Rumour mill: City eye Ligue 1 duo

July 25, 2005

STUART Pearce is planning a double raid to bring Bernard Mendy and Arnold Mvuemba to City, according to a report.

Former Bolton loan star Mendy would cost the Blues £1.5million from Paris St Germain, and he would be able to fit in anywhere down the right flank.

City are also interested in 20-year-old Rennes midfielder Mvuemba, according to The People.

The French club may be tempted by a £3million bid for a player who impressed in the recent Toulon Under-20 tournament.

Would you like to see these two at City? Have your say.

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Mat, Bredbury (25/07/2005 at 11:57)

Mendy not the qaulity we need,as for the other fella,never heard of him,is someone at the MEN trying to find players with the hardest names to pronounce? At 20 years old and B#3 million,may be a risk for a club with our limited funds, but so far SP has made some very shrewd moves.WIth Vassell coming in for B#2.5 million,thats 2 Premier league strikers for under B#3 million, with B#8 million(ish) supposedly left, I think SP could be lining up a player/players that no one has speculated on, he has been very good so far at keeping his targets under wraps until the final stages of transfer. I have to take my hat off to SP, i was one of the people who said he wasn't the man to manage City last year,but now I would say we have potentially one of the best managers in the Premier League.

Dafulang, Nottingham (25/07/2005 at 12:03)

Who - I only hope that they are in the same bracket as when Ali Bernarbia "Who" was when he arrived.

Joe Blue, London (25/07/2005 at 12:13)

Good news, if true. Mendy has Premiership experience and was considered a defensive star at PSG last year, Mvuemba starred at U21 level against England - great attacking skills, shooting, etc, etc. Platini was drooling. If the French reports are halfway correct, these two could take City to another level. On the other hand, there are rumours about a couple of Dutch guys...

CTID, LEEDS (25/07/2005 at 12:16)

I can't remember Mendy at Bolton. Was he any good?

ollie, cheadle (25/07/2005 at 12:19)

Whats happening with castelan at feyenoord. Wouldnt personally go for mendy though dont know much about the other bloke.

Ollie, Guernsey (25/07/2005 at 12:35)

IF these stories are true then I would be very happy...both are young and talented. Mendy had a good season at PSG and has premiership experience. Mvuemba may be a little expensive but is full of potential/ a star in the making. The other two we have been linked with are Kuyt and Castelan and they would be just them same. Any two from these four would be good business. Looking like SP is going to bolster the squad with four good signings and all for under B#10m!

DJ, Chorlton (25/07/2005 at 12:35)

From what I remember Mendy can play right-back: isn't that where Mills plays....interesting....

John, Lancashire (25/07/2005 at 12:40)

Has anyone yet worked out what sort of football Pearce is going to have us playing this season? Joe Royle used to wait until at least the second or third game of the season before announcing that we'd be playing dogs of war football from thereon in. Is Pearce going to have us kicking teams off the pitch from the first whistle, or are we going to pass the ball into the net?

Adi, Prestwich (25/07/2005 at 12:47)

Interesting clip of Mendy playing for France V Brazil and skinning Roberto Carlos.

http://www.footballclips.net/bernard_mendy_skins_roberto_carlos

Gary, Dudley (25/07/2005 at 13:22)

Both these players would be excellent signings. Shame that their agent felt it necessary to leak the story to our Sunday tabloids, letting other clubs know about City's interest. How many times have we been beaten to players by the actions of agents like this? The clip of Mendy was brilliant, and the young lad was excellent against England last month. And there I was thinking we were only interested in Premiership rejects, hoping to revive people's careers. Can we afford Dean Ashton as well?

Joe Strummer's Cat, Blue Heaven (25/07/2005 at 13:25)

Adi Prestwich, just watched the Mendy clip. Awesome! Smacks of SWP and Kinkladze on their one of their finest sortie's into the opposition area. looks quality to me, get!

Eric Jonker, Zoetermeer, NL (25/07/2005 at 13:30)

Could it be that SP is looking for a rightback solution with Mendy? Sun should definitely play a holding role at midfield, Onuoha is preferred as a central defender. Don't know the player, as I never heard off Mvuemba as well. Young player and we know SP watched a game from Rennes, so there could be some truth in this story. If not, a good guess by MEN, especially if it turns out to be correct. Can't believe the rumours about Castelen and Kuyt from Feyenoord are true. I would rate them, but will definitely cost much more than ESP 4,5 million for these two French guys. Could to see the rumour mill active at COMS again.

ollie, cheadle (25/07/2005 at 14:06)

What position does kuiyt play is it striker?

B Pye, Alty (25/07/2005 at 15:24)

DEAN ASHTON PLEASE!!!

Dave, Lahore,Pakistan (25/07/2005 at 16:22)

My head says we may turn into a better overall team if SP is able to buy some talent with the funds available to him. We certainly lack in some positions and if these guys can cut it then all well and good. An awesome left back would be handy. I think we are still weak defensively that side.
My heart however is still in pain from the loss of SWP and I know I should get over it, he's gone etc. But this was the one real exciting talent that City have actually produced and not had to import since Paul Lake.
Onwards and upwards to better things for City!

S. African Blue, London (25/07/2005 at 21:49)

Mvuemba for B#3m would be a steal the young fellow is brilliant. Hope this goes through.

thrappy, rochdale (25/07/2005 at 23:27)

Don't know much/anything about these two, but what I have found on the web seems to suggest that these wouldn't be bad buys at all for the prices quoted. Mendy seems, from what info I've seen, to be a very attack-minded full back. Seemed to do OK at Bolton. Watched that clip vs Brazil, seems quick. He likes getting stuck in too... maybe a bit too much, with 11 yellows and two reds last season with PSG!. As for this Mvuemba lad, he seems to be one for the future (even Arsenal are rumoured to be interested).

If SP has done is research, as it seems he has been doing in the off-season, he may have discovered a bit of a gem. Early days though, let's hope we don't let these slip through our fingers.

Phil, Sacramento, CA U.S.A. (26/07/2005 at 01:48)

Nice to see City fans' spirits and posts picking up a bit. Give this manager a chance;
at first, I wasn't sure if Wardle and Mackintosh simply hired a cheap yes-man, but I'm quite impressed with Psycho in every aspect. Yes, DJ and Eric, Mendy played right-back at Bolton, if memory serves. Saw a bunch of him there here in the States on Prem broadcasts and I can't remember him ever having a poor game. Excellent value and insurance in case Nedum's hammy is a long-term injury. Also puts Baldy on the spot, doesn't it (LOL)!

Eric Jonker, Zoetermeer, NL (26/07/2005 at 06:58)

Ollie. Kuyt is a centre foreward at Feyenoord and plays in the Dutch team. Best workrate I've ever seen from a player, let alone a foreward. I can go on tell you a little bit about him, but he won't be a realistic target.

Sponge Bob Square Pants, Manchester (26/07/2005 at 13:36)

It is absolutely VITAL that we get a creative midfielder on board (I know it's asking a lot but somebody in the Ali/Eyal/Gio mode) Barton and Reyna do not have the creativity to unlock Premiership defences

The Fly, On The Wall (26/07/2005 at 14:40)

Marcus Bent will sign for B#2m by Monday next week. Yasser Hussain will sign on a Bosman by the end of this week. Gera from West Brom for B#4.5m will sign by Friday. Ellington and Barton straight swap.

Rob, Burnage (26/07/2005 at 16:37)

Strictly speaking this isn't a rumour,it's more of a request is there any club out there that is willing to take Danny Mills off our hands?.
So far this summer we've offloaded the other two useless m's (Macken & Mcmanaman),so now all we need is a buyer(Mug?) to take Mills and I will be very happy.

Greg, Reddish (26/07/2005 at 16:38)

what makes you so sure fly on the wall?

the Hinemeister, Withington deepest Mancunia (26/07/2005 at 18:27)

MALBRANQUE from Fulham,make them an offer of about 3/4 million because this lad is mustard and would give us the much needed craft and guile we sadly lack.Up front make a cheeky bid for SAVIOLA on a season long loan.

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