Too much “news,” too little time

By: Kevin | July 16th, 2009

A quick-and-dirty rundown:

–A loan deal for Hleb, the Disgruntled Belorussian, going to Inter Milan might be the other shoe falling in the Maxwell deal. The final bit of the puzzle is Hleb’s consent. Here’s hoping his Italian is as good as his Whining.

–Those Poulsen rumors will NOT go away. Stay tuned with that one.

–Barca has said to Gudjohnsen, “Nice knowing you, but you can feel free to find another club.” West Ham is very interested in our Icelandic Monument.

–The plan is to present Maxwell tomorrow, after his physical and whatnot. I’m pretty geeked about this one. He was high on Ramzi’s wish list, and anybody who’s high on Ramzi’s wish list is high on mine.

–We’ve given Eto’o an extra week of vacation. He doesn’t have to report to camp until July 27. Suffice it to say he’s not a happy boy, and might report on the 20th, just to be truculent. Could this relationship possibly get any worse?

–Villa’s agent is going to take another run at the powers that be today, in the hopes of prising his star loose so that he can come to the Camp Nou. Here’s hoping, since we need to resolve this incredibly toxic Eto’o situation.

–Guardiola is back on the scene, and was the one who approved the Maxwell deal ultimately, ensuring that Abidal will have competition. As we all know, unsettlement is part of the Guardiola philosophy, to have competition at all positions to keep players on their toes. He wants to have a striker decision worked out before the London action begins.

Um, good luck with that.

–The club is another 30 million to the good, thanks to a decision won against the two main broadcasters, TV3 and AudioVisual Sport, for unpaid bills from last season. So let’s take that dosh, stack it atop the 40 we were going to pay for Villa, and buy us a big Swede. Yes!

–Spare a thought for poor Filipe Luis. That is all.

Speculation. I’ve said as much in the comments of the previous post, but want to put it here as well, because it’s worth thinking about.

There’s the story at Sport and EMD that Villa is willing to make up the difference (done via his contract) between our offer and what Valencia are willing to sell for. This is a move that, though a great many people have called nonsense on, might actually make sense, because:

–Even if it isn’t true, it sends a very clear message that he wants out, and is done with Valencia.

–I’m not sure if he has a personal contract with a shoe and/or clothing vendor, but if he doesn’t, and kicks out the jams with us, does anyone not think he could make up that fiscal difference in about two seconds?

–Speaking of marketing, Valencia isn’t exactly world-renowned, right? The marketing opportinities available as a Blaugrana player are yet another reason Villa would be willing to make up any and all differences in dosh between us and them.

–Earning potential with us is huge, bigger than it will be at debt-ridden Valencia. Never mind the potential championship incentives and payouts. We’re also a bigger club that can, simply put, pay a lot more for exceptional performance.

–Villa shirt sales would blow up, and smart players always make shirt sales and a percentage thereof, part of their contracts.

So I wouldn’t be so quick to call nonsense on that Villa story. You can see that it would be penny smart, in context of the player’s future with our club.

–Finally, the new season begins on the 20th. Most everyone is expected then, except for: Puyol, Xavi, Pique, Alves and Busquets (the birthday boy!), because of Confederations Cup duty; Iniesta, because they want to make sure he is healthy as can be, going into the season, Messi, because well, why not, and Eto’o, for unspecified reasons that can only be speculated upon.

Rock.