Transfer Rumours & Discussion

Still nothing confirmed but apparently a deal is in advanced stages.

http://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/sport/avslojar-kosovare-asllani-nara-man-city/

City have too many attackers but even if they let one go and signed Asllani they would still have too many attackers. One out one in makes no difference. If somebody leaves it would be to make space for Asllani not to make the number of options more manageable. And if talks have reached the advanced stage then chances are they have already done the work on making the space.

Guest wrote:City have too many attackers but even if they let one go and signed Asllani they would still have too many attackers. One out one in makes no difference. If somebody leaves it would be to make space for Asllani not to make the number of options more manageable. And if talks have reached the advanced stage then chances are they have already done the work on making the space.

They don't have to worry about having too many players in the same way most would. It's an issue only on the football side of things, not the financial. If players themselves are happy to stay where they won't get regular playing time then that's up to them but the club won't cull excessive depth unless the manager asks them to because he/she can't juggle minutes on the pitch.

One player will lose their starting status to make an open spot in the XI for Asllani, and said player will either be deemed surplus to requirements or get the sense they are and ask to be moved on because of that. But I don't expect they will trim more than one. If Cushing really felt his squad was too crowded he would have trimmed it already totally unrelated to Asllani.

Rich Laverty @RichJLaverty
#FAWSL Big deal between WSL 1 clubs for an England international close...
https://twitter.com/RichJLaverty/status/690516437325221888

There are too many interesting replies to this tweet to post them all. It's easier if you just read them at the source.

Guest wrote:Rich Laverty @RichJLaverty
#FAWSL Big deal between WSL 1 clubs for an England international close...
https://twitter.com/RichJLaverty/status/690516437325221888

There are too many interesting replies to this tweet to post them all. It's easier if you just read them at the source.

This doesn't sound like it's City/Asllani related to me. None of City's English players would be swapped for somebody of Asllani's position unless you say Duggan which sounds extremely unlikely.

So it's either Greenwood leaving Notts which hasn't concluded one way or another yet, or perhaps a Birmingham exit. He says he isn't referring to Davison.

Guest wrote:City have too many attackers but even if they let one go and signed Asllani they would still have too many attackers. One out one in makes no difference. If somebody leaves it would be to make space for Asllani not to make the number of options more manageable. And if talks have reached the advanced stage then chances are they have already done the work on making the space.

There aren't many it could be based on the latest round of new contracts or only just got there's. Harding looks the most likely candidate if somebody is indeed making way.

http://www.doncasterroversbelles.co.uk/news/news_six_players_released.html#Q0B3torrW4l0QElE.97

Lauren Cresswell, Jade Radburn, Sophie Stamp, Molly Johnson, Lyndsey Cunningham and Nicole Dale. Emily Roberts has gone back to Notts now her loan is over.

I don't follow the Belles, did they have an over-inflated squad because they were all part-timers or are the Belles going to have to replace all these players that were released?

City have too many attackers but even if they let one go and signed Asllani they would still have too many attackers. One out one in makes no difference. If somebody leaves it would be to make space for Asllani not to make the number of options more manageable. And if talks have reached the advanced stage then chances are they have already done the work on making the space.

Man City really don't have that many forwards. They have: Asllani, Duggan, Ross, Parris and Harding. Chelsea have: Aluko, Ji, Davison, Kirby, Carney, Borges, England. Man City have two less and than Chelsea. I think that five forwards is just about right for a CL club.

Asliani is a good addition to City and it's nice to have a second Swede in the league.

Guest wrote:Man City really don't have that many forwards. They have: Asllani, Duggan, Ross, Parris and Harding. Chelsea have: Aluko, Ji, Davison, Kirby, Carney, Borges, England. Man City have two less and than Chelsea. I think that five forwards is just about right for a CL club. 

I don't think it's too many forwards as such, it's more having too few defense minded players in comparison to attack minded players, which is manifesting itself as a 'too many forwards' observation.

Asllani is a great signing for them, perhaps the signing of the season league wide. But if you look at their squad, getting that more defensive element to their midfield would arguably have been a bigger necessity than a forward. To put that midfielder on the pitch you have to sacrifice somebody who players closer to the goal. So it wouldn't solely be Asllani's arrival which caused a player to leave, if they have a new midfielder as well as Asllani then it might prompt the exit of a forward.

Guest wrote:There aren't many it could be based on the latest round of new contracts or only just got there's. Harding looks the most likely candidate if somebody is indeed making way.

I have no insider knowledge of City's dealings, but I do agree that once you eliminate those who only just signed or those who only just renewed there aren't many others left but that Harding would be one of them. And if you look at her most recent mutual twitter follows it may not only confirm her exit but where she is going to as well.

So if we work off the assumption that Harding has gone to Liverpool... I would say that rules out the talk of Davison returning there which I doubt had any basis to it anyway but at least we can ignore it now. I would also say it very likely rules out the possibility that yesterday's tweets which said an England NT player is switching between WSL1 clubs (one of which said the new club was Liverpool) is referring to a forward going to Liverpool.

If the Lioness transfer as it appears to have been dubbed in some places is not about Davison as confirmed by the source who kicked off the rumour, that leaves only Greenwood who has been leaving Notts for months now but who so far hasn't turned up anywhere else; Taylor who has been speculated on but I don't think it's actually based on anything; and Potter and Moore who are repeatedly brought up for obvious reasons but who haven't been the subject of any tweeted clues which you could absolutely be certain are about either of them.

I don't recall there being unresolved rumour on any other players? And I think the others are all accounted for now? Unless it's going to come completely out of the blue and be a total shocker therefore ruling them all back in.

Guest wrote:If the Lioness transfer as it appears to have been dubbed in some places is not about Davison as confirmed by the source who kicked off the rumour, that leaves only Greenwood who has been leaving Notts for months now but who so far hasn't turned up anywhere else; Taylor who has been speculated on but I don't think it's actually based on anything; and Potter and Moore who are repeatedly brought up for obvious reasons but who haven't been the subject of any tweeted clues which you could absolutely be certain are about either of them.

I don't recall there being unresolved rumour on any other players? And I think the others are all accounted for now? Unless it's going to come completely out of the blue and be a total shocker therefore ruling them all back in.

If the Laverty tweet and the other tweet which named Liverpool are related and both are legit info, then in the case of Greenwood yes they do arguably need her, in the case of Taylor no they don't, and in the case of Moore or Potter no they arguably don't. I don't see an obvious gap in their squad for an England player as they have reassembled too much of it already, but Greenwood does seem the most likely if there is actually someone. At the same time though nothing has linked her to Liverpool all winter until now and even that link has come about from speculation of the posters here. If it's somebody other than Greenwood going to Liverpool I would be very surprised.

Guest wrote:If the Laverty tweet and the other tweet which named Liverpool are related and both are legit info, then in the case of Greenwood yes they do arguably need her, in the case of Taylor no they don't, and in the case of Moore or Potter no they arguably don't. I don't see an obvious gap in their squad for an England player as they have reassembled too much of it already, but Greenwood does seem the most likely if there is actually someone. At the same time though nothing has linked her to Liverpool all winter until now and even that link has come about from speculation of the posters here. If it's somebody other than Greenwood going to Liverpool I would be very surprised.

If it's somebody other than Greenwood full stop I will be very surprised. The rest are either not and never were transfering and so speculating on them was a waste of time or they likely will move on one day just not this window. So many look set or content where they are. I'm expecting Greenwood but her new club is not one we were waiting for based on the early rumblings or it's something so far out of left field we will never guess it.

I don't think it's too many forwards as such, it's more having too few defense minded players in comparison to attack minded players, which is manifesting itself as a 'too many forwards' observation.

I think Man City are far from done signing players, if at the end of the transfer they don't have more defensive minded players I'll agree with you.

I don't think that the Laverty tweet in anyway referred to Liverpool. Unless Schroder is slated be out the whole season again Liverpool don't need another left fullback they already have Pacheco as talented cover. They could do with a versatile fullback as a potential cover for Harris but Greenwood doesn't really fill that bill. I think we can rule out Greenwood to Liverpool.

I was the one who say the random tweet about Davison to Liverpool, and I'll say it again i don't put any stock in that tweet/rumour and don't think Davison will leave Chelsea (although it would be wise for her playing time if she did). I don't see any England player going to Liverpool to be honest.

City just announced Harding has left. Looks like the move to Liverpool is on.

Odd time for Man City to release her. Liverpool most likely won't make an announcement until Monday. Besides the mutual following of her and the Liverpool magazine guy (who mostly follows only Liverpool players but he does follow other players as well) has there been any other rumour about her joining Liverpool? Could being released today (on Saturday) point more for her going abroad and that club wanted to announce it over the weekend? It's all very odd.

I've not seen her linked to Liverpool anywhere outside of this board and it seems like the link here is just based on the twitter follows. But I would say there is sound logic behind the conclusion. If you aren't ITK you just work from what you can see in front of you, and I guess a poster here went looking for clues and found what might be one.

I do agree that the way City have announced her release is a bit weird.

I'm the poster who mentioned her twitter activity. I by chance noticed the follows prior to City's Asllani announcement but I just didn't post it until this morning. It was a two plus two guess because I lived through that bygone WSL era when nobody gave a crap about drawing attention to things which weren't yet publically known and half the league's transfers could be figured out based on who followed who. Now she is confirmed to have left City I expect two plus two equals four, though I expected that anyway hence posting it. I'm sure it won't be long before somebody else somewhere else spots what I did now there is actually reason to look for clues about her specifically.

This is what we're reduced to doing when the journos and bloggers will only drop hints instead of details 

This is what we're reduced to doing when the journos and bloggers will only drop hints instead of details

The really journos seem to stay away form these asinine hints but the damn bloggers are so annoying. Good detective work on your part. I personally hope it's not true but you give compelling evidence for her joining Liverpool. I don't think any of the bloggers on Twitter have hinted at her move.

Wherever she is going it seems to have happened very quickly because all of the noise coming out of her in recent weeks implied she was still a City player and had no intention of changing that. It happening so quick is likely a reason why nobody has spilled the beans, or should I say spilled the overly vague hints? Not many will have had chance to be told, find out through the back channels, or even just consider the idea that she might be leaving. I mean, there was no reason to think she was on the move until yesterday but 24hrs later we get confirmation she has.

Harding's agent has said her new club is being announced after the international break. Which was pretty obviously going to be the case but whatever. Their guess is Wednesday.