Blues could take loss on Jo

Chris Bailey

January 30, 2009

CITY STRUGGLE: Jo

BRAZILIAN striker Jo could be on his way out of Eastlands before Monday's transfer deadline.

Surprise Bundesliga leaders Hoffenheim are believed to be weighing up a bid for the £19m man who has failed with City and would be allowed to leave.

The German club are desperately seeking reinforcements after losing their leading marksman Vedad Ibisevic to injury for the rest of the season.

If they do make a bid for 21-year-old Jo, who arrived at City in the summer from CSKA Moscow, they would only be willing to pay £8m-9m but the Blues would take the financial hit in order to get the player off an escalating wage bill.

Wales international Ched Evans, who has also slipped out of the first-team picture, is wanted by a host of clubs led by Celtic, Cardiff and Sheffield United.

Tal Ben Haim, Michael Ball and Berti could also be prime targets for a switch of club as could Benjani and Darius Vassell though Hughes, still chasing Roque Santa Cruz, would be more perturbed to see them leave before the summer.

Meanwhile, reports in Friday's papers continue to link City with final bids for Roque Santa Cruz and Kolo Toure, while the Times reports that the Blues are interested in United's Carlos Tevez.

Should City let Jo go? Have your say.

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p-woodhouse, gorton (30/01/2009 at 09:06)

if you can get £9 million for him. anap their hands off. i reckon this guy is worse than samaras. might be alright in a championship side. but not good enough for the premiership...

Blue n Proud, Manchester of Course (30/01/2009 at 09:07)

He is awful, i havent seen him have a good game for us yet! 1 goal! & his touch his shocking. His confidence must be at rock bottom so that wont help either. We prob should sell him but a par of me says, hes only young should we keep hold of him for the rest of the season at least?

Icicle Boy, Wokingham (Near Moston) (30/01/2009 at 09:15)

Get shut of him. I'll drive him there myself!

The Blue Goon, Manchester (30/01/2009 at 09:19)

For £9 million i would bite their arm off.
He won't be missed. The boy has a poor first touch, poor in the air, no pace and no strength.
I hope we can offload Vassell and Benjani too.
Glad we have rejected a loan offer for Caciedo, i think he'll be good player in a few years time.

Shaun Reeman, north lincolnshire (30/01/2009 at 09:19)

madness

GMan83, Manchester (30/01/2009 at 09:21)

big things were expected of Jo, and I dont think the pace of the premiership really suited his play.

Don't know if he had the desired workrate either.

another light-weight ericsson signing i guess!

james mcgill (30/01/2009 at 09:23)

id take the loss, hes off the wage bill let him go along with vassell evans benjani and caciedo, boj is back soon and jo seems to have a negative effect on robinho and elano

Piles, Bane of City fans (30/01/2009 at 09:23)

If he goes, good luck to the lad, as he's only a kid who can come on, obviously not here. If he stays, let's hope that he can improve his strength, as that's where his needs to work on. He gets knocked over far too easily.

The glimpses of greatness we have seen of him have, admittedly, been very few, but the goals he took against Pompey and Omonia will be remembered.

Let's hope there's a queue of others picking up their P45's!

g leeds, Leeeds (30/01/2009 at 09:24)

he has hardly had a chance, only 21, and we all know it can take 6-12 months to bed into the Premiership.

give the lad a chance

FLEA, MANCHESTER (30/01/2009 at 09:24)

Why would City be concerned about the "escalating wage bill!" Come on MEN!! When you attract players of higher calibre the wage structure rises exponentially. Basics here Chris but if City had financial problems then they would be looking to offload for pureley financial reasons. The only way a player would leave in the present situation would be because they are surplus to requirements, and that would be the case with JO!! Please think about what you are saying; we are not muppets, you muppet!!

Shaun Reeman, north lincolnshire (30/01/2009 at 09:24)

I agree about Ball & Vas but not Ched.Your be telling me next sturridge is off to Villa

better dead than red!!! (30/01/2009 at 09:25)

Sell him - not good enough and lacks desire!

Ambient (30/01/2009 at 09:29)

Jo loss and his orchestra?

Youngleesummerbell68, Middlesbrough (30/01/2009 at 09:29)

Not sure about this - a loan deal might be better. We're still chasing RSC and I,m just not as sure about him as MH seems to be - but he knows his fottball "stuff" (I hope!), and I don't! Would love to get Tevez. He's a very good player, and it would cock a snook at old red-nose in Stretford. Still need a centreback, though......

Girona Blue, Spain (30/01/2009 at 09:30)

Why not offer him to Blackburn as part of the RSC deal?

The Blue Phantom, Manchester (30/01/2009 at 09:32)

Should the headline not read "Blues WILL take a loss on Jo" ?

Benny and the Jets, Manchester City (Centre) (30/01/2009 at 09:33)

Better in UEFA than in the Prem, but I just can't see where he is going to get another chance this season - esp if we get another striker and if Boji comes back. Prefer Tevez over Santa if we have a choice. Jo can join Samaras, Corradi and Bianchi as strikers that could've been in recent years.

Neil Mcnab Knows 18+1=19, manchester (30/01/2009 at 09:37)

I hate it when I forget to put the wheelie bin out on collection day as you have to wait a whole week to get rid ot your rubbish again. Don't know what put me on that train of thought! This Jo fella seems to have no lnowledge of how to play as a striker, spends most of his time running away from goal to get the bal, you'd think he'd be able to work out for himself that it's not going to work but l must say maybe a little more game time might have helped the penny drop!

CorkyBlue (30/01/2009 at 09:40)

At last Jo on his way. Can he take Vassell and Benjani with him. I am surprised by th esigning of Jo I don't think it had anythingto do with MH but I just wonder what someone actually saw in him to warrant a 19mil price tag.

mrcakey (30/01/2009 at 09:40)

It would be a shame to let him go. Okay, he's not done much yet, but I remember Shaun Goater looked DREADFUL for the first 15 or so games. He needs pitch time in a winning team to get his touch and his confidence back, not bringing him on in games we're losing and hoping he can adjust to the Premiership AND save us at the same time - too much pressure, along with his £18m price tag.

Phil Neal's Laxative, In a Zabaleta wonderland (30/01/2009 at 09:41)

Time to cut our losses and get shut. Without wishing to sound unkind, Jo has no future at Man City. Mind you, I fully expect him to be a big success at Hoffenheim. They have done an excellent job bringing on a number of players of Jo's age and stature.

Just watch him come back and haunt us in next year's UEFA Cup!

Tommy's Hutch, Flixton (30/01/2009 at 09:43)

I personally wouldn't sell Jo at such a big loss just to get him off the wage bill. Surely a loan to Hoffenheim would take care of that issue (ok, the wages might be out of their normal range but there would be no hefty fee so the financial gamble for them would be smaller) whilst giving the lad chance to develop more gradually in a league more demanding than the Russian league, where he excelled, but not as hard going as the prem. Give him chance to fill out, toughen up and mature. Who knows we could have another Drogba or Adebayor on our hands. Having said all that, I can't believe that Mr. Hughes hasn't considered all the angles and if Jo is sold for football, not financial, reasons then in Mr. Hughes we should trust.

eddieeric , holmes chapel (30/01/2009 at 09:49)

ok we all know some players cannot cut it in the prem and he does look sometimes like he needs a rocket up is rear, but send him onloan into the championship which is prob above the standards of the russian league, let him get a good kicking off some cloggers, then let him come back and he might think twice about just coasting through games, and make him knuckle down and do abit.

kevin cairns, morecambe (30/01/2009 at 10:00)

Jo can do the same job as Cruz,he is a very simular player and did very well at the start of the season!I would choose to play him away from home,He has not been given a proper chance and has not been given the right kind of service he has been playing with his back to the goal and also prefers to play with another centre forward,I would like to see him play with Craig Bellamy up front and get alot more crosses from wide postions!

kenny clements, artiste (30/01/2009 at 10:01)

If footballing ability and potential were the arbiters here, then I would rather see Benjani, Vassell and Evans go before Jo. But, in terms of team building, spirit, guts, and other Hughes mantras, Jo just doesn't seem to fit. However, throwing away £19M of potential without really giving him a chance seems foolhardy - it's not like the wagebill is really an issue is it? If Jo is happy to train hard and wait his turn, then why let him go? Look at players like Henry, Adebayor - Wenger eased them into the premiership scene rather than thowing them in at the deep end.

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