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'City boss Hughes to end Brazilian clique by offloading Elano and Jo'
Manchester
City manager Mark Hughes is stamping down on the emerging Brazilian
clique at Eastlands by offloading Elano and Jo in January.
Hughes,
who will make Portsmouth's £20million midfielder Lassana Diarra his
first signing of the new window, is taking affirmative action after
sensing their could be a split in the dressing-room emerging along
nationality lines.
Although the club's record £34million signing
Robinho is being actively consulted on who he would like to play
alongside at Eastlands, he is aware that he will use two of his
compatriots as part of the deal as Hughes seeks a better balance in the
side.
Elano is being pursued by Spanish side Espanol while
£18million Jo is available on loan. Everton boss David Moyes is a fan
of the young Brazilian but City will have to decide whether they want
to go give him to a potential rival for a European place.
Hughes
faces a make-or-break January window to prove to his Abu Dhabi owners
he is a big enough name to lure top players to Eastlands.
Portsmouth
will only sell Diarra to City because Real Madrid can't match the
asking price. Pompey boss Tony Adams already has a £6million holding
midfielder lined up to replace him and knows selling Diarra will mean
he can keep other prize assets Jermaine Defoe, Glenn Johnson and Peter
Crouch at Fratton Park.
City's hierarchy have drawn up a list of
stars for Hughes to buy including Gianluigi Buffon, Franck Ribery,
Ashley Cole and David Villa but the truth remains while they remain
mid-table, none of them are interested in moving.
The People tell us...
Lescott fits the £10m bill
EXCLUSIVE BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Joleon Lescott is a £10million target for Manchester City boss Mark Hughes.
He
has made the versatile Everton and England star his No.1 aim to
strengthen his defence after missing out on Chelsea's Wayne Bridge.
Hughes initially decided Bridge, understudy to Ashley Cole at Stamford Bridge, was the man he wanted.
But,
as revealed by People Sport, preliminary soundings over Bridge's likely
availability next month have forced Hughes to look elsewhere - and
Lescott is now the priority purchase, with City prepared to go to £10m.
Lescott, 26, has developed into a key member of Everton's squad since his £5m move from Wolves just over two years ago.
Versatile Lescott can play at left-back or centre-half and his eye for a goal has been a bonus for Goodison boss David Moyes.
City's
interest, and the ease with which they could make Everton's
cash-conscious board an offer they cannot refuse, will be a severe blow
to Moyes, who is desperate to add strength to his squad, not devalue
it. He had a frustrating summer missing out on transfer targets and
will fight hard to keep Lescott. But it will be difficult for Everton
to ignore a double-your money-deal for the defender.
City's move will place a question mark over the future of Eastlands star Michael Ball, a former Everton player.
If
Lescott arrives it is likely Ball will be on his way, with Spanish
full-back Javier Garrido, 23, set to be understudy to the new signing.
As
People Sport revealed last week, Bayern Munich playmaker Franck Ribery
and Aston Villa's England midfielder Gareth Barry also remain major
targets for Hughes.
The City boss has asked chairman Garry Cook to make a quick impact in the transfer market.
Hughes
said: "It's never easy signing players in January but it would be ideal
to make headway and sign players early in the window, if possible."
The Observer state...
'Hughes closing on Diarra deal'
• Manchester City confident of securing £18m deal for midfielder
• Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid also preparing offers
Manchester
City remain the favourites to sign Portsmouth's Lassana Diarra in the
January transfer window, despite reports in Spain suggesting new Real
Madrid coach Juande Ramos is preparing a rival offer for the
23-year-old.
Ramos, who arrived at the Bernabéu last week, is
understood to be assessing his squad still and, with City's bid the
most advanced, sources in Manchester remain confident that they will
secure an £18m deal for the France international, despite competition
from Tottenham.
Diarra joined Portsmouth from Arsenal for £5m
last January, but on arriving admitted he had no long-term ambition to
stay at Fratton Park. 'I will not spend my life at this club,' he said.
'I was able to add a clause to my contract, so if I shine here, and if
a big club wants me, I already know that everything will go well. I
don't want any more battles.'
Mark Hughes has repeated his desire
not to spend 'huge amounts' of money in the January window and has
denied planning a major overhaul of his squad. However, bids for
Diarra, Chelsea's Wayne Bridge and Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz
are expected.
'We're going to add to the quality of what we've
got here. The list of supposed targets keeps on growing and it will no
doubt be bigger before we go into the market. The only thing I can
assure people is we won't be buying them all.'
The People add...
'MARK ON TARGET'
Mark
Hughes insists he isn't concerned by Manchester City's status in the
bottom half of the Premier League - because his teams always come good
after Christmas.
The take-over by megarich Sheikh Mansour has led to great expectations which are currently not being fully lived up to.
But
City boss Hughes said: "The nature of the Premier League this season is
that a couple of back-to-back wins will send you into the top half of
the table, so we're not unduly concerned.
"We've got a lot of
players out at the moment and, once we get a few of them back,
certainly we'll be stronger in the second half of the season, which all
my teams have been historically.
"We must make sure we get points on the board and are in the top half leading into the second half of the season.
"In January we'll make sure we try to get good players into the club to complement the quality that we already have."
And finally, The Sunday Telegraph brings us it's view of yesterday's game...
'Late Tim Cahill header seals Everton win'
Manchester City (0) 0 Everton (0) 1
Tim
Cahill was deployed as an emergency striker and for 90 minutes had
nothing to show for his selfless toil. Then he rose to the challenge in
stoppage time to head Everton’s winner and compound the sense of
despair at Manchester City.
The irony, of course, is that City
are clogged up with strikers. Alas, for their manager, Mark Hughes,
almost all are devoid of the talent to fill the aspirations of the
club’s owners.
Robinho looked like a man unconvinced of his
fitness, while Benjani, and second-half substitutes Jo and Darius
Vassell left scant impression on Everton’s unsympathetic defence.
Hughes
will at least have the opportunity to lighten his pockets in the
January transfer window. His opposite number, David Moyes, must
scavenge for anyone he can pick up on loan to fill in for his injured
front men.
What Everton lack in the way of financial resources
they continue to compensate for with the wealth of their character and
willpower. This was their sixth away win of the season and another tilt
at European football remains a realistic objective.
City’s
concern has to be the undignified squabble at the other end of the
table. They have mustered only two wins in 12 Premier League matches
and should not delude themselves they are better than their position
suggests.
They are carrying too many players of modest ability and questionable commitment.
Even
Stephen Ireland was strangely subdued and ineffectual for much of the
match. He produced a late threat only for Tim Howard to respond.
Shaun
Wright-Phillips alone offered sustained hope with his
characteristically elusive running and audacious shooting. He went
close for City, skimming the Everton bar.
Mikel Arteta struck
the City bar with a free-kick and had a case for a penalty when Michael
Ball appeared to pull down Leon Osman in the shadow of the crossbar.
Everton
and Osman ultimately had their redemption. Osman swung in the late
corner kick and Cahill outjumped Micah Richards to claim the points.
Moyes said: “We rolled up our sleeves and didn’t feel sorry for ourselves. That was a fabulous performance.”
A
realistic Hughes conceded: “We need that physical threat and desire to
get on the end of things. We didn’t ask enough questions of them.”
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