Abdul Razak to be loaned from Manchester City according to Sky Sports

[Mellotron]

Anyone else getting a BIT excited about the potential level of technical ability in our team?

Reyes
Razak
Assulin
Vicente

*dribble*

 

[Gritt23]

Sorry, but I can't be arsed to trawl the whole thread .... what did Pompey fans think of his time there earlier in the season?

 

[Publius Ovidius]

This all take the work FLAIRTASTIC to a whole new level.

 

[Solid at the back]

Where has the Assulin rumour come from?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Where has the Assulin rumour come from?

From people in the know.

 

[Woodchip]

Where has the Assulin rumour come from?

My thoughts exactly.

Sent by the power of squirrel poo

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Sorry, but I can't be arsed to trawl the whole thread .... what did Pompey fans think of his time there earlier in the season?

barely played. Second half sub in first game, played well, started second game, played poor and subbed off, plus one more late sub appearance. Then recalled by city.

 

[OSRGull]

Where's the Gai Assulin rumour come from?

 

[Conkers]

Where's the Gai Assulin rumour come from?

Bozza suggesting there is an Israeli from City coming too (stated on twitter/NSC). City don't have too many Israeli players......!

 

[OSRGull]

Bozza suggesting there is an Israeli from City coming too (stated on twitter/NSC). City don't have too many Israeli players......!

Ooooer, would be a cracking signing.

 

[Farehamseagull]

If we do sign one or both of these guys, I assume Gus will again think about loaning out JFC. He did say he was thinking of doing that before his run of games. That would make sense to me. We replace JFC with someone a bit older and probably slightly better and more experienced at this stage for the run in and JFC still gets games.

 

[Fourteenth Eye]

Have any of these rumours been substantiated yet

 

[Bozza]

Have any of these rumours been substantiated yet

No. It's all made up...

 

[salty seagull]

In the words of David Bowie `We`ll be Putting out fire with Gai Assulin`:guitar:

 

[Woodchip]

No. It's all made up...

Woohoo. Can we add Owen to the list then?

Sent by the power of squirrel poo

 

[Mellotron]

Where's the Gai Assulin rumour come from?

Same place as the Razak rumours.

 

[mistahclarke]

Gai Assulin - the former Barca great? un-smegging-believable!

 

[beorhthelm]

i'm underwhelmed. seems like doing Man City a favor rather than coup for us like many seem to think. i'd have hoped a more experienced player than 2 cup games and a few sub appearances.

 

[Mutts Nuts]

Knowing absolutely nothing about this player I must say I'm excited. Navarro will be missing out more than the others (probably!)

http://www.sabotagetimes.com/football-sport/manchester-citys-abdul-razak-the-new-michael-essien/

oooo

Last night's Carling Cup clash between Manchester City and Wolves gave Mancini an opportunity to assess his 18 year old midfielder Abdul Razak - whose size, mobility and of course nationality have led to comparisons with the Chelsea enforcer.

It’s always unfair to judge a player on one or two games – especially when he’s just a lad of 18 years of age who is attempting to make any impact in a side amongst such established, experienced personnel. But hell such is the nature of scouting reports.

Here we look at an immensely promising young midfielder in the Man City ranks who, prior to last night’s 85 minutes against Wolves, had only racked up a half of a Carling Cup game plus two late league substitute appearances.

Who is he?

Abdul Razak is a young Ivorian who joined City under a cloud from Crystal Palace – a drawn-out immigration issue that wasn’t resolved until March of this year. Neil Warnock, the Eagles gaffer at the time, described him as the best player he’s ever seen in his age group. Since then Razak has come on leaps and bounds at Carrington and has even already broken into the first team. Mancini evidently rates him highly and his ability and playing style has even prompted premature comparisons to Michael Essien. He is a combative midfielder blessed with tremendous technical ability and has the box-to-box athleticism that Bobby Manc favours.

His contract expires next year and, with rumours that Liverpool are sniffing around, it is imperative for City’s intention to bring through their academy talent and integrate them into the first team that he is quickly tied down to a long-term deal.

How did he fare?

Considering this was his first ever start – against a Wolves side who came out firing from the opening whistle until they were tamed by City’s goal-fest – this was an impressive debut.

Abdul imposed himself well in the centre of midfield, mentored throughout by Nigel De Jong, and noticeably gained confidence as the game progressed. His pass completion rate of 36/42 looks decent at first glance but it must be said that the ones that went awry were pretty glaring; whether they were lapses in concentration or a lack of awareness remains to be seen.

He shielded the ball superbly and his movement off the ball was highly competent, instinctively knowing when to leave his man and when to track him into wide areas.

Doubts persist over his decision making when in possession – on a couple of occasions he drove forward imperiously then visibly looked unsure of his options once he reached the final third.

Until he’s settled and feels fully part of the first team set-up, I’d like to see him concentrate on the simple things. Head up, knock the ball on and be the link man. In this regard there is no better tutor than the man beside him last night in De Jong though ironically it was the Dutchman who arguably had the poorer game.

Verdict

His mobility and physique certainly lend themselves to the Essien comparisons and it was extremely encouraging to see such a young, inexperienced player impose himself so well into a game that had a frenetic opening twenty minutes. Once things started to quieten down however as City took control Abdul’s current limitations showed through as he struggled a little with the one-touch possession and displayed a slight lack of vision. That aside however he is undoubtedly a genuine prospect and City will be extremely keen to secure his services for years to come as he develops into a player of potentially outstanding pedigree.

Navs is not even close to being good enough for this division

 

[BrickTamland]

I've never seen either of them play but from the sounds of it Razak sounds like just the player we nedd to have alongside Liam in the middle to allow us to play 2 widemen without being over run in the centre of the park. Just the interest in someone like this confirms to me that Gus see's Reyes only as a RB and not as a possible CDM like some of us on here have mentioned.

I know even less about Assulin. But from a quick glance he has made one senior appearance for Barca in the Copa Del Rey. Both sound promising and they would certainly add the extra depth to our already strong squad which would make playoffs a real possibility. Exciting times.