According to the Daily Mirror, Manchester City have been told by Valencia that David Villa is going to cost them the princely sum of £120m.

It’s been a few years since I’ve been in a math class, but judging by my calculations, that’s just a shade above the £52m that City were reportedly set to sign him for a couple of weeks ago.

Now, I know City want to bring in a world-class player or two in January, but I’d like to think that they wouldn’t go and fork out more than two and a half times the current world transfer record on one player (well, an attainable target, at least) at this point.

Valencia do need a little financial help, but unless they were able to sell Villa for a fee that’d net them the necessary funds to keep the squad into contention for the UEFA Cup crown and making a run at a Champions League place, and still have some left over to help the club’s financial security, then there’s no reason for them to shoot low.

I’m sure their representatives were having a laugh when this number was mentioned, but on a more serious note, when you factor in his importance to their ambitions and how big of a hit they could take by selling him, then maybe there’s a reason why they’ve got his valuation so high. Too high Well, it won’t surprise me if City (or someone else) spends that much on a player in the future, but I don’t know if it’ll be on this particular one.