Alessio CerciRoberto Mancini is bidding to bring Fiorentina’s £6m-rated winger Alessio Cerci to City after losing his patience with Alexis Sanchez.
Mancini has declared himself tired of trying to talk Sanchez into a move to Eastlands.
And although M.E.N. Sport understands that a deal for the Udinese star is not completely dead in the water, the City boss is now looking to Cerci.
He believes Cerci, 23, could be the man to give City extra threat down the left wing next season.
The former Italy Under-21 international joined Fiorentina for £3.5m last August from Roma, where he had graduated through the youth ranks.
Mancini wanted to bring Cerci (right) to Eastlands a year ago, and has kept a close eye on his progress since then.
But the City boss, who is also chasing Partizan Belgrade’s defender Stefan Savic in a £6m deal, has ruled out a move for Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi, despite revealing that he is in the hunt for another forward.
He feels that the 26-year-old, an Argentina team-mate of Carlos Tevez and Pablo Zabaleta, is overpriced at around £27m – the amount that would activate a release clause in his contract.
Asked about Cerci and Lavezzi Mancini said: “Cerci? We have several goals, we are sure to be interested in good and young players.
“I like Lavezzi a lot, but I don’t think he is worth the 30m euros [£27m] of his clause.”
The Blues boss made no secret of his frustration with Sanchez, who he was keen to bring to Eastlands from Udinese.
City were understood to have offered around £30m for the Chilean winger, but the club were unimpressed by his public pronouncement earlier this week that he would prefer to go to Spain.
Mancini said: “I talked to Sanchez. He said he was willing to come to City.
“But after the last offer, we are out of the race for the Chilean player.”
Despite those comments, it is understood that the Blues have not completely given up hope on a deal for Sanchez, and are still in contact with Udinese.
The City manager’s bid to trim his squad has hit a brick wall over the last month, but his chances of offloading Craig Bellamy are growing, with Everton joining Cardiff in indicating an interest in the striker.
Toffees boss David Moyes is also monitoring the possibility of taking Shaun Wright-Phillips, who is also being watched by Bolton.
But Emmanuel Adebayor’s future remains up in the air after he added Paris Saint Germain and Blackburn to the list of clubs he doesn’t want to play for.
The 27-year-old striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Real Madrid, has already rejected interest from Zenit St Petersburg, while Marseille’s hopes of signing him have hit the buffers because they can’t afford his wages.
Adebayor has stated that he wants to go back to Real Madrid next season, but they are refusing to come close to City’s £12m valuation.
He said: “At Real, I got a taste for what it’s like winning a trophy. I can only go where we play to win a trophy or win the championship and not to play mid-table.”
Meanwhile, Mancini has suggested that both Tevez and Mario Balotelli will stay at City, despite being linked with moves away. Tevez has rejected an offer from Juventus this summer, will Balotelli has been touted for a switch to AC Milan.
“I think he [Tevez] will remain at City,” Mancini said. “I have three strikers, we need another one. Balotelli to AC Milan? For now, certainly not.”
City keeper David Gon-zalez has joined Aberdeen on loan for six months.
Mancini has declared himself tired of trying to talk Sanchez into a move to Eastlands.
And although M.E.N. Sport understands that a deal for the Udinese star is not completely dead in the water, the City boss is now looking to Cerci.
He believes Cerci, 23, could be the man to give City extra threat down the left wing next season.
The former Italy Under-21 international joined Fiorentina for £3.5m last August from Roma, where he had graduated through the youth ranks.
Mancini wanted to bring Cerci (right) to Eastlands a year ago, and has kept a close eye on his progress since then.
But the City boss, who is also chasing Partizan Belgrade’s defender Stefan Savic in a £6m deal, has ruled out a move for Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi, despite revealing that he is in the hunt for another forward.
He feels that the 26-year-old, an Argentina team-mate of Carlos Tevez and Pablo Zabaleta, is overpriced at around £27m – the amount that would activate a release clause in his contract.
Asked about Cerci and Lavezzi Mancini said: “Cerci? We have several goals, we are sure to be interested in good and young players.
“I like Lavezzi a lot, but I don’t think he is worth the 30m euros [£27m] of his clause.”
The Blues boss made no secret of his frustration with Sanchez, who he was keen to bring to Eastlands from Udinese.
City were understood to have offered around £30m for the Chilean winger, but the club were unimpressed by his public pronouncement earlier this week that he would prefer to go to Spain.
Mancini said: “I talked to Sanchez. He said he was willing to come to City.
“But after the last offer, we are out of the race for the Chilean player.”
Despite those comments, it is understood that the Blues have not completely given up hope on a deal for Sanchez, and are still in contact with Udinese.
The City manager’s bid to trim his squad has hit a brick wall over the last month, but his chances of offloading Craig Bellamy are growing, with Everton joining Cardiff in indicating an interest in the striker.
Toffees boss David Moyes is also monitoring the possibility of taking Shaun Wright-Phillips, who is also being watched by Bolton.
But Emmanuel Adebayor’s future remains up in the air after he added Paris Saint Germain and Blackburn to the list of clubs he doesn’t want to play for.
The 27-year-old striker, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Real Madrid, has already rejected interest from Zenit St Petersburg, while Marseille’s hopes of signing him have hit the buffers because they can’t afford his wages.
Adebayor has stated that he wants to go back to Real Madrid next season, but they are refusing to come close to City’s £12m valuation.
He said: “At Real, I got a taste for what it’s like winning a trophy. I can only go where we play to win a trophy or win the championship and not to play mid-table.”
Meanwhile, Mancini has suggested that both Tevez and Mario Balotelli will stay at City, despite being linked with moves away. Tevez has rejected an offer from Juventus this summer, will Balotelli has been touted for a switch to AC Milan.
“I think he [Tevez] will remain at City,” Mancini said. “I have three strikers, we need another one. Balotelli to AC Milan? For now, certainly not.”
City keeper David Gon-zalez has joined Aberdeen on loan for six months.
No comments:
Post a Comment