Full back move could start spree? |
 |  | | |
| |||
'Wayne Bridge arrival heralds Manchester City spending spree'
Manchester
City are expected to lodge bids for Roque Santa Cruz, the Blackburn
Rovers striker, and Kolo Touré, the Arsenal defender, during the
weekend as Mark Hughes prepares to welcome Wayne Bridge to the club
from Chelsea.
Bridge, 28, is understood to have agreed personal
terms with City last night that will see him match the £88,000-a-week
salary that he was on at Stamford Bridge, although it is thought that
he had been holding out for about £100,000 a week. He will complete a
£10 million move on a four-year contract this morning, providing a
medical does not throw up any problems.
It is a remarkable sum
for a player who has made only 74 Premier League starts in 5½ years for
Chelsea since his £7 million move from Southampton, where he played
alongside Hughes, the City manager. Indeed, the whole package could end
up costing City almost £30 million.
The club’s spending will
not stop there, however. Hughes is confident of being able to prise
Touré, the Ivory Coast defender, from Arsenal in a similarly priced
deal, despite Arsène Wenger’s claims that the defender wants to stay at
the Emirates Stadium.
The club will also put in a bid of £17
million for Santa Cruz, who has made clear his desire to leave
Blackburn for City. “It seems that the circumstances needed for me to
be transferred are going in a good direction,” the forward said last
night.
Scott Parker and Craig Bellamy, the West Ham United
players, are also firmly in Hughes’s sights, as is Shay Given, the
Newcastle United goalkeeper. Hughes is hoping to conclude most of
City’s transfer business by the middle of the month.
Bridge has
been forced to play second fiddle to Ashley Cole for club and country
but Hughes is convinced that the player can establish himself as a
regular at international level if he impresses in a City shirt.
“I
think the situation with Wayne Bridge is that, yes, he has had success
at his club and is a full international, but you come to a point in
your career when you want to play week in, week out,” Hughes, whose
team host Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round today, said.
“He
wants to try and establish himself in the England team. Fabio Capello
has said that he needs to see players playing every week.
"I
know Wayne as an individual as I played in the same team as him at
Southampton and if it \ happens we’re getting a good character as well
as a good player.
“If you’re not sure you’re going to play or
if you’re just having one game here or one game there, maybe your focus
will drift on occasions.
“It’s credit to him that when he has
played for Chelsea he has been able to maintain that high standard, but
I just sensed that maybe he’s one of those players that need to play
regularly.”
Hughes believes the anticipated arrival of Bridge,
coupled with the signing of Robinho, the Brazil forward, in a British
record £34.2 million deal in September, will help him to convince other
players to join the club.
“We’re given indications on an almost
weekly basis that players want to come here,” Hughes said. “Invariably,
those who have said they don’t want to come are the ones we are not
particularly interested in.
“People try to put a negative slant
that we might not be able to attract big names, but if we felt they
were the right players for us then I’m quite sure these big names will
come here.”
Elsewhere on the transfer trail, the Daily Mail say...
'Manchester City poised to net unhappy Given for £10million'
Manchester City are ready to make Newcastle United a £10million offer they cannot refuse for unhappy goalkeeper Shay Given.
Despite
manager Joe Kinnear insisting Newcastle would keep Given until the end
of his contract in 2011, owner Mike Ashley may not be able to turn down
a bid for a player who has loyally served the club for more than 11
years.
Given, who has also attracted interest from Tottenham and
Arsenal, rocked Newcastle yesterday with a carefully prepared statement
from his lawyer Michael Kennedy, in which he said he was 'despondent'
following the humiliating 5-1 defeat to Liverpool, in which he excelled.
The
Republic of Ireland international is ready to end his long spell at St
James' Park and City manager Mark Hughes is prepared to match
Newcastle's inflated asking price and the 32-year-old's £70,000- a-week
wages.
News of Given's unhappiness clearly caught his boss off
guard on Friday and Kinnear claimed the keeper was happy to stay on
Tyneside.
The Daily Mirror add...
'Manchester City bid for Kolo Toure'
Manchester
City boss Mark Hughes made a new £8million bid for Arsenal’s unhappy
star Kolo Toure last night as he led the way in the transfer window.
Hughes
hopes to close the deal for the Ivory Coast centre-half over the
weekend as the Gunners realise he is unsettled and keen to join the
City revolution.
Toure also knows that City have at least two
other alternative targets - West Ham’s Matthew Upson and Everton’s
Joleon Lescott - if he does not make this deal happen quickly and that
has added to the urgency.
Hughes has been increasing his offers
for Toure over the past few days after deciding that the Hammers had
over-valued injury-prone Upson at £10m.
Everton will not do a
deal over Lescott, which leaves Toure as the clear choice. City skipper
Richard Dunne’s future is now clouded in doubt by the imminent arrival.
He signed a new deal last summer but relations between him and the
manager are described as ‘cold’.
Arsene Wenger could replace Toure but is more likely to use the cash to fund bids for other areas in his side.
Hughes, who has already signed £12m Wayne Bridge from Chelsea, now looks to strikers David Villa and Roque Santa Cruz.
And finally you might have forgotten there's an important FA Cup tie on today with all this gossip, but the Nottingham Post warns us...
'A chance for Forest to upstage City's stars'
INSIDE the City of Manchester Stadium today, Lewis McGugan will be his usual relaxed, assured self.
Instead of being intimidated by the task in front of him, he plans to enjoy it as much as possible.
Mark
Hughes is in charge of City – the world's richest football club – and
this month they will be splashing the cash to land even more big names.
They do not come much bigger than Brazilian Robinho, the £32.5m signing from Real Madrid on the transfer deadline in August.
He
has responded with 11 goals in 15 league starts and today, he will be
looking to make his mark on the world's most famous club cup
competition against Nottingham Forest.
But while many will have this down as a home banker on their football coupons, McGugan is planning on springing a surprise.
While
he is desperate to test himself against Robinho, Shaun Wright-Phillips,
Micah Richards, Joe Hart, Caicedo, Jo, Elano and the likes, he also
wants to ensure Forest make a real impression on their Premiership
opponents.
The 20-year-old from Long Eaton said: "It will be great to test yourself against players like that.
"You
have to enjoy it, not fear it and the likes of Robinho, Shaun
Wright-Phillips – they are all up there among the top players.
"You have to pit your wits against them and think where is your game at compared to them.
"You
do not want to put yourself under any pressure because at the end of
the day, they are the ones who should be winning. They are the ones who
should go through and have all the money, they should be winning
comfortably.
"But it is all about on the day and we could possibly cause an upset."
It has been a strange week at the City Ground following Colin Calderwood's sacking on Boxing Day after defeat to Doncaster.
The
players responded under the stewardship of caretaker boss John
Pemberton by winning at Norwich on Sunday to lift them out of the
relegation zone for the first time since mid-September.
And
although it is only via goal difference, McGugan said it has given
everyone a major lift going into the third round of the FA Cup today.
"We can now look at this game and be buzzing for it," said the excited midfielder.
"Had things not gone right at Norwich, it would have been a horrible week for us going into this.
"It
is one of those great competitions and we are playing a Premiership
team, with lots of money backing them, and we can go and fear nobody.
"We have to enjoy the occasion but that does not mean we do not do things properly.
"We have to do the best we can and see where we are after 90 minutes."
McGugan
is not ruling out causing an upset and, despite struggling at the wrong
end of the Championship, Forest are unbeaten in their last seven games
on the road.
Three wins and four draws will give them confidence
against City who, despite the likes of Robinho, sit just two points off
the relegation zone in the Premiership.
At home they have won
five and lost five, drawing no matches. But a telling statistic is
every time they have come out on top in a Premiership game this season,
it has involved a winning margin of three or more goals.
So the form book suggests they will either dish out a thrashing to Forest or be on the wrong end of an upset.
And McGugan is confident, if Forest do not allow themselves to become star struck, it could be the latter.
"They're a bit up and down and not flying, so you never know," he said.
"It is an occasion to enjoy and we have to play as if the new manager is there watching, do our job and be professional.
"It will be a great day for the players and the fans – and you never know what will happen at the end of it."
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น