I am not quite sure why people think that transfer dealings are conducted in private between the clubs for there would be a whole army of individuals who would benefit when a player moves in reality it's rare nowadays for a club not to know the lie of the land in terms of a players wishes before they make an offer. Many of the leaks that come about are through these middlemen and yes they aren't discouraged by the club wishing to buy but it's rare for a club to confirm it or indeed the club receiving the bid to get involved but once they have then things as we can see spiral until either the player goes or an increased contract is signed pretty quickly
Everyone, just about, on here is assuming that there will be a whole queue of interested parties and whilst a year or so on that may be the case but, we are dealing with the now and if as I said earlier the player has had a conversation with Martinez regarding a move to a CL club, and and just one offer is on the table then it adds a whole different dynamic to the discussions between the club. For be in no doubt once another club bids the knowledge will be shared between those middlemen
