Club accused over Gago

Judging by these comments, the agent of Fernando Gago and Real's Jorge Valdano are none too pleased with our conduct over the transfer that wasn't:

"City used us," Gago's agent Marcello Lombilla told radio station Onda Cero. "This has never happened to me before. I don't want to talk about the figures that City were offering because they approached Madrid without even knowing there wasn't physically enough time to put something together."

Real's sporting director Jorge Valdano was equally unimpressed with City's attempts, claiming that their lack of preparation hindered any hope of reaching a deal.

"They had nothing prepared, not even one document signed," Valdano told El Pais. "They had not reached an agreement with the player and they would have had to have done everything in 40 minutes."

It is difficult to know how true the accusations are, but it is not a stretch to thinkg that whilst Gago may have been on the 'wanted list', it was not until the deal to sign McDonald Mariga ultimately collapsed that there was a real intent to pursue Gago and salvage something from deadline day.

Given it was so late in the day though (with a 5pm deadline) that confirmation that Mariga's work permit had been declined, this would have left little or no time to negotiate and tie-up a deal for Gago (hence why suggestions of an initial loan surfaced on Monday), and if the accusations have some substance, does definitely show a lack of contingency and forward planning by the key decision makers in charge.

The lowdown on the Gago 'non-deal'

The Guardian's man for all things La Liga, Sid Lowe, brings us some background on the reasons why a deal for Fernando Gago did not ultimately transpire:

Manchester City failed in last-minute efforts to sign the Real Madrid midfielder Fernando Gago in a deal worth a potential €18m (£15.7m). Gago, who had asked Madrid to allow him to leave, spent much of today in a hotel awaiting developments but was forced to stay at the Santiago Bernabéu after the clubs failed at the 11th hour to reach agreement on the terms of the transfer.

City were keen to bring the Argentina international to Eastlands and Madrid were willing sellers but, with time running out to finalise the details and complete paperwork on a permanent move, City proposed a loan with an option to buy for €18m only for Madrid to refuse.

The article goes on to state that Madrid were hoping to squeeze a higher fee from ourselves by leaving negotiations until the last stages, only to (incredibly) not realise that in England the deadline closed several hours before the Spanish one.

I can't say I'm hugely disappointed this one did not go through. A loan deal may have been interesting to see how he fared over half a season or so, but from seeing Gago play he hasn't shown me enough to suggest he would be a huge asset or upgrade to those currently in the squad.

Gago signing 'unlikely'

Sky Sports are having a busy old day, and there is yet another transfer story involving ourselves, and like the Adam Johnson one, it is not necessarily positive news:

And with Real having failed to secure cover in midfield, one of the player's two agents, Marcelo Lombilla, is meeting with Real director general Jorge Valdano to try and resolve the situation.

"Lombilla is in Madrid and has met twice with Valdano but I do not believe that he will leave," Gago's other agent, Zoran Vekic, said.

"There is still a meeting pending, but I doubt that Madrid will let him join Manchester City because it is not a question of money."

Mancini - 'I need players'

That is the message from Roberto Mancini this morning from the comments in Gazzetto dello Sport that have been widely picked up here in the UK:

"I need players," Mancini was quoted as saying in Gazzetta dello Sport. "Perhaps Real Madrid will give me Gago, maybe Milan [will give me] Flamini..."

The link with Flamini surfaced earlier this week of course, but the Gago link is a new one. The benefits of adding Flamini to the squad are obvious, with his versatility being a key asset and the fact that the midfield is the one area that has been really stretched and overworked so far this season. The Gago one perhaps less so though. I don't particularly know much about the player so will defer to JPB on this.

The links with both Flamini and Gago have also been reported by the MEN (Flamini and Gago), with the Flamini link looking quite solid (it even suggests he could arrive in time for next weeks second leg against United).

The most obvious question is quite where either (or both) players will fit in. Whilst de Jong and Barry have been virtual ever presents, the central midfield area will have a very congested look with more additions given Stephen Ireland and Patrick Vieira's imminent return.

I took a look at this after the arrival of Patrick Vieira, so throw one or two more into the mix and Mancini will have some very frustrated players on his hands and does either potential arrival really improve the options available to Mancini?