what the papers say

A bit of Given take

A
quiet week in the news for us comes to a close with plenty of
speculation, including the rumoured interest in Shay Given and more.

Daily Star Sunday

"Shay on his way"

Shay Given has ‘agreed’ his move to Man City – and Newcastle want England keeper David James to replace him.

It’s
now a question of mega-rich City and Toon agreeing a fee for Given and
there could be a compromise figure of £10million – a British record for
a keeper.

City have so far had bids of £3m and £6m rejected, with the Geordies valuing the Republic of Ireland No.1 at £14m.

The current record for a keeper is the £9m Sunderland paid for Hearts’ Craig Gordon.

But
that could be broken this week and the fact Newcastle have made
enquiries about Portsmouth’s James, 38, indicates United expect Given
to quit Tyneside after 12 seasons at the club.

James has already played for six clubs – Watford, Liverpool, Villa, West Ham, Man City and Pompey.

Meanwhile,
a source close to Given, 32, told the Daily Star Sunday: ‘‘Shay wants
to go to City and as far as he is concerned, his deal is effectively
agreed in terms of the wages he’d be paid and even his image rights.

‘‘He could double his pay to £100,000-a-week and sign a contract for three-and-a-half or four-and-a-half years."

Newcastle would seem to have a replacement for Given already at the club in Steve Harper.

But he is 33 and out of contract this summer.

Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear could ask for City midfielder Michael Johnson to be part of the Given deal.

Hughes
also wants Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz and is unlikely to part
with England defender Micah Richards, 20, who has been linked with
Liverpool, Wigan and Bolton.

Mail on Sunday

"City prepare to let England full-back Micah Richards go"

Manchester
City are poised to shock fans already reeling over the Kaka and Robinho
controversies by unloading England full-back Micah Richards.

City are believed to have offered Richards, 20, as the make weight in attempts to take fresh blood to the club.

The
club turned down a £5million bid for Richards from Tottenham in July
2006 when he signed a four-year contract. Two years later, he signed an
improved deal until 2013.
 
But he has failed to recapture his sparkling form this season after a damaged cartilage sidelined him in February.

Following
the failure to land AC Milan superstar Kaka, City manager Mark Hughes
will pull out all the stops to sign striker Roque Santa Cruz from
Blackburn. But he will have to bid in excess of £20m.

Hughes has
been persistent in his pursuit of the Paraguay striker, whom he took to
Ewood Park from Bayern Munich for £3.5m in July 2007. But new Blackburn
boss Sam Allardyce is equally determined to keep the player. He could
be fighting a losing battle, though.

Robinho is due to return to
Manchester this weekend after going AWOL to celebrate his 25th
birthday, which is not until today. Hughes says he is confident he can
deal with a difficult situation, though Robinho is facing a heavy fine.

Sunday Express

"Hughes: Craig will silence critics in one minute"

Mark Hughes claims Craig Bellamy will prove his doubters wrong by scoring 20 goals a season for Manchester City.

Bellamy’s £14million arrival from West Ham was met with muted approval when all eyes were on City’s chase for Kaka.

But
Hughes said: “Having spoken to Craig and watched him in training here,
I know we are getting a better player than the one I worked with at
Blackburn. And he had a great season there, scoring 20 goals for us.

“He
had injury problems at Blackburn. We sometimes had to monitor the
intensity of his training to make sure he could play in games.

“Craig
Bellamy now is as strong as he has ever been and I am sure he is going
to be superb for us. Any doubts that anyone has about him will be
dispelled the moment he walks out on the pitch.

“As soon as he
gets the ball and takes it past a defender people will understand why I
wanted him. He has the kind of ability that terrifies defenders.

“Craig will give us blistering pace and a desire to run in behind defences, opening up spaces for players behind.’’

As
for Bellamy’s reputation as a troublemaker, Hughes added: “It is fair
to say he has been a bit nomadic and combustible but he has matured.

“He
is a winner who wants to be the best that he can be. As a consequence,
he is demanding of himself, the staff he works with and his team-mates.”

Boss lays out his vision

The
Mail goes in-depth in an exclusive with the manager, a former City
striker thinks a current one would be good Celtic, and the Shay Given
rumour resurfaces.

Daily Mail

"MARK HUGHES
TALKS TO MARTIN SAMUEL: Manchester City's manager on trying to sign
Kaka, being City boss and just what the club needs"

What some
would now term the acceptable face of Manchester City is peering out
from beneath grey hair and making a passionate case to be given a job.
Unfortunately, such is the madness of modern football, the post he
would appear to be applying for is the one he currently occupies.

‘I
am exactly what this club needs at this time,’ Mark Hughes says, the
words spilling fast from a man with a fair deal to get off his chest.

‘A
lot of people wouldn’t fancy this job, because it is hard. It has been
more difficult than I thought because you have got to drive a club from
the bottom to the top. It is far easier to arrive in a few years’ time,
maybe, when they are on the brink of getting there.

‘You know,
some managers are fire fighters, some are developers and some take a
successful club and continue its success. I develop: the team and the
club. I get involved at all levels, in the details, in what is
acceptable and what is not. And everywhere I have been my way has
worked.

Hughes is not one for picking fights, so no names are
mentioned. Even so, when he talks of managers who pitch up for the
final stage of the mission, or who maintain an established winning
formula, one particular coach comes to mind: the Portuguese gentleman
who has been consistently connected to the Manchester City post almost
from the day Sheik Mansour walked in, with Robinho neatly parcelled.

Since
then, Hughes has been undermined in several quarters. Either he is a
patsy, no more than a marginalised observer of transfer proceedings at
his club, or he is in charge, and therefore the reason Manchester City
cannot attract, or control, the biggest names in football. Were a
manager such as Jose Mourinho there, we are informed, it would all be
different.

Hughes does not wish to go on the defensive again but
cannot help it. To believe the criticism, a man who played for
Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea supposedly has
no idea of what makes good players tick.

A manager with
European, international and Premier League experience, who defeated
Italy in a competitive game while in charge of Wales and beat
Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in his second season at
Blackburn Rovers, is not up to team-building at Manchester City.

Full article.

Daily Mail

"Good Evans! Samaras urges Celtic to take a punt on City kid Ched"

Georgious
Samaras has urged his Celtic paymasters to capture £1.2million rated
Ched Evans — because the Manchester City striker’s value is certain to
soar.

The Greek forward worked alongside Evans during his time at
City and believes the 20-year-old Welshman has the potential to develop
into a player worth far more than his current asking price.

Celtic
coach Neil Lennon this week confirmed the club’s interest in Evans and
Samaras believes he is well matched to the Parkhead policy of signing
up young talent in the hope of striking gold in the future.

‘Could
Ched be worth a lot of money  in a few years? Of course,’said Samaras,
who also cost Celtic £1.2m when his loan became a permanent move last
July.

‘He’s a talent. Could Celtic make money on him? For sure.

'If he is going to develop and improve and play games and work on his talent then, yes, he could make the club money.

‘I know him from my time at Manchester City, but I haven’t spoken to him about a move.

'What happens with a deal is up to him and the two clubs.’

The Times

Newcastle
United have inquired about signing Michael Johnson during discussions
about the possible move of Shay Given, the Ireland goalkeeper, to
Manchester City. Newcastle appear determined to keep Given, but they
remain keen on Johnson, the midfield player who was offered to West Ham
United as part of City’s attempt to sign Scott Parker this month. That
has fuelled the belief that City are willing to sell the England
Under-21 midfield player, who signed a new five-year contract in
September, when he was attracting interest from Everton and Arsenal.
Johnson, 20, impressed at the start of last season but a pelvic injury
has restricted him to eight appearances this campaign, most recently in
September.