Day Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Gareth Barry is undergoing a medical with Manchester City ahead of his proposed move from Aston Villa, Sky Sports News understands. The England international was given permission to hold talks with City by the Midlands club earlier in the day and his transfer appears to have now taken a major step closer to completion. Barry was the subject of intense interest from Liverpool last summer, but the deal fell through with the Anfield outfit unwilling to meet Villa's £18million asking price. City are reported to have agreed a fee of £11million with their Premier League rivals, with Barry's current contract due to expire at the end of next season. The midfielder had previously stated he was keen to sample UEFA Champions League football, with Villa's top-four challenge this season fading as Martin O'Neill's men eventually finished sixth to secure a Europa League berth. City will not be playing in Europe next term but Mark Hughes' side have ambitious plans for the future given the financial backing of their owners and have set their sights on challenging the Premier League's leading clubs. [url=http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5359919,00.html]http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5359919,00.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ £11m a fair price? I'm actually quite surprised they didn't go in starting at £30m as usual. I think Villa will find it hard to replace him with £11m, Randy will have dig deep this summer if Villa are to stay up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangerous Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Mercenary.He would only go to a team playing champions league football he said last year.Man city arent even in the Europa league Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicky-27 Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 He has let his wallet rule his head - there will be a backlash from the Villa fans now - they knew he would go - but to Man City makes no sense it has to be for money. [url=http://www.villatalk.com/index.php?name=News&catid=&topic=18]http://www.villatalk.com/images/topics/barry Gareth Barry's 12 month transfer saga is finally over - with Manchester City his destination in a £12m switch. After a full year of will he, won't he, Gareth Barry finally did and has moved to Manchester City in a £12m switch, signing a 5-year contract worth an estimated £25m over it's duration taking him up to the age of 34. After in excess of 400 league and cup appearances, Gareth has decided that he and his ambitions will be best served at Manchester City. He joins a list of central midfielders which currently includes Elano, Stephen Ireland, Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong and so will need to replicate his England form on a regular basis for his new club if his World Cup ambitions are to be realised - a place in the starting 11 can surely not be guaranteed. This is a far cry from his last two years at Villa, where he has been a permanent fixture in the midfield, forming a partnership with Stilyan Petrov this season which saw Villa finish 6th in the table - 12 points ahead of Gareth's new employers. It was a far from dynamic pairing, though, and while international football gives Barry the freedom and time to dictate play from deep with megastars like Lampard and Gerrard in front of him, a more central role at club level saw a large variation in performance levels. For every Newcastle at home there was a Fulham away. Reinstated as Captain when Martin Laursen succumbed to his career ending injury midway through the season, Barry would occasionally inspire his teammates but many fans felt he was a far cry from the game's top leaders such as Terry, Gerrard and even the aforementioned Laursen. With Barry's leadership coinciding with the dip in form which accounted for the much coveted Champions League place, it remains to be seen whether he will be a massive loss or a massive opportunity to move forward and change the style of play. Manchester United survived the departures of Ince, Beckham, Stam and van Nistelrooy. Arsenal survived when Flamini, Henry, Petit and Vieira departed. Villa will survive without Gareth Barry. How Gareth Barry will fair without Aston Villa, though, will only be known as next season unfolds. Did he move to a more ambitious club? Did he move for the massive pay packet? Or was it just time to cash in and move on for all concerned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CumbrianRam Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 He said all season he wanted to play in the Champions Legue, so he joins a team with no European football next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share Posted June 2, 2009 He's either gone for the money or for the hope Man City will be the next Chelsea with the Arabs in charge. I think he'l be sadly mistaken if its the latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perky1106 Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 What a muppet! He has been England's best midfielder recently (not that there's much competition) and has just blown the chance to experience Europe with his boyhood club for more money. Who in their right mind would do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derbydan Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 seriously bad move what a tool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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