Shaun Wright-Phillips to Manchester City: The Wright Move for All Concerned

In 1999, a young player named Shaun Wright-Phillips made his debut for Manchester City. He went on to become a huge player for the club, in terms of importance at least.

He was soon putting in performances for City that alerted the top clubs. His lightning-quick pace and ability to strike a ball superbly with either foot was becoming increasingly evident as Manchester City established themselves as a Premier League club.

After six great years at Eastlands, Chelsea came wading in and paid £21 million for him.

Yes, he was a highly skilled player, but I'm sure even he realised he wasn't worth that much. It was all downhill from there. Wright-Phillips soon became a regular on the Chelsea bench. Chelsea had spent £21 million to warm the bench. This was even more confusing as nearly every time he played he put in a good performance.

Still, he was low down in the pecking order during his time at Stamford Bridge. He was stuck behind the likes of Arjen Robben, Joe Cole, Florent Malouda, and more. His club appearances were very limited and so were his country appearances.

Despite being one of the best wingers in England, how could Sven-Goran Eriksson, Steve McLaren, and Fabio Capello choose him if he wasn't playing for his club? Particularly as right-wing was one of the most competitive places in the team, with the likes of David Beckham, Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott, and Joe Cole also competing.

Again, it would seem to end up as a choice between playing football or earning sack loads of money. Shaun Wright-Phillips chose the former. For three years, he stayed at Chelsea, fighting for a first-team place rather than for the money.

In addition, when he finally realised his chances were always going to be limited in one of the strongest midfield lineups in Europe, he moved back to Manchester City. Man City will be delighted with this capture. Personally, I was hoping Liverpool would table a bid for him. He is exactly the type of player we need.

It will be interesting to see how he fits into the setup at City now, with Elano and Martin Petrov dominating the wings. It is great business from City as well. Sell him for £21 million and just three years later get him back for a much lower price. In addition, if Wright-Phillips could do it all again I reckon he would choose the same route.

He got to play with some of the best players in Europe, and made a lot of money as well. However, he will be happy, Manchester City will be happy, and Chelsea, although taking a big financial loss in the transfers, will be happy that they've made way for Robinho.