Benjani transfer still to go ahead???

[taidgh]

Dominic Fifield
Monday February 4, 2008
The Guardian
Portsmouth expect their Zimbabwe international Benjani Mwaruwari to complete his protracted transfer to Manchester City today but a swift deal appears to rest on the clubs agreeing a compromise fee for the striker.
Members of City's hierarchy, though not the manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, retain serious doubts as to whether the move for Benjani should be pursued, citing the results of a basic medical conducted on Thursday night as cause for concern. City were troubled by apparent damage to one of Benjani's knees and have since tried to renegotiate the fee for the 29-year-old. Portsmouth insist he was to be sold for £9m but City now suggest the fee should be nearer £7.6m and there are indications that they are willing to go to court if railroaded into a transfer they are not happy with. They argue that Benjani's late arrival in Manchester on deadline day prevented them from attending properly to every detail of the move.
The Premier League is willing to sanction the transfer this week on the basis that both clubs were intent on concluding a deal before the closure of the transfer window.
Portsmouth admitted yesterday that at present they have Jermain Defoe only on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. The delay in selling Benjani to City prompted Pompey to secure Defoe initially on a temporary basis to ensure his transfer was completed, albeit only minutes before Thursday's midnight deadline. They are intent on concluding a £9m club-record deal for the 25-year-old forward this week. "The Defoe transfer was done as an initial loan because of time restraints," said a Portsmouth spokesman. "The full documents will be signed and registered this week, and this is a standard method when you have little time." The club had hoped to use the money raised through Benjani's sale to pay for Defoe but now insist the deals are not reliant on each other.


so if both clubs are INTENT on having a transfer complete, doing it after the window is ok? :think:

then why bother having a deadline at all? it sounds like this could really be twisted to meet clubs wishes.

 

[taidgh]

City win battle with Pompey over Benjani price tag
By Ian Herbert
Tuesday, 5 February 2008

Manchester City have won their battle to renegotiate a price for Portsmouth striker Benjani Mwaruwari and will today announce his arrival at Eastlands for around £3.8m – half the price the south coast club had demanded.

City are privately delighted by the player's arrival at what appears to be a far more realistic asking price than the £7.75m initially quoted by Portsmouth, who may now be regretting their failure to get the player to Manchester earlier – when City seemed prepared to pay that sum.
Appearance fees totalling around £3m are built into the deal but the Zimbabwean will have to play more than the 14 remaining league games this season before the first £1m fee is triggered. Two further appearance stages will trigger similar sums. City expect the Premier League and FA to ratify the agreement today. The player will be unveiled later this week, probably at the same time as Ecuadorian striker Felipe Caicedo who, at £5.1m, has now become the more expensive of the two new arrivals.
As negotiations got under way yesterday, it became clear that City were operating from a position of strength, since Portsmouth needed money for Benjani to pay for Jermain Defoe but had only one club they might sell to.
Benjani has remained in Manchester since Thursday night and has now undergone a full medical. The player's contract has also been reduced from three-and-a-half to two-and-a-half years – a factor which might have an impact on the extra appearance fees, though City will be happy to pay the full £6.8m if Benjani prospers and fulfils the potential which his 12 goals this season, including two hat-tricks, seem to illustrate.
The Premier League has reiterated that it is of the view that City had shown a clear intention to sign Benjani on Thursday night – despite his eleventh hour appearance at the club which had led officials to halt proceedings late and provide incomplete paperwork – and that for it to conclude otherwise would set a bad precedent.
City have been impressed by Benjani's attitude since Thursday's farce and his willingness to stay around in Manchester to help get the deal done.

and now the deal can be renegotiated after the deadline as well :shrug: this, to me, sets a very bad precedent. two clubs that are miles apart on valuation of a player but intent on doing business can still push a transfer through before the deadline despite finishing the negotiations later. whats to stop clubs from negotiating broadly, say agreeing on a fee between 8 and 11 mil and then coming up with the final price later? this is completely aside from the problem or REnegotiating a price that has already been decided and agreed on.

my view is that if clubs can't get a deal agreed before the deadline, tough shit paddy! they should have started earlier.

 

[PT]

So we get paid now?