what the papers say

Johnno stays

So
the transfer window has finally 'slammed shut' - what will the 24 hour
news media do now? The Indie sums up our month, and adds the news that
Michael Johnson stays at City.

The Independent

"Hughes holds on to Johnson after £8m bid by Newcastle"

Manchester
City rejected Newcastle United's £8m bid for Michael Johnson yesterday
out of a determination to develop a player Mark Hughes believes can
have a future at the club, despite the abdominal injuries which
continue to deter his progress.

Despite some doubts from within
the club about the attitude of the 20-year-old whose attempts at
rehabilitation are questioned by some on the coaching side, he is still
considered a player for the future. He broke down after a return to
first-team training in Tenerife last week and his recuperation remains
a worry for City.

City, who did not return to Blackburn with an
improved bid on the £16.5m they offered last Thursday for Roque Santa
Cruz, have sent Jo on loan to Everton and Tal Ben Haim on loan to
Sunderland. David Moyes has long admired Jo and tried to sign him for
around £12m in the summer before City gazumped them with their £19m
offer and a permanent deal this summer would appear to be on the cards
if the prospect of regular first-team football creates some consistency
in an individual who was a Brazilian international at the age of 20.

The
disappointments of the window for City were, Santa Cruz and Kaka aside,
missing out on Lassana Diarra and Kolo Touré. The unexpected lack of
interest in one player who seemed likely to leave, Elano, provides some
hope of him settling. He has shown fleeting examples of last season's
form.

The Scotsman

"Quiet day for Manchester City as Santa Cruz stays put"

MARK
Hughes resisted the temptation to make a deadline-day attempt to snap
up Roque Santa Cruz even though the Manchester City manager feels his
side badly lack a target man.

City officials were completely
bewildered by talk of a renewed offer for the South American at 4pm as
there had been no contact with Blackburn since their last bid at the
end of last week.

With City snubbing an £8 million approach from
Newcastle fADVERTISEMENTor England Under-21 midfielder Michael Johnson,
the January transfer window closed quietly for the club that attempted
to sign Kaka earlier this month. Whether that allows City to move
forward as quickly as Hughes had hoped remains to be seen.

The
Welshman has added Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy, Nigel de Jong and Shay
Given to his squad, but, in the aftermath of Saturday's defeat at
ten-man Stoke, Hughes admitted he needed a more physical presence in
attack.

"Sometimes you need to put the ball into the right areas
in the box and things will drop for you," he said. "At the moment we do
not have that option. It is probably as a consequence of a lack of a
physical presence that has been highlighted time and time again."

Now
Hughes knows he must get to the end of the season without that physical
presence, with the exit on loan to Everton of Jo's burly frame only
emphasising City's belief the Brazilian has completely failed to
impress since his summer arrival from CSKA Moscow.

There was no
chance of letting Johnson go, though. The midfielder may have suffered
too many injuries recently and there have been negative rumours about
his attitude, but City still feel Johnson can recapture the form which
saw him likened to Blues legend Colin Bell.

Now Hughes must work with what he has, knowing Given will bring more solidity at the back.

A
veteran of World Cup and Champions League combat, Given is clear to
feature in City's assault on the Uefa Cup, which restarts against
Copenhagen next month.

"I was delighted to get the move tied up
because of the Uefa deadline last night," said Given. "I didn't want to
be sat in the stands if City are going to be picking up the Uefa Cup
later this season."

Given's arrival has been viewed as bad news
for England international Joe Hart, who has been City's No 1 for the
past 18 months. However, the 32-year-old believes he can offer Hart and
City's other young keeper Kasper Schmeichel some valuable advice in the
future.

"I have a lot of experience that I can pass on," he said.
"They might not be all that happy to see me, but I would like to think
that we can all work together and all improve together."

Blackburn
manager Sam Allardyce later insisted that Rovers' precarious position
in the Premier League meant that Santa Cruz's preference for a move to
Eastlands was not a major consideration.

"This situation doesn't
happen very often. More often than not the player probably gets his own
way," he said. "But in the position we were in it was impossible to
agree to that, so we stood firm."