Antonio Valencia (wigan)

Valencia agent drumming up trade
Manchester United and Liverpool are interested in signing Wigan midfielder Antonio Valencia, according to his agent Diego Herrera.

The 22-year-old Ecuador international has been a big hit at the JJB Stadium after a lengthy run in the team under manager Steve Bruce, having initially been brought to the club by former boss Paul Jewell in August 2006.

There has been speculation both United and Liverpool were looking at the player after his performances for the Latics, speculation Herrera insists is true with other clubs also in the hunt.

He told El Comercio newspaper: "It is impossible to stop the improvement in a player's career when Manchester and Liverpool are in the middle.

"They have been following him for the past months. There are also two more teams interested.

"But he will not come cheap. Last week, Bruce commented £5million was not enough for the player."


Can someone tell me why the Scum would need him? Good player and only 22. See him play a few times this season and each time he has impressed me.

No thank you!

There is a thread about Mancini £4m and Fat head wants over £5m Give me a break.

Another example of an agent being a wind up merchant me thinks :

I have warmed to the idea of us getting him, he is a good winger and i think he should be at a bigger club than wigan.

Dont see why the mancs need him either.

Oh dear.

Dear oh dear.

God no.

He's not a bad player from what I've seen of him, it is still to be seen if he could make the step up to a big club though.

I do think some people are too quick to write him off just cos he plays for Wigan though.

He's not a bad player from what I've seen of him, it is still to be seen if he could make the step up to a big club though.

I do think some people are too quick to write him off just cos he plays for Wigan though.

Big name syndrome yet again Eddie.

I'm not 100% convinced about him but if Rafa is after him then he must have seen something in him which will benefit the squad.

I can just see him being another Benayoun type player. Not neccassarily bad ...just not title winning material.

I think him playing for wigan does put alot of people off straight away.

Would be interesting to see how many people watch wigan and him play regularly though (full matches). That shows alot as to wether you know how good he is or not. Personally i dont watch wigan games often but do if i see them on and there isnt a bigger game on at the time or the match is relevant to liverpool. I think he is a good winger and would do well at a bigger club but i am happy to wait and see what happens.

Mancini or Valencia    

Mancini of course - 4 Million for a better player is the obvious choice.

Valencia scored both goals in Wigans 2-0 win over Villa at Villa Park today. Good goals apparently.

Apparantly his second was an absolute screamer. Is he underrated? Are we just writing him off because he's a Wigan player?

Probably. I just see him as turning out to be another Sidwell who does nothing. He has got plenty of plaudits so far though. Not sure on this one.

Another Benayoun??
Does he not just stand out 'coz he's @ Wigan?
What does the rest think..?

He's looked good for Wigan, but is that down to a poor team making him look good or him being too good for them? I think it's hard for any of us to say for certain, I don't think there's a single one of us that can say we get to watch him play on a regular basis, if you do then Wigan are playing at the same time as us half the time so what the hell were you doing?

One thing's for certain though, if there's any truth in this rumour you can bet Rafa's had him watched over a substantial period of time, and should be equipped to know whether a step up will improve him further or if he merely looks good in a bad team.

Def plays well for wigan but again not sure if its the bad team around him that makes him look better.
We need to stop signing above average players and get some class anyways if not we'll never close the gap. Mancini would be good at that price, how olds he?

Am i the only one who thinks that Valencia is worth 5million, remember he hasn't been in the premiership for any considerable time i think we should get him for 5million now rather than 10million later

To be honest haven't seen much of him at all, but if we got him for 4mil that wouldn't be too risky, and he couldn't be THAT bad could he???

I still think he would be a good signing

If Mancini is genuinely available for as little as £4m then I'd say that's a lot of money saved so I would be inclined to give him a go. As fletch rox said the fee isn't that big, and if it didn't work out we would still recoup a couple of million for him. I wouldn't be comfortable with him coming in as a first choice but if he was signed along with a proven player I'd be happy enough.

Good player but not good enough

I would like to see some Ecuadorian represenatation at 'pool.  Good country for young talent with Valencia and Caicedo at Man City among others.