what the papers say

Santa Cruz tops striker chase?

The Independent says...

'City turn focus on Santa Cruz'

Blackburn striker tops Hughes' list of targets as doubts grow over Bellamy

Manchester
City's attentions have turned to the pursuit of Blackburn striker Roque
Santa Cruz, with the club aware that their attempts to sign Scott
Parker and Craig Bellamy may be dependent on West Ham failing to
offload a string of less valued players.

City, who have also
earmarked Chelsea's Alex as an individual who could resolve their
chronic central defensive problems, sense their West Ham project may be
a longer game.

There is a general feeling that the Hammers may
need to find £8-9m to meet their interest payments until the end of the
season and that if four or more of the lower rank players, such as
Calum Davenport, Nigel Quashie, Jonathan Spector and Luis Boa Morte,
were sold then the need to raise money, by accepting an offer better
than the £15m City have already made in a joint bid for Parker and
Bellamy, will not be necessary.

There has been no further contact
between the two clubs since the Hammers flatly rejected the initial
joint bid over the final weekend of 2008 and the pursuit of Blackburn's
Paraguayan striker is more imminent, though as of yesterday Rovers were
yet to receive a formal offer from City. "We have not made any bid for
a player, and not received one," said Blackburn's chairman John
Williams.

But City's preparations for an approach for a player
that their manager, Mark Hughes, signed from Bayern Munich when at
Blackburn have gathered pace since Saturday's abysmal FA Cup defeat to
Nottingham Forest. It will soon become clear whether £18m will be
enough to persuade Rovers to release the striker.

The view from
within Ewood Park is that the club will need four strikers as they
continue their push for Premier League survival. There is a reluctance
to sell a player the club still consider to be their best asset,
despite the indifferent season he has experienced so far, but Rovers
are also aware that Bolton survived last season having offloaded
Nicolas Anelka.

One of the club's worries is how they will
replace Santa Cruz, though the renaissance of Benni McCarthy and Jason
Roberts will certainly help Hughes' cause in that respect and may
remove some of the angst Rovers might feel in doing business. A £20m
deal is by no means improbable, even though City said a month back that
they would walk away from clubs who asked over the odds.

Rumours
have been circulating for some time about Alex's future at Stamford
Bridge. Luiz Felipe Scolari insisted last month that nothing should be
read into the decision to recall the England Under-21 defender Michael
Mancienne from a loan period at Wolves and that Alex's future was
secure. But with Richard Dunne's disintegration now seemingly affecting
the form of Micah Richards, the centre of defence is where Hughes is in
most urgent need of reinforcements.

The pursuit of Kolo Touré is
also back on, after initial indications that Arsenal were unwilling to
release him. There is some concern that the north London club may hold
out for a sum which, even by City's standards, is simply too high. It
is understood £15m may be the figure Arsenal are looking for. Among the
West Ham contingent, City's attempts to bring Parker to Eastlands look
more feasible than the pursuit of Bellamy at this stage. It is
understood West Ham may be willing to release only one of the two
players.

Though Bayern Munich have declared Germany striker
Lukas Podolski is for sale for £10m there were no immediate suggestions
from City that they wanted to sign him.

The Sun add...

'Sparky stay is a Dunne deal'

RICHARD DUNNE insists Manchester City’s billionaire board must stick by manager Mark Hughes.

Sparky
is clinging on to his job by his fingertips, with City two points above
the Premier League drop zone and out of the FA Cup after a 3-0 defeat
to Nottingham Forest.

The club’s Arab owners have given him £100million to spend in the transfer window despite fans calling for his head.

And
City skipper Dunne, 29, said: “The club need to keep backing him
because the players believe what we are doing in training is right.
Hopefully he will get the chance to show what he can do in the transfer
market.

“We have had a couple of poor results and people have been too quick to point the finger.

“In training, the manager has been confident and telling us it will turn around — and that has helped the players.”

The Sun also tell us...

'City make £24m bid for Yaya'

MANCHESTER CITY have made a stunning £24million bid for Barcelona midfield star Yaya Toure.

Barca will fight tooth and nail to keep Toure.

A
top source at the club said: “There is an offer for Yaya but the club
will do what is necessary to convince the player to stay.”

Yaya, younger brother of Arsenal defender Kolo Toure, earns £2.4million a year at the Nou Camp.

It is understood City will DOUBLE his wages in an effort to tempt him away.

The Ivory Coast ace, 25, is unsettled as Barca had promised him a new deal last summer but it never materialised.

Toure,
who has also been a target for Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, is
considered one of the best central midfielders in Europe and has been
dubbed the ‘new Patrick Vieira’ in Spain.

He snubbed Arsenal in favour of Barca when he left Monaco 18 months ago.

He was linked with Italian giants Juventus last summer but Barcelona refused to sell.

He scored a sensational solo goal in the 3-1 win over Real Mallorca last weekend.

Boss handed £50m transfer kitty?

\

The Daily Mirror...

'Manchester City exclusive: Mark Hughes will still get £50m transfer kitty'

Mark Hughes will be given one final chance to prove he is the man to lead the long-term revolution at Manchester City.

Owner Sheikh Mansour was dismayed by Saturdays 3-0 FA Cup defeat to Championship strugglers Nottingham Forest.

But
after being handed £12million to sign Wayne Bridge from Chelsea, Hughes
will be given a further s50m to try to spend his way out of trouble in
this months transfer window.

Sheikh Mansour and his team of
advisers, led by City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, believe Hughes
should be given until the end of the season to prove his credentials,
despite unrest from fans.

But the City boss has been left in no
doubt that failure to turn the clubs fortunes around in the second half
of the campaign will result in him losing his job after just one season
in charge.

City's humiliating third-round exit will hasten their
attempts to strengthen their squad, with deals for Blackburn striker
Roque Santa Cruz and West Ham duo Scott Parker and Craig Bellamy set to
go through in the next 48 hours.

Hughes is also confident of
landing Arsenal defender Kolo Toure for s10m, which places a huge
question mark over the future of his existing centre-backs, Richard
Dunne and Micah Richards, whose form has deserted them.

After the Forest loss, Hughes said: "Ive known from day one the frailties in the team.

"We
probably need three, four, maybe five more players who will complement
those we already have. Thats not easy, but well look to do that because
its obvious to everybody thats the minimum we need."

The Daily Telegraph...

'Manchester City bid for West Ham pair Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker'

Manchester City have reportedly stepped up their pursuit of West Ham pair Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker.

Manager
Mark Hughes is eager to bring in new recruits as quickly as possible
following the embarrassing 3-0 FA Cup defeat against Nottingham Forest.

Wayne Bridge was paraded to City fans before the Forest game
following his move from Chelsea, and the Guardian has reported that
Parker will finalise his £12 million transfer to Eastlands within the
next 48 hours. Bellamy is also a target for Hughes, though West Ham are
thought to be more reluctant to sell the striker.

Upton Park
officials have told Sky Sports News that Parker is not for sale. But an
increased City for the pair will present a real dilemma for the London
club, who are facing financial difficulties.

Bellamy's strike
partner Carlton Cole said: "I don't know what's going to happen but
everyone at the club wants him here. The manager wants him here, the
players want him here. He's a great asset to the club and hopefully he
stays with us."

Roque Santa Cruz, the Blackburn striker who has
long been linked with City, is also expected to be the subject of a
formal bid this week.

By sanctioning such significant spending
this month, City's Emirati owners are giving Hughes their public
backing despite the club's disappointing season.

And chief executive Garry Cook insists Sheikh Mansour is not panicking over results.

"Mark
is part of building the club, from the playing side right through to
making this a great place for employees," said Cook said in the Sun.

"What we don't do is sit around worrying about what happens if it goes wrong."

"Once
we get through the first window, when Mark's impact will be able to
advance the future of the football club, things will start to settle
down," Cook added.

"Mark's plans and the way he is running the team are going to build and change and the confidence will start to build.

"We
will bring people here who want to see the club move forward and the
fans will ideally take to them because they're committed to the club."

And finally, the Daily Mirror uncover...

'Arsenal could lose Theo Walcott for just £400,000'

Arsenal run the risk of losing England star Theo Walcott for just £400,000 after dragging their feet over a new contract.

Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea are all aware of the amazing transfer loophole and are keeping tabs on the situation.

FIFA
rules mean that any buying club would just have to pay £80,000 training
costs for every year that Walcott has been at Arsenal which would
equate to just under £400,000 by the time his contract expires in the
summer of 2010.

Walcott, 19, is frustrated that Arsenal have been
slow to discuss a new deal even though his current contract has just 18
months left to run.

Arsenal have held just one meeting with
Walcott’s advisers and have yet to make him an offer - even though he
has become the English game’s hottest property.

Walcott established himself on the world stage after scoring his England hat-trick in Croatia last year.

The
teenager, who joined from Southampton for an initial £5million transfer
fee in January 2006, is the lowest-paid member of the England squad. He
is on around £20,000 a week even though his transfer value has rocketed
to £20m.