Jerome Boateng will be an excellent addition to the City family as his presence will certainly strengthen the team’s defence.
of Richards and Onuoha are far from certain but they have both emerged from the Man City academy and might be retained purely to help the club meet the homegrown criteria. Joe Hart’s emergence as an England international will make him reluctant to spend another season playing second fiddle to Shay Given but Given’s current injury means that Mancini will probably want to have Hart around for a little longer. Hart is yet another homegrown player which might affect Mancini’s thinking. Bellamy is wanted by Tottenham and will not be short
“Robinho is very much on the market, but a loan move is more likely than a permanent transfer because he was signed for £32.5 million less than two years ago.”
ABOVE: Robinho is another player who could be leaving.
BELOW: Emmanual Adebayor (left), Gareth Barry (centre) and Carlos Tevez are still very much wanted men at Manchester City.
of suitors if the club does decide to sanction his sale. Neither will Richards, Onuoha, Wright Phillips or Ireland who are all likely to attract varying levels of interest from Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton. Mancini has stated his admiration for Inter Milan forward Mario Balotelli and Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko. The arrival of either man would almost certainly signal the end for Roque Santa Cruz. As a striker with a proven Premiership record, Santa Cruz will attract plenty of interest but Man City are unlikely to be able to recoup their original £17.5 million investment. Robinho is very much on the market, but a loan move is more likely than a permanent transfer because he was signed for £32.5 million less than two years ago. A number of Premiership clubs will be waiting in the wings to snap up any unwanted Man City players. I doubt they would allow any of their players to join Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Man Utd but the club might feel that they have improved to the extent that teams outside of the traditional “big four” are no longer a threat. Given that Tottenham and Aston Villa have a track record of signing British players, these clubs are likely to head the queue for any of City’s unwanted stars.
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Roque Santa Cruz – last wave goodbye to the Premier League?
Barcelona and Real Madrid are sure to flash some more cash, but Man City’s actions over the course of the coming months will go a long way towards determining who goes where and when. The transfer market is much like the proverbial pond in which even a small stone can create a ripple effect. Man City’s transfer budget is the equivalent of a large rock and when Roberto Mancini chooses to throw it, clubs all across Europe will feel the effects. Football Weekly BPL 2010/11