Manchester City Transfer News: Roberto Mancini to Ring the Changes

While neighbours United have displayed a liberalism uncommon to the threadbare Glazer regime, Manchester City have—by their own lavish recent standards—been fairly unspectacular during this transfer window.

United have brought in a mixture of youth and hunger, while diligently working towards the capture of one or two truly monumental names. City, meanwhile, have bought a fairly good left back and a promising but unknown centre back and have been rejected by Barcelona-bound Alexis Sanchez and Inter Milan's Samuel Eto'o.

With Carlos Tevez edging towards the exit door, and with the announcement of a controversial stadium deal, this situation looks set to change between now and the August Charity Shield.

Although he's yet to sign, it seems fairly reasonable to assume that the Sanchez deal is officially dead in the water. Mancini has been scouring Europe for a robust, effective striker to replace the unsettled Tevez and has reportedly pinpointed Atletico Madrid's Argentinian powerhouse Sergio "Kun" Aguero. Aguero has just enjoyed his most prolific season in Spain and has made public his desire for a fresh challenge.

Since making his debut at the age of 15 (thereby beating his father-in-law Diego Maradona's record) Aguero has been a regular goal scorer, and has notched an impressive ratio of a goal every three games over 300 career appearances.

His partnership with Diego Forlan has been one of the most potent in Europe, with Aguero supplementing his prolific strike rate with an equally impressive stream of assists. Although he hasn't been able to usurp the likes of Tevez or Gonzalo Higuain for his country, he is a permanent fixture in Argentina squads and a regular substitute.

In many ways, Aguero looks like a marginally inferior replacement for the effervescent Tevez, which could mean that he would slot neatly into the "Blues" forward line. He won't come cheap though, Atletico are reluctant to lose their star man and will insist on receiving close to 50m euros to secure his services.

In addition to Aguero, Mancini would also love to undermine Manchester United by poaching both Wesley Sneijder and Samir Nasri from under the crimson nose of his Red rivals. Sir Alex Ferguson is desperate to sign one of the two to add a touch of mystique to the mediocre midfield so viciously exposed by Xavi, Iniesta and Messi in the Champions League Final.

A host of reports claim that Nasri will soon join the City ranks, and the French flyer's alluring combination of skill, pace, vision and technique would make him an outstanding acquisition. With Arsene Wenger determined not to lose the player to his old sparring partner Sir Alex Ferguson, and with City promising to swell both his bank balance and medal collection, the move could happen this week.

Meanwhile, City are desperate to trim a wage bill built on past excesses, meaning a raft of players will be shown the exit door. Disruptive duo Craig Bellamy and Emmanuel Adebayor are both surplus to requirements. Bellamy has been linked with the likes of Glasgow Celtic, Spurs and Cardiff City, but his age (32) and unrealistic wage demands may be a temporary stumbling block.

Adebayor enjoyed a reasonable loan spell with Real Madrid, but Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has opted against making the deal permanent. The Togolese nomad has a turbulent history and will struggle to find a club that can match his unrealistic ambitions. And is willing to take the risk. Ultimately City may end up accepting a modest fee just to see the back of him.

Dud strikers Jo and Roque Santa Cruz will return to Russia and Blackburn Rovers respectively, while experienced Irish goalkeeper Shay Given will attempt to resurrect his career after a humbling 12 months as an understudy to Joe Hart, with Aston Villa or Arsenal the likeliest destination in a 4 million euro deal.

All this fraternising with the fringes ignores one major name. It would be impossible to discuss City's plans without also discussing the future of Carlos Tevez. Tevez has made no secret of his desperation to quit Manchester, citing his estrangement from his young daughters as the source of his malaise and repeatedly criticising all aspects of the fine northwestern city. Nobody in Argentina can afford him, so it is expected that he will be forced to settle for yet another exorbitant signing on fee and a more attractive city.

The only clubs capable of matching City's fee—thought to be at least 50 million euros—are Real Madrid and Inter Milan. The permutations here are seemingly endless, with both continental giants likely to offer a combination of cash and players. City would love to take the likes of Karim Benzema or Gonzalo Higuain from Real, but would find the Spaniards loathe to release the latter. The highly-coveted Benzema could be a tempting inclusion in a cash-plus-player deal.

Inter could offer one of Sneijder or Eto'o and money, but the Cameroonian has already played down the prospect of playing in the Premier League and Sneijder also seems happy at the San Siro, which would jeopardise any chance of a move. Tantalisingly, a Sneijder  move to Manchester United could provide Inter with the necessary finances and act as a catalyst for the move.

Tevez will no doubt spend much of the coming weeks bickering about his nightmare existence, so expect this particular story to run until deadline day. And, if the City board persist with their admirable stubbornness, it might even continue to spill over until January.