Is Crouch just a Smokescreen?

City owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, has come out and clearly identified Liverpool's Peter Crouch as one of Sven's January transfer targets.

BBC Sport quoted Thaksin as saying 'Sven does like Peter Crouch, very much. But he has yet to decide (if he will make an offer).'

Given City's level of secrecy surronding their summer transfer targets I must admit to being somewhat surprised at Thaksin's forthrightness.

Thaksin has already said that he will not be held to ransom by clubs over transfer fees, hence the relative secrecy of City's transfer activity, but surely by declaring an interest you are already bumping the price up.

I believe there is perhaps just a little degree of smoke and mirrors involved here. It certainly suited City to be linked with a wide array of players in the summer and allowed them to bring in the players they wanted unhindered by artificial fees and rival bidders.

By diverting attention away from their true targets, City are perhaps playing a clever game that will allow them to do their shopping in private.