Manchester City Transfers: The Weekend's Biggest Transfer News

When the Abu Dhabi United Group purchased Manchester City in 2008, doubts surrounded the logic of the club's new benefactors.

Why buy Manchester City when there are potentially bigger clubs up for sale?

Did they make a mistake and buy the wrong Manchester club?

And, can Manchester City seriously step out of their neighbour’s shadow?

The biggest doubt, however, was whether they would truly be able to attract the world’s best players.

Three seasons later and the answer, to the final question at least, is abundantly clear. Yes. Manchester City are capable of signing the world’s finest footballing talent.

The likes of Carlos Tevez, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero all support this notion.

It is therefore not surprising that Manchester City are continuously linked with the biggest names in world football. Wesley Sneijder and Samir Nasri for example have both crept into this slideshow.

What may be surprising however is that most of the current gossip concerns players leaving the Etihad Stadium, instead of coming in.

Read on for more details…

Out: Craig Bellamy

To: Sunderland

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has already raided one Manchester club this summer, however reports in the Metro suggest he has cast his eye back upon the city in order to pinch unsettled striker Craig Bellamy from Manchester City.

Craig Bellamy has been told by Roberto Mancini that he is surplus to requirements at the Etihad stadium.

Bellamy arrived at Manchester City for £14 million in 2008, and despite the initial scepticism surrounding his arrival, he soon became a fan favourite under manager Mark Hughes.

His finest performance in City colours came against Manchester United in September 2009. Bellamy ran rampant on the left wing and scored two goals at Old Trafford, including a 90th minute equaliser. His fine performance however was in vein after Michael Owen scored a 96th minute winner. The game may have ended 4-3 to United but Bellamy had cemented his place in the hearts of the Manchester City faithful.

Despite his undoubted commitment to the team, new signings have seen him fall out of contention for a place in a 25 man squad. Roberto Mancini seems to prefer Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko up front.

Bellamy spent last season on a controversial loan with Cardiff City, and almost helped the Welsh team secure promotion into the Premier League. The striker has publicly stated his desire to move closer to his family, however a move to the Stadium of Light could be enough to tempt him into playing a few more seasons at Premier League football.

The Metro reports that, in a recent interview, Steve Bruce declared his interest in the Welsh striker:

"I haven't got a wide left player, not a natural one, although we've got people who can play there, so we'll see," he said.

"We're all looking at Manchester City because they've got some great players who can't even get in the squad.

"Craig Bellamy is a possibility. He can play wide left and up front so we'll see."

If talks have started, they will only be in the preliminary stages. It is likely that City will want a quick sale and will not be interested in recouping the £14 million they paid for him several seasons ago. What remains to be seen however is whether the Welsh striker will be willing to move further away from his family in Cardiff.

Out: Emmanuel Adebayor

To: ?

Former Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor seems to be equally out of favour with manager Roberto Mancini. Despite his obvious quality the Italian manager rates a misfiring Bosnian, an unpredictable 20-year-old and an Argentine who wants to be anywhere in the world but Manchester over the striker.

A move away from the Etihad stadium seems a distinct certainty. According to the People, the Italian coach has finally confirmed that "these players [Adebayor and Bellamy] are not part of my plans."

Real Madrid has shown an interest in the former Arsenal hitman but at present it seems Jose Mourinho is happy with the attacking options present at the Bernabeau.

The Togolese striker spent six months on loan at Madrid last season, scoring five goals in 14 appearances.

Mourinho commented in July that he was more likely to sign Adebayour than he was Neymar or Sergio Aguero, but any move linking him to the club seems to have fallen apart.

"He worked at Real Madrid for six months and went to the heart of everybody. Everybody loves him.

"Whether he comes or not doesn’t matter. On August 31, everyone will know who is in, who is out and who is playing. Adebayour came here as a friend and is always welcome," he told the Daily Mail.

In another recent interview with the Daily Mail, Cristiano Ronaldo contradicted his boss’s sentiments: "I don’t think that we need to sign another forward. We are happy with the line-up as it already is."

Of course, it is not Ronaldo’s place to discuss the club's transfer policy, and more likely than not he was probably backing his current teammates to succeed rather than discrediting Adebayour.

A.C Milan has also been long linked with the striker, but no interest has been reported this summer. It seems that with Pato, Robinho, Cassano and Ibrahimovic up front the Italian giants are no longer in need of another striker.  

It therefore seems that to leave the Etihad stadium, the £25 million striker will have to take a step down in his career and move to a smaller club.

The problem is, his wage demands. Not many clubs would turn down the services of the striker, if he was willing to take substantial wage cut. At Manchester City he is being paid an astronomical £70,000 a week, almost double what Arsenal pay their best players. Such a wage would price out almost any club in world football.

Regardless of his wage demands, and the huge price City are paying not to play him, Roberto Mancini provided Adebayor with the ultimate snub by forcing him to train with the youth team and reserves while the first team were on a preseason tour of North America.

Out: Shaun Wright Phillips

To: Stoke City, Bolton Wanderers or Sunderland

According to Tribal Football, Stoke City is hoping to pip rival clubs Sunderland and Bolton Wanderers to the signing of England international Shaun Wright Phillips.

They are hoping that the offer of Europa league football will make the club a more attractive option than Sunderland and Bolton.

The pacey winger has found himself desperately out of favour at the Etihad stadium since Roberto Mancini took over and, like Craig Bellamy and Emmanuel Adebayor, Mancini has had it made abundantly clear to him that he is not needed at Manchester City.  

Shaun Wright Phillips' isolation at the club seems a little harsh. His pace and enthusiasm for the game combined with his finishing should make him a handy squad player, however with the likes of David Silva, James Milner and Adam Johnson ahead of him it seems that his place in a 25 man squad would be a wasted one.

Unlike other reports however, Tribal Football have been unable to provide a quotation to support the rumour.

Instead a move to Bolton or Sunderland seems the more likely.

Steve Bruce has recently declared his interest in taking the 29-year-old on loan. Although City is reported to favour a permanent move, the winger’s wages are likely to be a stumbling block for any potential suitor.

The winger’s agent Wayne Lindsay told the Metro that if Sunderland was to make a firm offer, the 29-year-old would give it serious consideration.

"There has been an enquiry from Sunderland about Shaun," said Lindsay.

"There is no secret that Manchester City are prepared to let him go if an offer came in and it was the right offer so I would guess it is now up to Sunderland whether to follow up that initial interest.

"If Sunderland meets the asking price, then it will be entirely down to him."

The most well founded rumours about the future of the England winger suggest that the Reebok Stadium is the most likely destination. The Daily Mail has reported that Owen Coyle is interested in the playmaker.

"I have too much respect for [City manager] Roberto Mancini and his staff to talk about their player. But Shaun is a hugely talented player."

Given the amount of speculation surrounding Wright Phillips’ future, it seems likely that he will not be a Manchester City player come August 31st.

Not Coming: Christian Eriksen

Staying At: Ajax

Danish protégé Christian Eriksen was top of Roberto Mancini’s wish list following the arrival of Sergio Aguero, but it now seems that not even the cash rich club can get their every wish.

The 19-year-old winger has snubbed a move to Manchester City, with goal.com quoting his agent Martin Schoots saying: "Christian finds it a great honour that one of the biggest clubs in the world came to him and sees a big player in him."

However, Schoots went on to say that the 19-year-old Eriksen turned down the proposed move, stating that he feels he is too young to leave Holland.

He continued: "But his feeling says this is not the right time yet to make a transfer to Manchester. It's the feeling first and the money second.

"It says something about the way Christian wants to build his career.”

In a separate report the Daily Mail claims: “Manchester City strongly refute any suggestion that an offer has been made either to the player or his agent.”'

The 19-year-old is viewed as one of the best young players in European football, and has already earned 14 international caps for Denmark. Perhaps his most notable performance to date was in a friendly against England, where he was awarded man of the match despite being on the losing team.

The wiry winger scored six goals in 28 appearances for Ajax in the Eredivisie last season, helping the Dutch giants win the domestic title.

In the past he has generated interest from the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona, but chose to move to Ajax because he believed it would enable him to develop more freely.

Whether there was any genuine interest in the player or not may be unclear, but it is likely now that any speculation linking the wunderkind with a move away from Ajax is unfounded.

Roberto Mancini’s desire to add another winger to his squad is well documented. The Italian has already declared his interest in Samir Nasri this summer and reports suggest he is also weighing up a move for Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon.

In: Wesley Sneijder

Fee: £31.4 million

When Wesley Sneijder signed for Inter Milan in 2009 he arrived at the San Siro with a point to prove. He joined Real Madrid as one of the most talented young midfielders in Europe, but arguably left with bags of unproven potential.

A Serie A title and Champions League trophy later and he is now one of the hottest midfielders in world football.

The Daily Mail has claimed that Manchester City have gazumped their local rivals to securing the signature of Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder.

Wesley Sneijder had been reported to favour a move to Manchester United but the Old Trafford club choked at his £250,000 a week wage demands.

Such rumours however have been dismissed by Inter Milan manager Piero Gasperini: "I think there is a bit of misinformation flying around, in fact a lot. I've realised that when it comes to Inter, people exaggerate situations that don't exist.

"It's normal during the transfer window that there are rumours especially revolving around a club like ours which has great players.” (Source: BBC Sport.)

The rumours were kick-started on Friday following a report in Italian newspaper La Gazetta dello Sport.

This transfer has all the makings of a media fabrication. Inter have made an official statement saying that no offer has been accepted, and until that happens, this transfer is not likely to happen.

Despite the fact that the story appears to be manufactured by the media, Wesley Sneijder seems equally as uncertain about his future as the press does.

BBC Sport reports that Wesley Sneijder has said in a recent press conference:

"All I know is that Inter need money and apparently I'm for sale for the right amount.

"I've not spoken with City or United so I cannot say anything about my future."

Such quotes suggest that, even if there has been no contact at present, Inter are trying to create a move to sell on their best player.

In: Samir Nasri

In recent seasons, Manchester City have become a club not accustomed to hearing the word “no.” It is therefore not surprising that Christian Eriksen’s refusal to sign for the club has seen Roberto Mancini cast his eyes back in the direction of Samir Nasri.

Arsene Wenger has made it abundantly clear that Samir Nasri will not be sold this summer, despite the risk that he could leave the Emirates next season on a free transfer.

Despite the Frenchman’s refusal to sell one his star assets, The Mirror reports that Manchester are hoping to tempt the Gunners with a £21 million offer.

An inside source at the Etihad stadium has reportedly told The Mirror that “Sneijder isn’t an option at the moment, but Nasri still is.”

No official comment has been made by either club at this time, making it difficult to further analyse the situation.

Samir Nasri would make a great addition to the City squad; he is flexible, a solid dribbler and is capable of scoring important goals.

At present however it seems that this story is yet another media fabrication and is mostly a reaction due to Man City’s failed attempts to sign Christian Eriksen.

So...What Do You Think?

Are Manchester City right in wanting to let Craig Bellamy, Emmanuel Adebayor and Shaun Wright Phillips leave?

OR, will Roberto Mancini one day regret not giving them a fair chance?

Is Wesley Sneijder a realistic target?

OR, is Manchester City's midfield strong enough as it is?

Who should Manchester City sign?