
3) City was interested since the end of last season


How can anyone argue that Arsenal did or should have waited until Man City upped their offer 5M to start looking. Either way, they have to replace Sanchez, the guy is leaving after this year. They should have been doing due diligence on Lemar for next summer to replace Sanchez at a minimum (along with others). Whether City bids 50M or 55M, Arsenal should have been preparing for the fact that Sanchez was leaving sooner or later, regardless of what City did or didn't offer. If they waited for a serious offer to do due diligence on replacing Sanchez, then they are a bunch of idiots.

and Im spewing B.S.?

That's not the sequence of transfers. The clubs agree to a transfer fee and then they are permitted to formalize terms with the player. IN.THAT.ORDER.

That no contact happens until a transfer fee is agreed?

Really? I'm not talking about tapping up players but are you really suggesting that agents and go betweens aren't used to gauge interest and ballpark parameters of a deal?


I appreciate the all caps though.

and it goes far beyond money, is the last step and the most time consuming. That does not happen until a transfer fee is agreed and or a release clause is activated. After those terms are finalized it then needs approval by the new association, in this case the FA.

Exploratory conversations of interest, availability and likelihood are done by agents year round.

I don't have any problem stating that I know far more about this based on first hand. I am no expert in healthcare though. Ill leave that to you.

free next summer. So his transfer fee is less valuable by comparison. A team isn't going to pay full market value for a player they can get free next season.

Arsenal told City it wasn't going to sell Sanchez. Period. Full stop. City suspected Arsenal would eventually come around once it realized Sanchez was not going to re-sign or agree to go to Bayern or PSG (who Aresenal preferred to deal with). But City was not going to make a formal offer unless encouraged to do so. Arsenal had all summer to find a replacement. And it knew City would be willing to pay around £50 million. Only Arsenal knew for sure whether it would eventually sell. And if it was going to be willing to do that if it found a replacement, it was up to Arsenal to find the replacement.

My guess -- which is only that -- is that Arsene didn't want to sell (because he needs to win this season), and the board eventually overruled him. But by the time it did, it had to scramble to negotiate and find a replacement. Maybe it thought City was desperate enough to give up Sterling. In any event, City can't be blamed for Arsenal's inability to line up a replacement, if its willingness to sell was going to be contingent on that outcome.

when he says a player is not for sale has not paid attention for the last 12 years.

it wasn't going to make a formal offer until Arsenal indicated a willingness to sell. Arsenal had an informal offer all summer. It knew what was what from City's end. It didn't find a replacement because it was indecisive and negligent. Not because it it was unaware of City's intent to buy Sanchez.

Arsenal is not calling Man City to tell them.

Don't be so naive.

A club has to make an offer to the selling club. Willingness to sell is not some flag that is put up outside the stadium.

as I indicated above.

Nasri, Fabregas, RVP just for starters.

think negotiations begin with a formal offer. Once Arsenal informally told City it was open to a deal, City made a formal offer. This happens all the time. Clubs speak and negotiate informally. Once it gets to later stages, paperwork is exchanged. For Arsenal to act as if it didn't know City wanted to buy Sanchez, for £50 million, until Tuesday of this week is just silly.

they acted to meet their valuation + make a replacement.

Clubs can agree to a transfer fee and then be permitted to personal terms with the agent and player. Its three or four parties involved to make it happen for one transfer let alone two players and other factors (Mbappe and DiMaria).