Who Will Manchester City Purchase This January (12/3/08)
Manchester City clearly is going to show the financial strength of its owners, the Abu Dhabi Group, this January. In fact the owners even came out by saying that they want to acquire one world-class superstar during the next transfer period. However the question is who do they realistically have a chance getting? Clearly guys like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kaka are not going to be lured over no matter what price offered. Here I am going to analyze some of their rumored targets.
Many rumors have been coming linking Manchester City with forwards. Lukas Podolski seemed like he was on his way out from Bayern Munich and headed towards Manchester City until tonight when Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge stated that Podolski was staying at least until the end of the season. David Villa’s name has come up once again even though he has a contract at Valencia until 2014. The reason for these rumors is the serious financial situation taking place at Valencia which might end up forcing them to sell their prized forward if the price is high enough. Ricardo Oliveira of Real Zaragoza was linked with Manchester City last week but although he is a very talented forward, I just don’t see him as a big name forward that Mark Hughes would like to bring in. Luis Fabiano has been unhappy at Sevilla and even left practice due to a quarrel with the head coach. Manchester City seems interested in Fabiano and is supposedly planning to bid £20million for the forward who scored 24 goals last season in La Liga. The last forward being linked is in my opinion Mark Hughes’ favorite. This is Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz who stayed with Blackburn this summer despite great interest from other clubs. However the rumor is that he is unhappy at Blackburn and is going to request a transfer. Unless I see a statement saying that this rumor is false then I seriously think Roque Santa Cruz is the man for Manchester City. Chelsea this summer supposedly bid £40million for the Paraguay international but was turned down. However with Chelsea not interested in signing anyone, I see Manchester City being able to offer a lower price due to less competition.
Defenders and goalkeeper are also being linked with moves to Manchester City in January. City has been linked with only two goalkeepers but they are two of the best in the world. Juventus’ Gianluigi Buffon was supposedly offered a large bid and contract that he turned down. The same goes for Iker Casillas whom Manchester City supposedly bid £129million for. Wayne Bridge has drawn interest from Mark Hughes but Chelsea doesn’t seem intent on selling him. The rumor is they were so angry that City stole Robinho from under their noses that they didn’t want to deal their defender to them. Michael Turner of Hull City was linked with Manchester City however I don’t see Hull making any major changes especially since they have performed above expectations this season after being promoted. Ivory Coast international Kolo Toure was linked with City but I don’t see Arsenal selling any of their defenders especially since at times, due to injuries and off-field incidents, they were forced to use Djourou and Silvestre at the center of the defense. Fabio Grosso is an interesting name being linked with Manchester City today as City are supposedly planning on bidding EUR7 million for the Olympique Lyonnais defender. Of all these names I see Grosso being the most realistic but even then I don’t think it will happen. As for midfielders the only name that was linked with Manchester City was Lassana Diarra but his sprained ankle has been a bump in the road. If he gets back from injury quickly and continues playing at a high quality, then I see Manchester City making a serious push for him.
After naming all these players that were linked with Manchester City, I see two realistic choices. I see Roque Santa Cruz finally moving towards Manchester City and I see Lassana Diarra joining if he can get healthy quickly. The main obstacles for these two players are whether their managers are willing to sell them. If they are willing, then these two are as good as signed.