Manchester City Transfer News and Rumours Tracker: Week of July 1

Question my Manchester City credentials if you like, but check yourself when it comes to my brother.

He had the band at his wedding reception close the evening with the Oasis anthem "Don't Look Back in Anger." Presumably with his wife's permission.

Never having had the privilege of hearing it belted in a throng of thousands in Manchester, my experience of singing it in a crowd of a hundred or so at the end of an emotional day and night (after having some drinks) in Maidenhead was quite visceral in its own right.

My brother loves his wife dearly, but if he had the opportunity to get as close to Vincent Kompany as Noel Gallagher got in this shot, he might reconsider.

For a song that does not in the main make even a bit of sense, "Don't Look Back in Anger" was nonetheless irresistible to my brother and me on that night.

There is little question that future family gatherings will feature me remembering the end of my brother's wedding reception in the vein of the late Chris Farley.

So step outside, 'cause summertime's in bloom in the transfer market.

Edinson Cavani

At this point, my campaign to get Edinson Cavani to the Etihad seems pretty daft and behind the times.

But it isn't over until it's over.

Every mention of City and Cavani these days is some version of The Guardian's recent report confirming Paris Saint-Germain's entry into the fray with Real Madrid for the coveted Uruguayan striker. That is, reports that City are just vanquished also-rans in the race.

Per Dominic Fifield's write-up, "Napoli have insisted they will brush off any bid that does not activate the €63m (£53m) release clause in the 26-year-old's contract. That fee had dissuaded Manchester City from entering the running."

So far. Until Cavani is introduced at a Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain press conference, though, City are still in the running as far as this weekly tracker is concerned.

And even if my superstitious rantings here only succeed in keeping Cavani out of the Premier League entirely, all my good work will not have gone in vain.

Stephan El Shaarawy

The combination of Manchester City's outlandish fiscal capabilities and their sudden need for reinforcement at the striker position is leading media outlets to take some liberties with the club's good name.

Take the recent ESPN report on AC Milan striker Stephan El Shaarawy, for example.

Even when City have not explicitly declared interest in a player (not recently anyway), there always seems to be an opportunity to casually drop the Sky Blues into the conversation.

According to the ESPN report, "with French clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco reportedly interested, and Manchester City also being linked with every top striker in Europe," El Shaarawy is due to speak with his club's management upon his return from the recently contested Confederations Cup.

Incidentally, El Shaarawy would be an amazing pickup for City.

But tossing City into this story at all was a bit reckless from the Worldwide Leader, who shortly thereafter quashed the earlier report, getting City into the story again just for emphasis.

Willy Caballero

This one, in my opinion, makes no sense.

The Guardian recently reported that new Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini lacks faith in incumbent Etihad keeper Joe Hart.

Per Scott Murray's story, "Manchester City also want a new goalkeeper, Manuel Pellegrini having taken all of ten seconds to get Joe Hart's number, and he's selected Malaga's Willy Caballero as his man."

Um, Pellegrini knows that City conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League last season, and that Hart played every one of those matches, right?

Pellegrini might be best served concentrating on fixing what is broken, i.e., the offense. If he is going to spend money, he needs to spend it on a striker.

Neither the back line nor the keeper needs much help or improvement.

Pablo Osvaldo

Well this is more like it.

According to the Express, Manchester City are battling with Atletico Madrid for the services of controversial Roma striker Pablo Osvaldo.

"The Citizens are looking to freshen up their attacking line-up after seeing Carlos Tevez join Juventus for £10m. Though they are also tracking Brazil's Confederations Cup hero Fred, Osvaldo is also on their shortlist," wrote Charles Perrin.

No, Osvaldo is not Edinson Cavani, and he is not Alvaro Negredo. But he scored 16 times in Serie A last season.

No City striker scored that many goals in Premier League play last season.

Micah Richards

It will be interesting to see what new Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini does with the embarrassment of riches he inherited on defense.

Pablo Zabaleta, Matija Nastasic, Vincent Kompany and Gael Clichy project as City's starters when the season commences in August.

That leaves established players like Micah Richards stuck waiting for a dip in form or an untimely injury for an opportunity to play.

Or perhaps not.

While Stuart Brennan's report for The Manchester Evening News insists that "Micah Richards remains a vital part of new City manager Manuel Pellegrini’s plans for the future," the story goes on to note that several of the usual suspects are sniffing around Richards.

"The big defender has been linked with moves to Chelsea, Bayern Munich and the two Milan clubs as talks continue over a possible new contract extension," Brennan noted.

It may take some fast talking from Pellegrini to keep Richards from seeking a better chance at playing time elsewhere. Hopefully, Richards will not bolt for greener grass.

At least not today.